The Howlett Legacy Book One: Wolverina
by wolverinacullen
Summary: Series one of my Wolverina stories from marvel. Since they don't own my fic, these are the reposts.
1. Part 1

_Wolverina: Family Matters_

**Chapter 1**  
It was somewhere around 4 in the morning when James and Victoria entered Westchester New York. Their adopted son Riley was in the back of the black Jeep Wrangler James was driving. "Hurry! They're still following us!" Victoria shouted. James glanced nervously to the mirror where the shadowy forms reflected. The Jeep hit 120 as they pulled down Graymalkin lane, heading to the Xavier school. Nikki awoke to the emptiness of the room. "It's 4 AM, does anybody know how to sleep anymore?" she mumbled, getting dressed alone. Unsurprisingly Logan was downstairs watching a B class horror flick that was the only thing on at this hour. "Does anybody know how to sleep anymore?" Nikki asked, descending the stairs to see not only Logan but Pixie, Rockslide and Beast all awake. "Guess not" Santo said when Nikki sat down with them. "Somebody's coming to the gate" Nikki said. Hank got up to investigate as the Jeep revved in the driveway. "erm..Nikki?" Hank asked, looking outside, "Would you happen to know these people?" Nikki looked outside and memories of her family came to mind. "They're James and Victoria, my aunt and uncle" she said, smiling. Logan looked at Nikki, "So what's your family doin' showin' up at 4 AM?" "How would I know, I'm not psychic" she replied. She pulled open the door and her family rushed in. "Nikki!" Victoria cheered, "You're so grown-up! You don't look anything like the little kid I used to visit." "Vicki" James said, pulling her off her niece, "She can be a little overzealous." James hugged his niece and stood back, "Wow, she's right, you don't look anything like you used to." "I heard you got married" Victoria said, "I'm so happy for you!" "I hate to ask but, what are you doing showing up here at 4 AM?" Nikki asked. "Nikki, I know you've done his before but..." James began. "But what?" Logan asked, his arm going around his wife protectively. "The Volturi is back" Victoria said. 'No' Nikki thought, 'If the Volturi is back then that means Cassius is back too. So that's what Blade meant when he said he $%*#ed up. This isn't gonna end well.'** TBC**  
**Chapter 2**  
The black cloaked figures that had been following James and Victoria returned to Volterra late that night. Jane, their brother Alec, and Felix were secretly spies for Romulus and as they plotted the demise of the 2 most powerful clans in the world, across the sea revelations were made. Victoria didn't want to tell anyone about what had happened but James had persisted and finally they sat around in the rec room the next afternoon to tell Nikki. "Well, it started about 3 years ago" James began, "Our coven was brought together and we'd pursued the hunt of our lives. The thing was, we didn't know how much trouble it would cause. The Cullens attacked us when we tailed the girl to Arizona and I was...well how do I say it..." "He was killed" Victoria said, "and after that I went after the Cullens, I had to get revenge for what they did to him, I even acquired an army but my efforts at avenging my love proved futile, the Cullens killed me too. Riley and Laurent too, and they continued believing they were the heroes." "But then Blade brought us back, we know after that you got rid of that pompous jerk Zander and well...for loosing Andi, I'm sorry" James said, continuing, "Now the Volturi are back, I know you handled them before, but now they're stronger and plenty more of them too. I fear for Victoria and our lives which is why I came to you. Nikki, you were trained to fight since you were young, I can only tell you, you shouldn't have had to but you did and I may not be able to change that but I can help you save the world from the Volturi." "So...save the cheerleader, save the world?" Riley asked, earning looks from everyone, "What? I have nothing better to do all day anyway and 'Heroes' is a good show." Nikki looked to Logan and then to Josh, "What about Cassius?" "We'll help you" James said. "We can't do this alone, we need your help, all of you, please" Victoria looked to them pleadingly. "We're in" Logan said. Most of them left the room to talk battle strategy, but Nikki and Josh remained. "Who is Cassius?" Josh asked. "I know I never told you this...Cassius is your father and he's the reason I thought you were dead all those years. He killed you Josh, you weren't supposed to have my healing factor but you do" Nikki said, "I'm sorry I never told you." "I'm coming with this time and I'm gonna make sure he knows I'm alive and well before I knock him into the shi'ar galaxy" Josh replied. Nikki smiled, at least he got the temper from her. TBC

**Chapter 3  
**That night, there was plenty on everyone's minds as the day came to an end, especially Nikki's. 'My stepbrother killed my uncle, my aunt and my cousin and didn't even bother to tell me?!' Nikki thought angrily, 'My Ex came back to life, my son is probably thinking of ways to kill his blood father and I'm sure things are gonna get worse, this is SO just my luck.' "Penny for your thoughts" Logan said, wrapping his arms around Nikki's waist and kissing her deeply. Nikki sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, "Why can't my life be just a little bit less complicated?" "Because then it wouldn't be as much fun to get you to relax" Logan replied, kissing her again. "Are you only gonna kiss me tonight?" Nikki asked. "Your relatives are here, I don't wanna seem-" Logan began but was cut off when Nikki kissed him. "You worry too much, they're probably making the most of it now too" she laughed and smiled. Logan couldn't help but grin mischievously while she was pressed so close to him, "Well, let's have some fun then." In Josh's room, Riley sat playing video games with him. "So Nikki's kinda like my mom isn't she?" Riley asked. "How so?" Josh replied, his focus mainly on the game. "Do you not hear them?" Riley asked, "Both of our parents spend all night in bed together and all day taking care of us and our siblings." "You have siblings?" Josh asked, "Why am I not surprised?" "2 brothers, 1 is James and Victoria's real kid and the younger one is a slayer's kid James turned to tick him off, I was obviously adopted into this madness" Riley said. "Welcome to Insanity, population: us and our siblings" Josh said. Meanwhile in Volterra, Jane and Alec waited with their servants until their master arrived. "Romulus" Alec greeted as their master walked into the room, "everything is in order sire." "Alec" Jane hissed, "it's a bit obvious your from Texas." Felix chuckled, "She's right." "Silence you fools!" Romulus shouted, "I've had enough of your incompetence, where is the girl?" "The Howlett or the-" Felix began only to be cut off. "OF COURSE THE HOWLETT GIRL YOU BUMBLING IDIOT!" Romulus shouted. "Well...she's in NYC and we're here so...we don't have her yet." Alec replied. "ARRGH! YOU INSOLENT MORONS! FIND HER FOR ME OR THERE'LL BE BLOOD!" "Yes master" they all replied in meek unison. In the woods near the New York/Canada border, Cassius awaited the chance to see his love again and repay the Wolverine for interfering in their personal matters. While the fire he created burned to its embers, Cassius departed to his journey. TBC

**Chapter 4**  
Cassius climbed the window to the room where Wolverine had killed him before he came back and climbed in. "My love, it has been too long" he said, trailing his hand along Nikki's back. Nikki stirred, turning over in her sleep allowing Cassius to kiss her neck. Nikki awoke and saw him, "What the $#^& are YOU doing here?!" Logan woke up and wrapped his arms around his wife, covering her with the sheet. "I thought I killed you already" he shouted. "Wolverine, I told you I'd come back for my lover" Cassius growled, "Now let me have her." Nikki was whimpering and backing away, closer to Logan. "Why are you doing this?" she pleaded. "My love, I'm not intrested in your stories of true love and family, I've come to take you home" Cassius said. Josh appeared in the doorway, watching while his mom cringed away from the blonde vampire. "Cassius right?" Josh asked casually, "Remember me?!" He lept at Cassius, Logan and Nikki watching. "Josh don't!" Nikki cried. "Don't worry, he'll be fine" Logan whispered. "Do you even know who I am?!" Josh shouted. "How would I?!" Cassius retorted. "Because you're my father!" Josh growled. Cassius stopped fighting to stare at Josh, "You're my son?" Josh ran at him, claws bared and ran him through, "Yeah, and I still hate you for hurting my mom. Nikki smiled, "Well that takes care of 1 problem. Josh, this is the 1 thing I never wanted to have to ask one of my children but will you come with us to Voltera?" Josh grinned and looked to his mom, "Yeah, I've alwase wanted to fight royalty." TBC  
**Chapter 5  
**Jane, Alec and Felix stalked the grounds of the mansion later the next night. "Mom, I don't want you to go fight the vampire guys" Vincent said. Nikki tucked him in and smiled, "Nothing's gonna happen hunny, I'm not going alone." "Dad's going with you?" he asked. "Yep, just get some sleep hunny and I'll see you in the morning" Nikki whispered and left Vincent's room. She'd put the twins to bed earlier and she checked up on her daughter Alesha. "Hey, it's 9:30 lights out" she called in. "Mom! I'm trying to read here!" Alesha shouted. "The magazine can wait" Nikki said, walking in to tuck in her daughter, "You need to get to sleep, it's a school night." "Fine, 'night mom" Alesha said. "'Night 'Lesha" Nikki whispered. Alec pried open the window and slid into the nursery where twins Gabrielle and Holly were. "They're asleep?" Logan asked when Nikki walked downstairs. "Thank god" Nikki chuckled. A soft thump came from upstairs and both Nikki and Logan went upstairs. Alec took baby Holly from her cradle and held her up, "Jane is this the right one?" "Either of them will do Alec, just get down here before Wolverine or his wife comes" Jane hissed from the window. They heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs and they looked to one another, "Here, give me the baby" Jane whispered, "I'll get her to Romulus, you distract them." "why am I the distraction?!" Alec called, "Jane?!" Nikki entered the room with her husband behind her, "Where's Holly?!" Nikki shouted. Logan pulled Nikki off Alec's huddled frame, "Listen bub, I find out you touched a little hair on my daughter's head and I'll-" "It'll be too late when you get to her!" Alec shouted, "The ritual will be done and the Rogues will be unstoppable!" "The Rogues?" Logan asked. "Take me to my daughter!" Nikki shouted, "or I swear I'll kill you slowly and painfully." Alec smiled and said, "Volterra" before taking his own life. Nikki growled and ran from the room, "They've got Holly in Volterra, I'm going now!" Logan grasped her hand before she could run down the stairs, "We'll get her back, I promise." "I'm going to skin Jane alive for taking our daughter" Nikki growled. "Nikki, darlin' relax. We'll go right now, we'll get Holly back and we'll be back before breakfast" Logan assured her. "Then let's get outta here, we need to find our daughter" Nikki said, going to suit up with Logan following suit. TBC  
**Chapter 6**  
Nikki and Logan left in the x-jet after telling James and Victoria to watch the kids in case they got up. The jet was speeding along at mach 20 and they were only minutes away from Volterra. "Can we drive this thing any faster?!" Nikki asked anxiously. "Don't worry darlin' we'll get there soon" Logan said, "She'll be fine you know, she has your temper." Nikki smiled at that and Logan took her hand, squeezing it gently. In Volterra, Jane was not good with babies. "Can't you get her to shut up?!" Felix shouted, "It's bad enough Alec probably offed himself before they even got up there." "Why don't YOU shut up?!" Jane shouted, "OW! The kid scratched me!" Holly laughed, her own little wolf claws down just like her mother's. "Let me take her" Felix offered, taking Holly into his arms. "Listen kid, I-" he didn't finish that sentence because Romulus walked in. "Good, you have her. Let's begin" he growled. The moment the jet landed, Nikki couldn't have run out faster. They came to the locked double doors and without missing a beat Nikki kicked the door in, her eyes blazing with unbridled fury. Logan sniffed the air and growled, what were they doing to her?! Nikki nearly vamped and ran down the hall at an amazing speed, with Logan right behind her. Romulus chuckled at the small, now silent child. If he got his way, she wouldn't live to see her first birthday. "HOLLY?!" Logan shouted down the winding hall way. Nikki growled inhumanly, her now Burgundy eyes blazing with more rage than he'd ever seen. "Felix, delay them, just a few moments longer" Jane hissed. Felix ran down the corridor and with all the strength he could gather, targeted them to smash. Nikki smelled Felix coming and grabbed Logan's arm and leapt up onto a rafter with him in tow. "How much time do we have?" Jane asked. "None, the ritual is complete" Romulus boomed. Nikki gasped, her daughter's scent was starting to fade. "Logan we have to go now!" she cried and leapt down. He leapt down at her side and together, began running. Nikki was the first to run in, her eyes immediately filling with tears. Holly's scent was nearly gone yet she lay there and Nikki could hear her heartbeat fading. "NO!" she cried, "No, not again. No." Logan went forward as his wife collapsed to her knees, sobbing into her hands. Then he caught Romulus's covered scent and growled. Nikki looked up, watching her husband while tears still streamed from her eyes. "I know that look" she whispered, "That monster killed our baby didn't he?" Logan looked at her and went to her, wrapping his arms around her. He nodded softy and Nikki cried on his shoulder, even he let the tears run down his face. The ride home was in silence, Nikki was in no condition to drive and Logan felt guilt rising in his chest, if only he'd never let this happen. He could've killed Romulus before, even if the odds had been against him. He put the jet on autopilot and went to comfort his wife. She just sat there, her eyes red, not from rage now, from tears. "You alright darlin'?" he asked, knowing her answer. "Don't blame yourself, you're a great father, it was my fault, I should've gone to check on them instead of going downstairs" Nikki whispered, "I should've seen this coming, I've never been a good mother-" "Yes, you are" Logan whispered to her, taking her face in his hands, "I know you are. You take care of them, tuck them in at night, if my mother ever did anything like that then maybe something like this wouldn't have happened." "So your blaming this on your dead mother" Nikki said, "How touche, I'd probably blame my mother in law if we were normal, which, let's face it, is never gonna happen." Logan looked at her, she still wasn't smiling but at least she could still have her sarcasm. The jet landed and Nikki let Hank take Holly from her and she made it to the bed before collapsing in tears again. Logan rubbed her back and held her while she cried and down the hall, Vincent gathered his siblings in the room while he listed to every word said and relayed them for his brothers and sisters. TBC  
**Chapter 7**  
Nikki awoke against Logan's shoulder, her eyes still red from crying. "Mornin' darlin', how'd ya sleep?" Logan asked and he managed a smile for her. "Please tell me that was all just a nightmare" she whispered. "I'd love to tell ya that but I'm not gonna lie to you, you've had a helluva night" he said to her, "I talked to Gorge earlier, the team's coming' by, do ya mind?" "Nah" she said softly, "Why don't you tell them though, I couldn't keep myself together if I tried." She laid down on the bed and Logan gave her a quick kiss before heading downstairs at his teammates approach. The New Avengers sat in the mansion's front room waiting for Logan. Logan walked in and Echo was the first to speak, "How's Nikki?" "Still upset. I don't blame her, she's felt almost nothing but pain in her life and now she lost a second child...I know how badly this hurts her, it hurts me too" Logan said. Gorge put his and on his friend's shoulder, "You did everything you could Logan, nothing either of you could've done would've changed that." Nikki shakily walked down the stairs, she was far from happy but she still wanted to see her friends.  
Kimberly was the first to notice Nikki walking downstairs. "How're you holding up?" she asked, hugging her friend. "I've been worse" Nikki said, not all life had been drained from her voice and Kimberly was happy that she was just a bit better. "Come here, sit, you need to relax" Kim spoke softly to her. Nikki sighed, "It's not gonna make a difference Kim, I'm just not entirely together yet." "Mom?" Vincent called downstairs. "Yeah hun?" Nikki called back up. Vincent and Alesha bounded down the stairs, Alesha clutching onto Cadie (if you don't remember, that's the dog). Nikki smiled softly and pulled them both into a hug. "We heard everything last night, mom are you gonna be okay?" Alesha asked. "Yeah, I'm gonna be fine" Nikki whispered. "Why don't you guys go play with the dog for a little while ok?" Logan asked. "'kay" they both said. Echo hugged Nikki and she actually smiled, "I'll be fine in a while guys, just give it some time."  
The day mostly passed with Nikki relaxing with her friends but when day turned to twilight, it was just Nikki and Logan. "you know what darlin'?" he asked. "What?" she replied. "It may not have fully worked out this time, but what if we try again? What do you think?" he asked. Nikki grinned, her features lighting up, "You mean-?" "Yeah" he said, "I mean it." She chuckled, "You sure you're ready?" "I am if you are" he smiled and kissed her softly, "I know it won't be like before but..." "I know" Nikki whispered and kissed him back, "this time's different."  
The End

_Wolverine, Wolverina, X-Men, Avengers and A Whole Lot Of Craziness_

_Chapter 1- A New Family Member_  
Nikki smiled, the soft rain falling outside the confines of their bedroom. She kissed Logan softly while he slept and slid out of bed. Nikki couldn't believe it as she walked out of the bathroom in her robe. "Logan, Logan wake up" she whispered, "I have great news." "What?" he grumbled, still mostly asleep. Nikki huffed and sat down on the edge of the bed, "Are you happy?" "I thought you had news" he sighed and sat up. Nikki grinned, "That's better. Logan you were right, I'm gonna have a baby." He was awake as soon as she said that, "You are?" "Yeah" she said, smiling brightly. He pulled her into a tight embrace, Logan smiled and kissed his wife softly. "This is great, we should tell the kids" he said, still holding her against him. Nikki smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, "We will, later, when they won't be so shocked." Logan stroked her hair and whispered, "This time, I'm not letting it out of my sight until it's 13." Nikki laughed, "I love you too."  
Later, Nikki told the New Avengers and the X-Men the awsome news. Laura overheard Nikki telling the others about the baby and she ran upstairs to tell her siblings. "Why are we in your room?" Daken asked bored-ly. "Mom's gonna have a baby!" Laura shouted. "Why another one?" Josh asked, stretching out on her bed. "Where do babies come from?" Vincent asked. "In 9 months go downstairs with mom and dad and you'll find out" Aron said. TBC and next issue- 3 months later.  
_Chapter 2- Busted_  
3 months later  
Logan snuck in the front door to the mansion, he was sore, tired and in no mood to be saving the world when it was most likely he'd get blown up. Again. 'Luke better not called ahead or Nikki's gonna kill me' he thought and crept upstairs. He slid in the bedroom and was sliding his uniform off his still healing chest when he heard her say, "James. Logan. Howlett. Where in god's name have you been?!" "Um...Just out" he said, knowing here came the explosion. "JUST OUT?! JUST OUT?! Luke called to see if you were alright after, oh, what'd he say, YOU'D GOTTEN YOURSELF BLOWN UP!!" Nikki wasn't happy and he could tell but the least he could do was try, "I'm sorry I did that baby, I'm not going next time." She smiled slightly and relaxed a bit, "You better not, the world saving can wait, you have me and our children to take care of right now." Logan smiled a bit and placed his hand on her very pregnant stomach, "I won't, we've got our baby to worry about now." "You know, I'd expect your son to do something so stupid at a time like this but not you" Nikki said, taking his hand in her own. "Why's that?" he asked. "Because he's young and you, my dear husband, are not a teenager anymore, although, at times, you could fool me" Nikki said, her smile showing the joy she held, "Now, be a good husband and get me some cake." "Cake?" he asked, sounding as clueless as he could be at the moment. "Yes, cake, Logan we went thought this once together already, I need sweets" she said, a bit irritated. "Got it" he said and went to get her something sweet.  
Downstairs, Logan felt clueless. 'This must be what I get for this' he thought, 'What sweet things do we have in here? Dammit, Summers is holding out on us, I know it.' "Hey dad" Laura said, "What 'cha doin'?" "Trying to find something sweet for Nikki" he answered. "Come with me" she said, tugging on his hand. When the 2 reached the library, Laura pulled up the window seat, "Holy-" Logan began. There was cake, cheetoes, candy, you name it in the secret compartment. "Why's this here?" he asked. "All girls need it dad, it's the circle of life" Laura replied and sent him on his way. TBC and next issue- 6 months later, the big day arrives! but what does that have in store for the Howletts?  
_Chapter 3- The big day  
_Logan had to be as tired as his wife was, except after 6 excruciatingly long hours, she got to fall asleep. Hank chuckled, "Seeing as Nikki's so tired, would you like to see your son?" Logan smiled as the little blue bundle was placed in his arms. Nikki opened her eyes to see her husband smiling and rocking the baby gently, he almost looked like he would cry. "Hunny, you're so cute with babies" Nikki said, drawing Logan's attention. "What're we gonna name him?" Logan asked. Nikki smiled and took her son in her arms, "I never thought about it" she whispered, "What do you think?" Logan looked at his wife and their baby, "I'm not sure." Before Logan or Nikki had much time to think, Vincent ran in, "Name him Shawn" he said, leaning over to see his little brother. "Shawn?" Logan echoed. "Yeah, Shawn, like the guy from-" "Boy Meets World?" Gorge asked. "Uncle Gorge! Aunt Kim!" Vincent shouted and went to hug them. "Shawn would be a perfect name for him, Shawn Edward Howlett" Nikki said. "Edward?" Logan asked. "What's wrong with Edward?" Nikki asked. "Don'tcha think it's a little too..." "Old! Dad's trying to say nobody's been named Edward in 90 somethin years!" Vincent said. Nikki chuckled, "His middle name is Edward, his full name is Shawn Edward Howlett, Vincent Gregory Howlett." Vincent huffed, he knew when his mom said his full name she meant what she said. "So Nikki, how're you doing?" Kim asked, quickly embracing her friend. "Tired, I just spent the past 6 hours having a kid" Nikki said. "Alesha says that babies come from the baby store, is she kidding or something?" Vincent asked. Gorge stifled a laugh, "Go on, tell your son Logan." Nikki said, "Not now, tell him later, that way he might not be as traumatized." "Huh?" Vincent asked, "Am I missing something here? They don't come from a store do they? Oh crap now I know I shouldn't have asked." Nikki smiled as her son ran out of the room, "You guys tell him, I need to go back to sleep." TBC- and next issue, Logan deals with the baby and Vincent learns where babies really come from all in one day and what happens when Scott Summers finds his way into the insanity? Plus, there's even more to deal with for Scott all next issue.  
_Chapter 4- Truth, diapers and all that's insane_  
2 hours later  
Logan let Nikki sleep while he took care of Shawn. 'He's just been born, he has to be tired right? I can handle this' Logan thought until Shawn looked up at him, about to cry. "Okay, now I'm not sure how she does this" Logan said, then he realized, "Aww, crap. I'm gonna have to change it's diapers? This is just my luck." Meanwhile, while Logan tried to figure out how to put the diaper on, Laura sat down with her little brother. "It's about time someone told you about love and babies" she said, "Now Vincent, do you know anything on this subject?" "A little, Mom and Dad love each other and the had kids. 2 of which are babies, if this is so easy why'd you make me sit here for 20 minutes while you talked to yourself in the bathroom?" Vincent said. His sister looked ready to kill him, "I wasn't talking to myself, I was composing my speech. C'mere and I'll tell you everything." Vincent leaned in and his eyes went bug-eyed, "THEY DO WHAT?!"  
Josh leaned his ear to the door in anticipation with his brothers right behind him. "What'd she say?" Aron asked. "Who cares what SHE said, is he freaking out yet?" Daken asked. Josh stifled a laugh, "He's freaking out big time and she told him the truth." The 3 then collapsed to the floor, laughing uproariously, until a very pale faced Vincent walked out of the room. "I. Hate. You. So much. Right now." he growled through clenched teeth at his brothers, causing them to laugh again. Vincent knew that he was gonna have to plan some way to get them back and he had t choose a first victim. The 3 went their separate ways and Josh and Aron went back to their room. "I can't believe the look on his face, it was priceless!" Josh shouted, strumming his guitar. "Why do I have the worst feeling this is gonna backfire on us?" Aron asked a moment before a cherry bomb went off in his backpack. He jumped and shouted and Josh cracked up laughing, "I didn't do that but I think I know who did and you scream like a girl!" Aron smacked his brother before Josh's bed collapsed. "Crap! Somebody cut the legs off!" he shouted. Now it was Aron's turn to laugh, "Looks like we've been outsmarted by a 9-year-old, what do ya wanna do now?" "Burnout?" Josh asked. "Okay" Aron said. Vincent laughed, his plan was coming together perfectly, now, to get the last of his brothers. Daken was out with Rachel when Vincent snuck in the room and super glued the chair, "This is what you get for messing with me big brother."  
Half an hour later, Daken came back in his room. He sat down in the chair and went on his laptop. About another hour later, he got hungry and attempted to stand up. "You gotta be kidding me" he said, tugging at the chair. "VINCENT!!!" Vincent ran down the hall, laughing like Frankenstein, then he saw Rachel. "Hey Ray" he said. "Hey Vince, is Daken in his room?" she asked. "Yup, but when you help him get free, don't let him come after me okay?" he said. Rachel looked confused and then decided she didn't wanna know. Scott was in the hall when he heard the loudest belch he'd ever heard. Some students sniggered and he looked down to see, he stepped on something that belched. Then, very loudly, it passed gas. The laughter became uncontrollable as several students fell over laughing from the sound of the key chain. Scott sighed, "Logan."  
Logan managed to get the baby to sleep and now Mr. Micro Manager himself, Scott Summers, was walking over to him, clearly pissed. "What is the meaning of this?" Scott asked. "I'm guessing to hold your keys?" Logan said. "Ha ha, no, it belches and passes gas and I know you had something to do with it" Scott said. "How do you know one of the kids didn't try to prank you?" Logan asked. Then the little key chain, blew a puff of blue smoke and Logan knew he better back away, and then, it exploded right in Scott's face. Logan laughed out loud, he was gonna have to thank whoever did that cause they just saved him a lotta trouble. TBC and next issue- what happens when Scott finds out who pranked him and Rachel gets a surprise from Daken's little brother.  
_Chapter 5- The Joys Of Parenthood_  
Nikki walked downstairs later that afternoon to find Josh working on something. "Okay, what're you doing and is it legal?" she asked. "Vincent pranked us, so we're getting him back" Josh said. "We?" Nikki asked. "Well, me, the last prank I had Mr. Summers set off and it nearly blew him up, so I tried something more...subtle" Josh replied. "Once again, is it legal?" Nikki asked. "Not in 5 states and Guam but other than that yeah" Josh said, resuming his work. "Is New York one of those states?" Nikki asked. "No but they've passed a law on it in Brooklyn" Josh replied. "Forget it, I don't wanna know" Nikki said.  
Meanwhile, Rachel came back from the danger room to find a small bouquet of flowers on her bed. "To Rachel, you're the best person I've ever known" she read, "Aww, that's sweet. I bet I know who gave them to me." She smiled and crossed the hall to her boyfriend's room and smiled when she saw him on the computer. "Rach, I know you're there" Daken said. "You're the sweetest, know that?" she asked and kissed him gently. "and you're the best girlfriend in the world" he said, sitting down with her and kissing her back. "I love the flowers" she said. "Flowers?" he asked. "You mean you didn't put them in my room?" she asked. "No...but I would. Wait, somebody else gave you flowers? I'm gonna kill 'im" Daken growled. Rachel smiled, "I'm glad you care so much about me, and don't deny it, I know you do, but I don't think you need to kill anyone for complementing me." Daken smiled back at her, "I'd kill anyone who said you weren't perfect." Rachel grinned mischievously and shut the door.  
Logan and Scott were arguing again when Nikki took Shawn and put him to sleep. "Shut up!" she hissed, "The baby's sleeping!" "Sorry hunny" Logan said. "I know you or one of your hellion kids had something to do with this" Scott whispered angrily and earned a slap from Nikki. "My children are not hellions, I'd expect that from any kid you had with Emma" she growled. Logan smiled and wrapped his arm around Nikki's waist, "Scooter, you need to back off. You can't control your own students, who's to say one of them didn't try to blow you up?" "I know it was one of you Howletts and I'm gonna prove it" Scott said and stormed off. "Wow, he's more moody than Emma during 'that time of the month' "Nikki said. Logan chuckled and kissed her softly, "How'd ya sleep?" "Good, but I kinda missed having you there to keep me warm" she whispered and kissed his cheek. "Well, I gotta tell ya, I don't think I'm the only man in this family that found love" he said. "So you caught that too? I thought I was hearing things" Nikki said. TBC- and next issue, Rachel realizes how much she really cares for Daken and he has a present for her plus Scott can't take it anymore and decides to find out who pranked him.  
_Chapter 6- Revenge because of love_  
Rachel rolled over and snuggled closer to Daken. She let her mind wander as she kept herself close to the only man who'd ever loved her enough not to hurt her in one way or another. "Morning Rach" he whispered, running his fingers through her hair. "Morning Daken" she whispered back, "I want you to know something. No matter who you were before you came here, I love you and I want you to feel the same way about me." "I do" he whispered, "I always have." She looked at the sincerity in his eyes and gave him a kiss, "We should probably get up now."  
Later on that day, Rachel limped upstairs, her ankle hurt and she needed to rest. "Rachel?" Nikki's soft, motherly voice brought unshed tears to Rachel's eyes, "Rachel, are you alright?" "I'll be fine, happens all the time" she said, her voice breaking. She shut the door to her room and examined her ankle, probably another bad sprain along with her other cuts, it looked like she had a rough day in the danger room. "Rachel? You in here?" Daken asked. She jumped up and cried out, crumpling to the floor as her bad ankle gave out under her. "Rachel, baby are you okay?" he asked, taking her in his arms and lifting her onto her bed, "Did someone do this to you?" She broke down crying against his chest while he stroked her hair reassuringly. After she'd calmed down she looked back up at him, "Scott." "Scott what?" he asked, brushing a strand of heir off her face. "Scott was convinced I was hiding who'd pranked him and he took it out on me" she whispered. "He hurt you like this?" Daken asked. "Yes" she whispered. "I need to know you're alright Rach, let me look at that, 'kay?" he asked, his voice gentle. "Go ahead" she said. He touched her swollen ankle gently and she whimpered, biting her lip to keep from crying out in pain. "Broken" Daken said, he looked up to her face, "I want you to let me take care of you okay?" "Okay" she said. He lifted her up and carried her to his step-mom's room. "Nikki?" he called in. "Daken, Rachel what happened?" Nikki asked, Rachel found Nikki's warm, motherly voice to be comforting. "Scott did this to her" Daken said. Nikki's normally green and sliver eyes swirled black for a moment and she growled, "I'll kill him." "Don't" Rachel gasped, "Scott'll make it through and then..." She trailed off a she began crying again while Nikki rubbed her back and Daken held her. "...He'll kill me." she whispered. "No he won't" Daken whispered and drew her close, "We'll keep you safe and I'll be here for you no matter what." "Let me see what he did to you okay? I'm going to patch you up myself" Nikki said. Rachel let Nikki tend to her wounds while Daken got up and left the room. He stormed down to Scott's office, rage blazing in his eyes. "Why did you hurt her?!" he growled at Scott. "The little-" Scott began but Daken cut him off, "I swear to god I'm gonna kill you if you EVER go near her again. We clear?" "She is my daughter and I'll do whatever I want!" Scott shouted and his visor began to glow. "You can try and blast me" Daken growled and sent his claws down, "I'll still cut your head off for hurting her." "Go ahead and try, I wonder if Logan and your step-mommy will try to kill me too?" Scott laughed. Daken raised his claws to Scott's throat, "Not if I do first." Daken thought of ever bruise Rachel had, every cut and her broken ankle and he couldn't help but grin sadistically, "This is for my Rachel."  
Rachel wanted Daken here more than anything and then he walked through the door and wrapped his arms around her. "Killed Scott yet?" Nikki asked. Rachel laughed until she saw neither were smiling, "You're serious?" "Yeah, if he hasn't yet, I will" Nikki said. "If Scott lives to see tomorrow, he gets the message" Daken said, "He's never gonna be able to hurt you again." TBC- next issue- Scott lives! But not if Nikki, Logan and the rest of the Howletts have their way!  
_Chapter 7- Finally_  
Nikki, Logan and Daken made a plan to take care of Scott summers once and for all. Nikki distracted the O.N.E. guard while the boys entered the room. "Hey Scooter, How ya doin'?" Logan asked. "Much better, thanks" Scott replied and sent a massive blast at them. Nikki raced down the corridor to Logan's side. "Okay, this is gonna be harder than we thought" Daken said. Scott walked from the room, visor glowing, and made his way toward the 3. "Hello Nikki" Scott said, "You chose Logan over me, you were just like the others who betrayed us, you looked so much like Jean and yet you made me realize how much I truly hate you and Logan." Scott grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her forward until her face was inches from his, "I'm sorry it had to end this way." He lifted her to her feet and threw her back against the wall. Nikki looked to the boys, Logan was unconscious and Daken was still healing, apparently she was on her own. Scott chuckled, watching the fear cross her face, "Don't worry, it'll only hurt for a moment, then everything will be gone." "No!" she cried and sunk to the floor, using her magic to shield herself. Scott nearly saw her shield as more of a challenge and he pulled her back to her feet and pinned her against the wall. Nikki looked to Logan again, tears clouding her vision, "Please, Scott don't do this." Scott smiled wickedly and threw her against the other wall, knocking her unconscious.  
"Guess it's just you and me now huh boy?" Scott asked Daken. "Leave my parents alone!" Daken shouted and ran at Scott, dodging several blasts. Logan groaned and saw Nikki crumpled against the floor. He moved to her side and touched her face, feeling the blood running from the wound. "Cyke, I'm gonna kill you" Logan whispered and got to his feet. TBC- next issue- Logan will kill Scott for hurting Nikki and what'll happen when she wakes up?  
_Chapter 8- The Death of Cyke and Logan's love_  
Logan advanced on Scott, his mind on Nikki. Daken was slashing at Cyke while dodging blasts, knowing his father could take out Scott. Scott blasted Daken aside and Logan came up behind Scott, "Sorry it had to end this way Cyke!" Logan let the rage take over and he attacked Scott. When his vision cleared, Logan went to Nikki's side, the blood that streamed from the healing wound on her temple was still fresh and he pulled her up against his chest, holding her. "Nikki, baby, wake up" he coaxed her, stroking her hair and holding her gently against him. She groaned in pain and looked up at him, "You take care of Summers?" "Yeah baby, just rest" he whispered and pressed his lips to hers for a brief moment. Logan picked her up into his arms and carried her upstairs. Laying her down on the bed, he tended to her wounds while she slept. Meanwhile, down the hall, Rachel took care of Daken while he healed. "I'm sorry it came to this Rach" he whispered and gently ran his hand through her hair. "It's alright, I still have you don't I?" she said, looking into his eyes. "Yeah, you do" he said, kissing her deeply. Rachel smiled, "You honestly don't think I'm more trouble than I'm worth?" "Of course not" Daken said, "If Scott said that to you, I'm gonna tell you the same thing my dad told Nikki, 'He's an idiot'." Rachel laughed and laid back in his arms, "I wonder if your mom'll resurrect him just so we can kill him again." Daken laughed and got up, taking something out of his jacket pocket, "This is for you, I want you to know I'll always be yours and if you want, you can be mine." Rachel smiled and opened the box, "Oh my god, do you mean...?" "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do this," Daken said, getting ready to ask, "but will you marry me Rachel?" Her eyes clouded with tears and she smiled, "Yes." He slid the ring on her finger and she said, "Wanna go tell your parents?" "If you want to" he said, pulling her into a kiss.  
Nikki smiled at Logan, she felt better already. "Guess what?" Daken said from the door. "What?" Logan asked. Daken put his arm around Rachel's waist and grinned, "We're getting married!" Nikki smiled and so did Logan, "What ever you two do, don't tell my step-sister about the wedding, or you'll seriously regret it" Nikki said. "Congrats you two, why don't you go celebrate?" Logan asked. "We will, we've gotta go give Emma a heart attack first" Rachel said, leaving the room. "I love her" Daken said, smiling and followed her out. Logan smiled at Nikki, "You think Emma'll go White Queen again after all this?" "Yeah, probably" she replied and gave her husband a kiss.  
The End!

**_Wolverina: Origins_**

Chapter 1- Before Wolverina and Wolvie there was Slasher and Wolverine  
The Maruders had faced the X-Men more times than they could count, but not with Slasher on their team. Nikki was strangely beautiful and the moment she slipped into the black leather low-cut catsuit, the guys couldn't keep their eyes off her. Logan the Wolverine was no exception. She fought like nothing the X-Men ever faced and Logan liked watching her move in the skin-tight leather. He cut at her with his claws but she dodged and blocked with her own and he liked her. Nikki's pulse was pounding, her heart fluttering while she watched Wolverine in his yellow and blue spandex that fit like a second skin on him. Her silver-green eyes followed his every move like a penguin to a flashlight. Logan moved to catch her block and pin her against a tree, she looked so tempting, her chest heaving as she panted and her felt drawn to her in some way. She laughed, "I kinda like it when you play rough with me, you're the only babe on this battlefield and you can keep up with me, you wanna go off and show these losers some real fun?" She brushed up against him in all the right places and he really was starting to like her. "Depends, you wanna tell me why you're keeping' me on edge?" he asked, strategically moving so she was the one trying to keep herself together. Surprisingly, she gasped and roughly grasped his shoulders, kissing him deeply. He felt at peace for a moment, this hadn't been the first time Slasher kissed him and to be honest, he was starting to enjoy it. Logan moved his hands so she was at his mercy and he liked it. He broke their kiss, keeping her pinned back and he smiled, "Never trust the enemy darlin', ya never know when I might betray ya." She chuckled and playfully bit his lip, "I'm not afraid of you, you kiss like an angel and fight like a god but you might wanna reconsider our relationship." Nikki and Logan had met at a bar 2 weeks ago and hit it off instantly, then Logan found out her secret, she was Slasher. "Nikki, ya gotta trust me, I'm not gonna hurt ya, I need ya too much" he growled and kissed her. "mmm, later lover, we gotta play nice first" she purred and moved out of his arms.  
Unknown to the couple, Lady Sabretooth watched Logan and Nikki kiss each other and smile. Logan kissed down Nikki's neck when Nikki caught Chloe's scent. "Logan, get out of here!" she growled, "Now!" He laughed against her skin, "Don't want to, let your teammates try to get me, I'll just meet you at the bar later anyway." Nikki giggled and pushed him back a bit, "I've already got a place for us to go after the bar, I'll meet you at 7 'kay?" "I'll miss you" he growled and kissed her deeply. "Miss you too" she purred. TBC.  
Chapter 2- Chocolate covered strawberries  
Nikki smiled as she sat down beside Logan at their usual table in the back of the bar. "So, did your friend freak out when she saw us making out?" Logan asked, wrapping his arm around her waist in the small booth. Nikki giggled, "She was steamed but she knows the guys can't keep their eyes off me, so she assumed you were kissing me and I didn't like it." Logan kissed her, nibbling her lower lip while she slid her arms around his neck. "You dazzle me, know that?" she said breathlessly. Then she noticed what he'd gotten them to eat, "You're such a romantic." He kissed her gently and smiled, "If you say so." Later, Nikki couldn't wait to do what they'd both been waiting for. They took it slow, getting to know almost everything about the other before they'd both decided they wanted to take their relationship to the next level. Logan held her close and kissed her deeply as they reached the room. Her scent made him forget everything else in the world, they needed to be together. Passion ensued between them almost all night or at least until about 3 AM when they fell asleep together.  
In the morning, Logan awoke feeling better than he'd ever felt. He smiled as he watched Nikki sleep, she looked so peaceful he didn't have the heart to tell her what time it was, or get up and get home, instead he just held her close and listened to her heartbeat. Nikki awoke in his arms, knowing that the hardest thing she'd have to do was leave his side today, but if she didn't get back to the camp soon, the others would think she'd been captured or something. "Logan?" she whispered, "What time is it?" "11:30" he answered, brushing her hair off her face. "11:30! why'd you let me sleep so long?! Sinister's gonna kill me..." she said, trying to get up but Logan held her there. "Don't worry, what's a little while gonna do? They already know you go off for days at a time like I do, so why don't we?" he asked, kissing her gently. "What're you talking about? Run away together?" she asked between his kisses. "Maybe, you can pack up and we'll meet someplace and get outta here" he said. "You wanna go somewhere with me? Your archenemies? So what'll I tell 'em? I'm going' to a tea party with bigfoot and the tooth fairy?" she asked playfully, "Maybe even Elvis'll show up with the Mars men." Logan laughed, "This is one of the reasons why I love you." "You love me?" Nikki asked, her eyes widening. "Yeah, I do, and ya can't stop me from lovin' you, all I want is to know you feel the same way 'bout me" he said. "I do love ya, I just couldn't tell anyone I did" she said, she felt like she was soaring, he loved her back! "Let's try to get together like this more often" Logan chuckled, "I like begin' with ya darlin', you're my girlfriend now, we should get out, away from battles." Nikki smiled, "That sounds perfect." TBC

Chapter 3- Captured!  
Nikki raced along the roof of the Xavier mansion, she had to see Logan again. She swung down gracefully into his room, landing on his bed and for a moment, she bounced on the edge, expecting to hear him approaching. 'Great' she thought, 'He's not here, guess I'm just gonna have to wait.' She looked around the room, walking around and randomly picking up books and flipping through them. "Logan? You here?" a voice asked. Nikki didn't have time to think because Emma Frost walked through the door before she could move. Nikki darted for the window and Emma sent a telepathic surge at Nikki. Emma's mind was racing, Slasher was here, probably looking for a fight with Logan, and now she'd be caught by the rest of the team if Emma couldn't hold her. Nikki jumped and caught hold of a tree branch, swinging herself upright just as a little girl with 2 toned hair zipped up to her. "Um...I'm gonna have to ask you to stay please" the kid said timidly. "What kinda superhero are you? You're just a kid" Nikki said. The girl's eyes darted around, "Well, I, um... I'm Pixie." She held out her hand like she'd met a new friend on the playground and Nikki smiled, taking her hand, "Slasher, now, little one, can you take me to Wolverine?" Then a large red blast knocked Nikki out of the tree. Pixie zipped down and put her hand on Nikki's shoulders, "Are you alright?" "Pixie, get back!" Nikki recognized Cyclops's voice. Nikki suddenly felt tired and collapsed to the ground again, Cyclops sounded distant when she heard him say, "Thanks Emma." Nikki awoke in an interrogation room with Cyke standing over her and she wondered where Logan was. "Why are you here?" Cyke asked. "I could ask you the same thing" Nikki shot back, "Now where is here anyway?" "The mansion, and I'm asking the questions here Slasher" Cyke said. "That why they put you in that dorky uniform? You look like a dark blue string-bean" she replied. The other guy at the table stifled a laugh, "She's got a point Scott." "Shut up Time Warrior" Cyke replied. "Can I call you 'Scotty'?" Nikki asked, a smile playing her lips. "This is Time Warrior, he's-"Cyke began, only to be cut off, "Call me Tw, easier to remember."  
"Tw and Scotty, nice meeting ya but where's Wolverine?" Nikki asked. "Logan's out, I'll handle you for now" Scott said. "I'm not that kinda girl, we just met" Nikki said, grinning, she liked making this moron feel even stupider. "Cyke, I'll take over here, Gorge scram" Logan said, walking in. "Don't kill her" Gorge joked and walked out. "Cyke, out. Now." Logan growled. "No, anything you can say to her, you can say in front of me" Scott said. "Not everything Captain Loser" Nikki said, slouching back like a prisoner. Logan pulled the handcuffs forward so she could sit more comfortably and turned to face Scott, "Out. Now." Scott left and Logan leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on her lips, "You can't go a day without getting yourself in trouble can you?" "Not when you're not around to save me" she purred and kissed him back. "Not here, Scooter might be watching us" Logan said, "You alright?" "Better now that you're here, bust me outta here and we can give Scotty somethin' to watch" Nikki purred. Logan undid her handcuffs, "You better get outta here and meet me in my room or else Cyke may walk in on us." "Don't we both have bigger problems than Cyke right now?" she asked, sniffing the air. "What do you mean?" Logan asked. "My team called in a friend of mine and I know you know him" Nikki said, "It's you that better run this time." "Who?" Logan asked. "Try and see who's scent you can't catch" Nikki said, hopping off the table and rubbing her wrists. "You gotta be kidding me" Logan said. "Wish I was" Nikki replied, "I got an idea. I'll make it look like I'm busting out when they came, I'm not gonna hurt you, just, uh...play dead."  
Nikki adjusted her gloves and strode out of the room after giving Logan a good-bye-for-now kiss to find that, in fact, LS, LM, Scalphunter and Daken were there. "When'd you show up?" Nikki asked Daken. "After I got outta the scrap with my dad, besides, isn't this the second time you needed my help?" "Quit being' such a showoff" Nikki replied. "If the shoe fits..." he said, smiling back at her. "Wise guy" Nikki muttered, and stalked off down the hall with them behind her. TBC  
Chapter 4- When The Bad Go Good, The Others Go Running Away  
Nikki smiled at Logan's sleeping form, she'd missed him last night, but her team expected her to stay for the night and she needed to see Logan's face again. 'Does he always look this adorable when he sleeps?' she thought, tenderly kissing his cheek. She pushed a strand of hair off his face and smiled as he seemed to relax in his sleep. "I love you" she whispered. "Love you too" Logan said, awakening at the sound of Nikki's voice. "Hey sexy, miss me?" Nikki said, leaning down to kiss him as the dawn light came through the now open window. "Yeah, so how'd things go over on your edge of the woods?" he asked, taking her hand and letting her lay down beside him while he held her against him. "I finally fell asleep at about 2 in the morning, after I stopped 'catching up' with my team and god does LM save a mouth on her, she finally put me to sleep with all her yapping', well...not just me, everyone really" Nikki said, "So, how bad did Scotty freak out?" "Pretty bad, especially after it turned out that my son showed up again later and asked to be part of the team, I thought Cyke was gonna have a heart attack! Plus, I think Scott's daughter has a thing for him" Logan said, laughing at the memory of Scott's face at that moment. "I think I might join you guys over here" Nikki said, "I brought most of my stuff already, I only have 1 bag left and it's only a backpack." Logan looked up to see 2 duffel bags on the floor at the base of the window. "Well, if ya don't mind living' here with everybody then I guess I can't stop you huh?" he asked, gently kissing her. "Nope, I already share a bathroom with at least 20 other people and you do NOT wanna have to know why I want to move here so badly" Nikki said. "To be close to me?" Logan asked. "That and, you guys have indoor plumbing" Nikki said, laughing. "Please tell me you're not serious" Logan said, "This must be why you like to go out." "Yup, hit the nail on the head there lover" Nikki said, kissing Logan deeply and a bit roughly. Logan grinned, "Well, go get the other bag and I'll move you in, plus I think I might be able to give summers a heart attack if he finds us together after you move in." Nikki smiled and kissed Logan one last time, but not before he smacked her bum, making her grin as she hopped up on the window ledge. "I'll be back" she purred and hopped out the window.  
That afternoon, Nikki returned to see Logan again and instead, was caught by Pixie in the tree. "Hi" Pixie chirped, happy to see her 'friend' again. "Hey, Pixie, right?" Nikki asked. "Well my codename's Pixie, but my real name's Megan, Megan Gwynn" Pixie said and held out her hand yet again. Nikki shook it and simply said, "Nikki, just Nikki." "Like Mr. Logan's 'just Logan'?" Megan asked, flitting around. "Look, can you just come sit in the tree so nobody knows I'm here" Nikki said, getting a bot annoyed with the kid. "Okay!" Megan said and plopped down in front of Nikki. "I gotta ask" Nikki said, "Why do you like me? I'm not one of the god guys. Yet." "You're just like Mr. Logan and among us kids, it's no secret you two are together, we can see it" Pixie began, "and you do wanna be one of us, just like Mr. Logan's son who just moved in yesterday! I think you and Mr. Logan were meant for each other, c'mon, move in already!" Nikki wasn't accustomed to little kids telling her what to do, but it helped to know she had someone's support. "If I do" Nikki said, "You have to trust me and help let me stay when Cyke freaks out okay?" "Anything for you, Ms. Nikki" Megan said, squeezing Nikki in a hug that really shouldn't have hurt, but did. "Megan" Nikki choked, "Let go of me. Can't breath." Pixie let go and blushed bright pink, "So I'll see you later?" "Sure kid, I'll be back before dusk" Nikki said, smiling at Pixie and jumping from the tree to the ground below. TBC  
Chapter 5- How does love overcome everything? (the missing scene from my first story, after the Maruders found out about Nikki's 'betrayal' to their team and Logan found her)  
Logan paced back and forth, waiting for some news from Hank about Nikki. There was no doubt in his mind now, he loved her unlike he'd loved any other woman, Nikki was special, different, it didn't matter what everyone else thought, she was perfect to him. "Mr. Logan?" Pixie asked, "Are you okay?" Logan sat down and motioned Pixie to the chair beside him, "I know you talked to Nikki before, I want you to help me with the others. They won't let her stay after she's healed because Cyke'll come up with some stupid excuse everyone'll buy 'cept me, I need you to tell them what she really is, a hero, just like us." Pixie stared at Logan and her eyes watered, "Is Nikki gonna be alright?" "I don't know" Logan whispered. Pixie sobbed softly and dropped onto Logan's arm, crying dejectedly. "Pix-Megan, she'll be fine, we both know Hank, he'll take care of her." "Who're you trying to convince, me or yourself?" she snapped. Logan sighed, "I don't know kid, both maybe." Pixie looked up at Logan and smiled, "So she'll be okay?" "She better or I'm gonna go over there and massacre the Maruders" Logan said. "Me too! Me too!" Pixie shouted. Logan chuckled, her happiness was contagious, "You're a good kid Meg, don't let anybody tell ya different." "Logan? Pixie? You can go see her if you want" Hank said, stepping out of the room. Pixie kept her eyes down for a moment until she walked in, Nikki looked tired and mostly happy to see them, "I've been waiting' for you 2 to show up." "Sorry, darlin', Hank didn't let us in 'till just now" Logan said, gently kissing her cheek. "Are you okay?" Pixie asked softly and Nikki smiled, "Yeah, C'mere Megan, I managed to get somethin' for ya." Nikki held out her open plan and Megan grinned, a necklace! A glittering gold necklace in the shape of a butterfly shone up at Pixie and between her childish glee and wanting to thank Nikki, Pixie was looking back and forth like a parrot. Logan smiled and whispered so only Nikki could hear, "Where'd you get the necklace?" Nikki smiled and whispered back, "You don't wanna find out."  
Pixie was jumping for joy outside Mr. Summers office later while Nikki sat patently watching Pixie jump up and down excitedly. "Okay so you go in for 10 minutes and suddenly I'm an X-girl?" she asked and Pixie nodded excitedly, "Heck yeah! I want you to stay around, you're, like, the coolest person I know!" Nikki chuckled and sat back while Pixie started flying, or more like flitting, back and forth as though she were pacing. Scott stormed out like he'd been stepped on, shooting Nikki a look that would peel paint and Nikki just waved and grinned brightly. "So..that's what he looks like under the mask? Now I know why he wears one" Nikki said and Pixie collapsed laughing, this was gonna be the start of a beautiful friendship.  
**The End and Next up- Wolverina First Class!**

_**Wolverina: First Class**_

Chapter 1- A Pixie in Trouble  
Pixie loved Nikki like a sister but this was just too much! Running through the woods with the sound of Nikki and Lady Sabretooth's scrap behind her, Megan Gwynn aka Pixie could only wonder how long until Nikki caught up with her. The moment LS jumped down from the trees, Nikki told Megan to run and keep going but now it seemed impossible. A loud roar of anguish was heard and Pixie could only hope that wasn't Nikki. Pixie leaned against a rock desperately trying to catch her breath when a hoarse voice form nowhere said, "So you're Runtett's sidekick, how cute." Pixie turned and gasped as she saw Lady Sabretooth herself, Nikki nowhere in sight. "Oh god" Megan whimpered and for a moment debated weather to crawl into a ball or not. Then as LS was about to take a step, Pixie screamed as Nikki's claws ripped the other woman through. "Megan, I'm alright and she'll be too, we should get you outta here" Nikki said, her voice gentle. Pixie wanted to cry and run to hug Nikki at the same time and instead threw her arms around Nikki's waist and sobbed into her shirt. "C'mere kid, don't cry" Nikki whispered, rubbing Pixie's back. Pixie stopped and looked at Nikki, her eyes turning furious, "What were you thinking?! You could've gotten yourself killed!" Nikki smiled and laughed, "Sorry, but you're just so Tink-ish when you're angry." Pixie glared at Nikki and stormed off through the underbrush, not even watching where she stepped.  
Later on, Pixie really regretted that. She itched all over because if the stupid flamin' poison ivy! Nikki stood in the door in her normal clothes and chuckled as Pixie attempted to itch that one spot on her back she could never reach. "Oh will you stop laughing and help me here?!" Pixie shouted. Nikki laughed and sat down beside her, "This is what you get for not watching where you step." Pixie wanted to just growl and go take it out on the danger room like MR. Logan did when he got angry at Mr. Summers but Nikki was sitting there with something in her lap that made Pixie curious. "What's that?" she asked. "It's kinda a 'sorry' present, I thought you could use it right now" Nikki said. Pixie sighed and took the magazine in her hand and used to edge to itch her poison ivy. "Thanks, but you know, I could really use a backscratcher right now too" Pixie said and leaned on Nikki. "Sorry again, but it WAS kinda your fault for storming off like that" Nikki said. "Hey are you here to talk or help me here?" Pixie asked, making Nikki laugh. Maybe being friends with her Nikki wasn't gonna be too bad, yet. TBC

Chapter 2- Boredom and a sugar rush (Inspired by Rend)  
Pixie and Nikki had been 'bonding' the past few days while Pixie got over her poison ivy, 'bonding' meaning sitting around watching movies and occasionally going outside. Pixie sighed and leaned back, Logan came to see Nikki. At this point, between the pouring rain outside and the fact that Nikki and Logan were making out somewhere, Pixie felt even more depressed than she had in a while. She touched the necklace Nikki gave her and sighed again, there was nothing to do today! Pixie walked into the kitchen and picked up the kool-aid, if anything, she should get something to drink.  
An hour later, Nikki came downstairs to see Pixie jumping on the couch with blasting Fall Out boy. "Megan? What're you doing?" Nikki asked. "C'!"Pixie shouted. "What?" Nikki asked. "C'mon, pull. up. a. cup. and. sugar. rush. with. me." Pixie said, nearly vibrating. "How much of this stuff did you drink already?" Nikki asked, taking the cup of blue stuff out of Pixie's hands. "Gimmekool-aid!" Pixie shouted, grabbing for the cup. "Okay! No more sugar for you!" Nikki said, taking Pixie by the cooler and taking her over to her room, tossing her in and locking the door. Pixie humphed, "I wanna get some more Kool-aid." TBC (Sorry, it's rainy here and I had writers block)  
Chapter 3- Two of a kind  
Nikki blazed in, she was very obviously angry and she wasn't speaking to anybody but Logan unless it was to snap a reply at them. Pixie tried as she might, but Nikki wasn't brightening up. Logan walked into the room he shared with Nikki to find her, very angrily, ripping something up practically into confetti. "Darlin', you okay?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. "How am I supposed to be okay?!" she shouted, "ugh, You're one of the very few good things in my life, you know that Logan?" "What's going' on?" he asked. Nikki layed down across the bed and said into the pillow, "I hate my family." "What do they have to do with anything?" Logan asked, "I thought you didn't remember them." "I don't, and you know what? They found me, sent me a letter to come to my mom's wedding, I know for a fact my dad was not the kinda guy you could replace" Nikki said. Logan understood, "You don't want her to get married do you?" "I don't even know them anymore so why would I even bother with them?!" Nikki said, anger showing in her silver-green eyes. Logan chuckled, "Nikki, I think you should talk to someone who knows what to say." "Like who? Pixie doesn't know anything about this kinda stuff" Nikki said, looking at Logan from the pillow. "You know my son right? Go talk to him, he knows what you're dealing with" Logan said. Nikki stood and kissed Logan gently, "He doesn't hate you anymore, it wasn't you're fault anyway."  
Nikki smiled as she knocked on Daken's door, "Hey, can I come in?" Daken smiled and set down his notebook, "Yeah, sure, what's up?" Nikki handed him the remains of the letter and he nearly laughed out loud, "So THIS is why you're acting like you have a thorn in your foot, I should've seen this coming." "Huh?" Nikki said, a bit confused. "Nikki, you've known me longer than you've known my dad, I know you, I should've seen this coming, you're rarely upset and when you are it's usually something anybody could figure out. Just wait, you'll remember them someday and when that day comes, talk to them then" Daken said, "You know you can come talk anytime right? I've still got your six." "Yeah, me too" Nikki sighed. "Promise?" Daken asked, trying his best attempt at pouting. Nikki laughed, "Promise." TBC (A/N I've got your six is something WW 2 pilots would say to one another when they were watching each other's backs, Nikki taught Daken that from when she did some espionage in WW 2)  
Chapter 4- Girl Talk  
Pixie saw Nikki and ran over to where she was standing. "Hey Nikki!" Pixie chirped brightly. Nikki sighed and leaned against the doorway, her eyes distant. "What cha Lookin' at?" Pixie asked. "Perfection" Nikki said softly, still staring into the room. Then Pixie realized where they were standing, "Hey, isn't this the gym?" "Isn't he perfect?" Nikki sighed, swooning against the doorframe. Pixie looked in, "All I see is a bunch of guys working out." "I'm talking about Logan" Nikki said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Logan, Kurt and Peter were talking as they lifted wight's and Nikki's eyes followed Logan's every move as though he was the most perfect being in the world and to her, he is, was and always would be. Pixie laughed, "You and Mr. Logan really do make a cute couple, I wonder if you'll marry him." "I'd love to" Nikki said, "I'd be the wife of the single most perfect man in the world." "Well...he is kinda hot" Pixie said. Nikki gave her a look, "As long as you understand he's my man, I can say this, 'Kinda hot?' he ain't 'kinda hot' he's absolutely rip-that-outfit-off-sexy!" Pixie nearly doubled over laughing, "You got it bad."  
Logan noticed his girlfriend's scent and smiled. "Logan?" Kurt asked. "I think I gotta go, my girlfriend's wanting' me" Loan said. "Is she calling or can you just tell?" Peter asked. "Pete, I ain't talking' about needing' me to help her, I'm talking' about the OTHER want" Logan said. Peter flushed and Kurt laughed out loud, "How you managed to get such a woman, I'll never know, go on! Go have some fun! God only knows we'll walk by and hear it." Logan laughed as he walked toward Nikki smiling widely and Pixie doubled over laughing. "Hey darlin'" Logan said, "Wanna go have some fun?" Nikki blushed and smiled, "Course I do, I can't deny perfection." Pixie stifled her giggles, Nikki was practically purring and if Logan was any more forward about where he'd go with Nikki, there wouldn't be any kids in the house. Nikki took Logan's hand and grinned mischievously, "Lead the way lover." Pixie stared after them, she was gonna have to talk to the Professor about who she got paired with next time, hopefully someone who didn't have a boyfriend she could be with all day. Pixie gasped and a lightbulb turned on in her head, "Oh Cessily!" Fin

**Vengeance Of The Wolf**

Chapter 1- Surprises  
"Are we there yet? Are we there yet?!" Sal shouted, bouncing in his seat like a kid. "For the last time, WE ARE NOT THERE YET!" Jake shouted. "We're here" Sam said calmly from the driver's seat. "NIKKI!" Sal shouted and ran over to his best friend, lifting her off the ground and swinging her in the air. "Sal! Put me down!" Nikki shouted. "Who's he?" Vincent asked his mom when she was back on the ground. "Vincent, this is Sal, Sal, this is my son Vincent" Nikki said. "Wow, you've been busy" Sal said and Nikki smacked him on the shoulder. "OW! What was that for?!" Sal shouted as Jake and the rest of the pack piled out of the car. Leah was the first to hug Nikki while she was on the ground, followed by the rest of the pack. "I have some people for you to meet, I don't think you ever met all of my kids" Nikki said, her eyes shining, "Everybody, these are my kids. Daken, my stepson, is the oldest, Sal, you've met my son Aron and my daughter Alesha, these are my sons Josh and Vincent, my stepdaughter Laura, and the babies, Gabrielle and Shawn." The pack looked at her and Jake said, "So you have your own little pack huh?" Jake got smacked by most of the pack and Nikki laughed, "You could say that."  
Logan walked downstairs, seeing Nikki's friends in the living room with all of the kids. "Hey Sal, long time no see" Logan said, wrapping his arm around his wife's waist. "Somebody's territorial" Embry whispered, earning a smack upside the head from Sam. Nikki laughed, "You don't have to be overprotective Logan, I'm all yours." She wrapped her arms around Logan's neck and gave him a deep kiss. The guys of the pack whistled and stomped their feet but the girls just looked to one another embarrass. "They always do that" Emily said, gently nudging Sam back to reality. "Sorry hun" Sam said, kissing Emily's cheek and turning to the pack, "All of ya, SHUT UP!" "That's effective" Aron said. "Dude, do you even know what you just said?" Josh asked. "Yes, I do, I read" Aron said. Josh mimicked him and said, "You can be such a dork." "MOM! Josh just called me a dork!" Aron shouted. "Ya see what I mean?" Josh replied. "See what you do?!" Leah shouted, smacking her cousin-in-law in the head. With that the boys cracked up laughing, including the Howletts. "What've I gotten myself into?" Nikki asked herself out loud. TBC  
Chapter 2- Dark Wolf Returns!  
The woods were dark yet the mid-April moonlight bathed the trees in a white glow. Dark Wolf paced back and forth, the last time he'd fought the Lupine mates, his army had been destroyed. Dark Wolf raced through the forest, stopping at the mansion to watch the pack and the lupine mates. He grinned evilly, the mates had cubs! They had a weakness! Dark Wolf continued grinning as he loped off into the forest to gather what forces he could, the lupines would pay.  
Logan wrapped his arms around Nikki's waist while she washed the dishes after dinner. "You're a great cook darlin'" he said, nuzzling her cheek. Nikki smiled, "Love you." She gave him a gentle kiss and leaned against his chest while she finished the dishes. "Mom?" Vincent asked, "Sal said you almost left dad for him, is he lying?" Nikki broke down laughing, "I'll be right back." Logan looked to his son until he heard Sal shout, "OW! What was that for?!" Nikki walked back in and smiled to her son, "Go see what he says now." Logan grinned and pulled his wife into a deep kiss, "I love you darlin'." Nikki smiled but then her mood changed, in an instant she was ready to fight, "Logan, Dark Wolf's here." Logan growled, "Darlin' go check on the kids, tell the pack he's here." Nikki raced into the other room, "Kids, go upstairs and stay in Laura's room, guys, Dark Wolf's back." "Mom what's going on?" Alesha asked. "Go upstairs into Laura's room and stay in there until I come get you" Nikki replied and picked up Gabrielle and Shawn, taking them upstairs.  
Once her children were in the room with Laura, Nikki, Logan, Daken and the pack were defending the others. "So you are a pack?" Jake growled, morphing into his wolf form. "In a way" Nikki said, sniffing the air for some sign of Dark Wolf. "He'll be back" Sam said, "He left but he'll be back, I guarantee it." TBC  
Chapter 3- Roses are red and so is blood  
Nikki convinced her children to stay together for the remainder of the night with Laura watching over them. The pack slept downstairs and Daken went to his room as well. After hours of rough passion, Nikki lay against Logan's chest at half past midnight. "I'm worried about the kids, Dark Wolf would target them to get to us" Nikki whispered. Logan took her in his arms and gently kissed her, "They'll be fine, he tries to get anywhere near our kids and we rip 'im apart." Nikki nuzzled her mate's neck, "I love you." Logan smiled and gently caressed her cheek as she fell asleep, "Love you too darlin'." Her warm breath on his neck felt good and Logan started to wonder why everything threatened the good things in his life, his wife, his children, his friends, why them? Logan let one hand fall over the edge of the bed while his other rested on his wife's back. A soft lick on his hand made him smile, Nikki loved the little dog Cadie like another child, which was exactly why the dog had it's basket right at the side of the bed. Logan looked over at the little brown and white puff-ball and sighed, "We'll fight for you too Cadie, if only because Nikki loves ya." The little dog settled in it's basket and Logan settled in bed, quickly falling asleep.  
Nikki awoke to the joyful birdsongs of 9 AM, Logan was still sleeping but she didn't much care, she could lay in bed all day if it came to that. Cadie barked softly and Nikki smiled. She slid out of bed and out on her robe, opening the door to the hall way. Cadie ran to Laura's room and started clawing at the door and barking softly, as if not to wake Logan up. Nikki knocked softly at the door, "Josh, it's your turn to take Cadie for a walk." Josh opened the door and walked out with the leash, not bothering to even fix his hair, "Stay close to the mansion okay, and let her enjoy the spring. Especially near Mr. Summer's room" Nikki said. Josh smiled and hooked Cadie up to her leash while running a hand through his hair, "Got it mom and if any werewolves show up that aren't supposed to be here I tear 'em up right?" Nikki laughed, "If you want." Nikki slid back into the bedroom and smiled at Logan's sleeping form, "Hunny, time to get up." "10 more minutes babe" Logan muttered and Nikki laughed. "I swear you're just like Josh in the mornings, c'mon up an' at 'em" she said, playfully tugging him awake. Logan growled and pulled her onto the bed, kissing her deeply, "I said 10 more minutes." Nikki grinned playfully, "Then I guess you need me to stop distracting you." She gently nibbled his ear and he chuckled, "You got me, I'm up now, besides I can't sleep with you awake now can I?" Logan kissed his wife before getting out of bed. He got an idea while he was getting dressed, "Oh darlin', still need these?" he chuckled, displaying her undergarments. Nikki flushed and took them from his hand, "I'm gonna get you for that." She smiled and took something out from under the sheets. "Gimmie that" Logan growled and gently smacked Nikki's bum, making her giggle. "So I guess we're even?" she said. "Should be" Logan said, "But I'm still gonna tell you're friend somethin'." "As long as you aren't threatening him, I'm fine with it." Logan smiled, slipping something into his shirt pocket, "Okay, I won't darlin'." (A/N, I just had to write some romantic fluff, next chapter will have more action)  
Chapter 4- Threats and the army  
Logan smiled as he slid the lacy undergarment into Sal's jacket, Nikki was gonna kill him and Logan was gonna grab front row seats to it. "Sal when'd you get these?!" Jake shouted and Nikki's face turned a shade of dark pink Logan had never seen before. "Nikki, I swear, I've never seen these before in my life even if I've wanted to" Sal said. Nikki growled and walked forward slowly, "Just. Give. Those. Here." Logan was on the verge of laughing uncontrollably and then he did when Jake shouted, "Sal's a panty stealer!" Nikki couldn't suppress a laugh as the pack cracked up laughing and Logan was doubled over with tears running down his face, Sal just picked up the discarded underwear and attempted to put it in his pocket. "Give me that!" Nikki shouted, causing everyone to laugh harder. Logan stopped laughing to face Sal, "You ever admit what you just said again" Logan's claws came down, "and I'll turn you into a woman." Sal's face turned white, "I swear you're still the luckiest man in the world." "Yeah" Logan said, "I am, but you still don't admit you want my wife, not while I'm alive."  
Dark Wolf assembled what forces he could, which wasn't much, to fight the lupines and the pack. Dark Wolf trotted into his tent and smiled when he saw who sat there, "ah, My son, how I've longed for this moment." Jacob rose to his feet, "Cut the crap, Billy told me he wasn't my father so I figured it had to be you. You want Nikki out of the picture?" "I understand she's your friend-" Dark Wolf began. "She isn't my friend, she's a Cullen" Jacob said, "and call me Jake. I know how you can kill her and I want in, anything to make the Cullens suffer for taking my Bella and making her a leech like them." "What about the lupine male?" Dark Wolf said. "I'll handle Logan, he'll never let his mate be harmed unless we can give him a choice" Jake said, grinning evilly. "What do you have in mind my boy?" his father asked. "The children, Logan would never let his children die, not if he could help it" Jake growled. Dark Wolf smiled and got on his hind feet, "You've done well my son, make me proud."  
Nikki felt it in her soul, something was going to happen, "Logan, don't trust Jacob. Keep the kids in the room with Laura, Jake's going to do something." "What's going to happen?" Logan whispered, taking his wife's hand and steadying her. "Logan" she gasped, "He's Dark Wolf's son! He wants to make you choose between saving me and saving our children. The pack doesn't know anything about this, god Logan." Nikki collapsed into Logan's open arms, her eyes had turned gold while she used her magic to find all this out, tears were now streaming down her pale cheeks from he now normal eyes. "It's okay baby, I'm not gonna let Jake get to our kids, or you, I'm gonna fight him myself" Logan whispered. "No, Logan please!" Nikki sobbed, "Don't! Dark Wolf'll kill you if Jacob doesn't!" Logan gently held his wife against him while her sobs quieted, "I won't darlin', I'm not gonna fight them alone but I sure ain't bringing' you or any of the kids along with me." TBC  
Chapter 5- Screams of torment in the woods  
Nikki sighed after putting the kids to bed that night, Logan would leave with the X-Warriors in the morning, that meant she only had tonight to convince him not to go without her. Logan was sitting outside under the glow of the full moon when Nikki approached. "Darlin' you know how beautiful you look at night?" he whispered, drawing her closer to him. "Logan, I want to make you a deal" she whispered, her eyes darkening for a moment, "I know how you want to live like me, be a...a monster like this, a vampire, I'll grant you that wish if you either don't go or take me with you." Logan looked at her, "You would? Darlin' I don't want you getting' hurt." "Logan I don't want you to be a monster like me but if it's what you really want then I'll give you that, I just don't want to think about you on the battlefield without me" Nikki said, the wind sent several strands of her crimson hair across her face. "You're not a monster" Logan whispered, "You're beautiful and sweet, caring and selfless, if either of us is the monster then it's me. I could never see you as anything more than you really are, my beautiful wife Nikki, who I'll love forever." Nikki let a few tears run down her face, but she leaned in to kiss him anyway.  
Jacob looked behind him to his father and Dark Wolf gestured forward to Nikki and Logan, sitting under the moonlight kissing as humans would. Logan was a good man and Jake wouldn't let her turn him into a leech like her. Jake moved forward with utter swiftness and pulled Nikki back. The shock of being pulled back startled Nikki, she let her guard down at the wrong moment. Nikki felt the wolf behind her and Logan was growling at it. Nikki trembled, she couldn't let Logan fight this thing. She gathered a blast in her hand, her magic could outdo this thing, and she let the blast fire. Jake howled in pain, dropping Nikki to the ground and clutching his injured leg. "Nikki!" Logan shouted, pulling her against his chest. "Logan we have to get out of here!" Nikki gasped. Jake roared in anger and leapt at the two, Nikki quickly gathered another blast to hit Jacob back. She held her blast until Jake ran off in his wolf form, smoking from the blast. Suddenly lightheaded, she fell back into Logan's arms. "I'll be fine, I just used too much magic too fast" she panted. Logan smiled, "I'll let you come with as long as you don't do that again, I don't need you passing out on me darlin'." Nikki smiled, "Then I guess I owe you my end of our bargain." Logan picked her up gently and carried her inside, "Tomorrow, we'll celebrate that too after we win." TBC

Chapter 6- The Magic of The X-Warriors  
Logan smiled at his wife as she finished suiting up for battle. "Hey, Logan, wake up man" Gorge said, "You really got it bad for her huh?" "Can't help it Gorge, I love her" Logan said. Gorge laughed, "Same way I feel about Kim." Nikki walked over to her husband and kissed him deeply, making Gorge laugh. "What was that for?" Logan asked, holding Nikki against him. "I just want you to know how much I love you before tonight, then you probably won't believe it" she said. Logan chuckled and kissed her gently. "What's she talking about Logan?" Deadpool asked. "It's none of your business Wilson" Logan growled. "C'mon Logan you can tell us anything" Warpath said. Nikki looked away for fear they'd hate her for it, "Nikki's gonna make me like her" Logan said. All eyes went to Nikki, she looked away. "What is everybody freaking out about?" Wade asked, "Sure Nikki isn't exactly normal but are the rest of us either?" "That was deep for somebody who tried to kill my husband" Nikki muttered. "Sorry about that but hey I got paid for it" Dp said. Nikki didn't look happy when she looked up at him, "If anything's worth it, my son should've hit you so hard you flew into the Shi'air galaxy." "That's not a standing offer is it?" DP asked, "If it is, how much do I have to give you to call it off?" Nikki smiled and it scared them, "There ain't a force on earth that could make me change my mind Wilson, unless Logan wanted me to."  
Gorge looked at Logan, "Dude, your wife is starting' to freak me out." "She's just angry, let her attack Jake when we get there and she'll be fine" Logan said. Everyone looked to one another as Logan said that, "If this is what she's like angry I don't wanna know what she's gonna be like when we get there" DP said. "Shut it Wilson" Logan growled and board the jet with Nikki and Gorge. TBC  
Chapter 7- X-Warriors Vs Dark Wolf and his army  
Nikki was prepared for a fight since they left. Logan watched her pace back and forth in the jet with a small smile, "Logan is she always like this when she wants to kill somebody?" Deadpool asked. Logan growled at Deadpool, "She can if she wants to be." "..and now we know why she married you" Wade said. Nikki shot DP a look that if looks could kill, DP would be a puddle on the floor. "Relax darlin', everything's gonna be fine" Logan said, "Then we get to celebrate afterwards." "Well we all love hearing that don't we?" Dp asked. Nikki sent her claws down and Logan held her back, "If it wasn't for Logan I would've run to the little boy's room" Wade chuckled at his own joke. "Give me 5 seconds Wilson..." Nikki growled. "We're here!" Gorge yelled and Nikki sprinted off the jet.  
When the X-Warriors left the jet, Nikki had already totaled half the army and was making her way for Jacob. "Nikki really must hate him now huh?" Wade asked. "Not as much as I hate you right now" Logan growled. "Well someone's very touchy-feely today" Wade said. "Keep it up Wilson and I'm gonna turn my claws on you" Logan growled at Wade. The army was almost completely totaled when Jake and Nikki started fighting each other. "Logan doesn't deserve to be stuck with you!" Jake shouted. "He loves me and I love him back!" Nikki cried. "How am I supposed to know you're not controlling him like your brother controlled my Bella?!" "I wouldn't do that to him!" Nikki cried, "I don't even want him to be like me!" Dark Wolf came up behind the two fighting and Nikki let Jake flip her over so Dark Wolf hit him instead of her. "Will somebody help me over here!" Nikki shouted. "I'm here darlin'!" Logan shouted. Nikki fought like she'd never fought before to get to her Logan. "Logan!" she cried as Jake knocked her back to the edge of the nearby cliff. "If you even think you're going to corrupt him like that, you're insane!" Jake shouted and threw her over the edge. Logan darted to the edge and grabbed Nikki's hand, "Nikki! Hold on!" Gorge and the others turned to see Logan holding Nikki to the surface. "Logan I can't hold on!" Nikki cried. "Can you fly?" he asked down to her. "Fly?!" Nikki shouted, "I can't fly, I never learned how!" Logan pulled her up while Jacob's grip slipped on her foot. Dark Wolf charged behind Logan, running to save his son. "Logan duck!" Nikki shouted. He did and Dark Wolf fell over, taking Jacob down with him. Without the extra weight, Logan could pull Nikki up. "I got ya darlin', I'm not letting go" he whispered as Nikki fell against him. "I love you and I owe you for this one" she whispered back. "You don't owe me, you just need to uphold your end of the bargain later" Logan said. "Okay" Nikki said, feeling terrible about it, "I will if you still want me too." To Be Concluded

Chapter 8- The Turning  
Nikki finished putting the kids to bed, dreading what would come next. If it had been any other night with any other bargain, Nikki would've raced into the bedroom to be with her husband but today was different. Logan was waiting for her when she walked in, "You don't seem too enthusiastic about having me to yourself for eternity." "I love you Logan, but I don't want you to be like this" Nikki said. "I love you too, that's why I want to do this, I want to be with you forever" Logan said. "Let's get this over with so you can believe me" Nikki said. Logan smiled and let her lay down beside him as she kissed his neck softly. "This is gonna hurt" she whispered. Logan winced as she bit in, her fangs were sharp, he'd give her that and he looked to her for approval before gently drawing her blood from her wrist. Then the world went black.  
2 days later-  
Nikki smiled when Logan opened his now silver-blue eyes to see her. "Hey hunny" she whispered, kissing him. "What happened?" he whispered back, it didn't feel like anything changed. "Had you been human you would've noticed the change instantly, but you already have most of the powers" Nikki whispered, "Let's just say now you can finally outrun your son." "Can I fly too or was that a myth?" Logan asked. "You wanna you gotta ask somebody who knows how, not me" Nikki said. "How long was I out?" he asked, caressing her cheek. "2 days, it felt like forever, but it was worth it" Nikki whispered, "I have you forever now, so let's start forever now. There's so much I need to teach you and so much I want to show you and know I finally can, everything I've ever had to hide we can do together now." Logan smiled, "First I'm gonna do something with you we've done before." _The End_ and next story, vampire Logan learns about everything Nikki knows and had to hide because he was human but not anymore, can the immortal world handle having both of them?

_A Vampire's Life_

**Chapter 1- The rules have been broken**  
Nikki smiled at Logan, the past few hours were heaven and Logan was enjoying being a vampire so far. Nikki laughed and kissed him, "I think I need to teach you something now." "What's that?" Logan asked. "How to feed" Nikki said, sliding out of bed. She slid his shirt over her shoulders and went to the mini-fridge she'd insisted on and removed a blood bag. "You drink that?" Logan asked. Nikki smiled, "What'd you expect? That we live in coven houses and get delivered humans daily? This isn't Underworld love." "I just didn't expect something so normal" he said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You know, I wasn't even supposed to reveal the existence of vampires until after I'd turned you but now that the rules were broken, several I should add, we should just enjoy it" she said. "So are you gonna teach me how I'm supposed to drink outta that thing?" he asked. Nikki laughed, "You don't drink out of it, you cut it and pour it out." "Hey, this is all new to me, how many times a day do we have to down that stuff anyway?" Logan asked. "Only 2 or 3 times a day, depends on the person and I know it's new to you, you're a newborn vampire" she said, "Now, go ahead." Logan took the glass from the bedside table and did as she said, than drank it, "That wasn't that bad." Nikki laughed, "Welcome to vampiredom Logan, we're gonna be together forever." TBC

**Chapter 2- Immortals and the night**  
Nikki smiled when Logan gave her the most surprised look she'd ever seen. "Ready to go out hunny?" she asked, kissing him gently. "In that?" he asked, gesturing to her outfit which mainly consisted of a very low cut tank top and an incredibly short skirt. "Mm-hm" she said, her smile growing wider. "Where would we go like that?" Logan asked. "Vampire bar" Nikki said, taking his hand and pulling him off the couch, "I got Gorge and Kim to babysit for us, they think we need a night out and I think they mean all night. That we can do now, huh?" Logan couldn't help but grin, Nikki all night and a bar? This seemed too good to be true, "I'm in." "Great" she purred and she opened the door, "Coming or what?"  
Logan was enjoying this, vampire bars were actually better than normal bars and he had to admit, the taste of blood was getting better. They sat together, just like they had when they'd been dating. Now that seemed like a lifetime ago, but Logan was enjoying it, Nikki was curled up against him in their seat, tired from their latest dance and she smiled up at him, "You havin' fun?" "Yup, but I think we should get home, it's getting' late" Logan said. "'Kay, just let me say good-bye to some old friends" Nikki said, giving Logan a kiss before heading off to the bar to hug two people and wave. "Who were they?" Logan asked once they'd gotten outside. "Vincent Argeneau's cousins, Vince helped me out back in California when I had to get away from Cassius" Nikki said, "he's the guy who got me to Quartermain to start my superhero-ing." Logan looked to her, "You've got a lot to tell me still huh?" "Yeah, pretty much" Nikki said.  
Logan rested on the couch when they got back, Nikki changed and put the kids to bed, then said good-bye to Gorge and Kim before sitting down beside Logan. "Don't we have great friends?" she asked. "Yeah, I don't know how much fun things would've been before you showed up if it hadn't been for Gorge" Logan said, smiling at the memories of sitting in bars and bantering during fights, even bar brawls had been fun back then, but now he had Nikki, he didn't need a fight to get rid of extra energy. "You know, I was just thinking' about that and I remembered, back then I had a lot more energy than I do now." "That's called having a wife and kids hunny" she said, blankly watching TV. "Wait, did our kids-?" Logan began to ask. "Yeah, they inherited this from me, it won't actually start for them until their late 20's so they're safe for a while" Nikki sighed. "So all of your kids...?" Logan began. "Yup, and if you want, you could have your son forever too" Nikki whispered. "What do you mean?" Logan asked, "Turn Daken? I...I know you wouldn't, you'd leave this up to me right?" "If you wanted, we could all live together forever, one big, happy family" she whispered, her mind wandering off to a different time, when her brothers and sisters weren't spread out all over the world, when she had her family all under one roof, her mom, her dad, all her siblings and the occasional relative and/or cousins. "You miss your family" Logan whispered, rubbing her back. "Of course I do, I always have, everything used to be so good but now...now all I have is you guys and I don't want to lose any of you" she whispered and laid her head on his shoulder. "I love you" he whispered. "Love you too" she said before she fell asleep against him. Logan picked her up and carried her upstairs to their bed, gently laying her down. One night wouldn't matter, she needed her sleep after today. Logan lay down beside her and quickly fell asleep, dreaming of the sweet perfume of her scent. TBC  
**Chapter 3- The Tale Of Count Dracula's Niece**  
Nikki sighed while she watched Logan sleep, she wanted to wake him up but didn't have the nerve to. He looked so innocent and peaceful as he slept, Nikki decided what she would tell him next. Logan awoke to find Nikki playing with the ends of his shirt and he couldn't suppress a chuckle, "Mornin' Darlin', how'd ya sleep?" She blushed and said, "Apparently on your arm." Logan laughed and kissed her, feeling her relax at his touch. "So what're you gonna tell me today?" "I have a story to tell you, it's true just to tell you now and it's probably one of the strangest tales you'll ever hear" Nikki began, "It all took place a long time ago, back when I was 12. My uncle from across the ocean heard of my father and my sibling's capture 8 years before and decided he would come to see us, us being me and my little brother. My uncle was Count Vladimir Dracula, I'm sure you've heard of him before, he has a bit of a reputation. Anyway, Dracula arrived at the cabin/'farm' ,if you could call it that, and found that 2 of the middle children were the only ones left. I have siblings younger than my brother I know, Dracula couldn't belive he'd found the 2 that his brother had been expecting great power from. I could see why considering I could take down a bear with the strength I already had, but Uncle Vlad decided to bring us to the castle in the Transylvanian Alps, on a peak overlooking the village. Dracula had begun to rule the lands with an iron grip, he needed someone to take over the thrown in case one of his own children couldn't.  
My brother and I were taken to Romania, where I met Brooke, my first best friend. Brooke was there the day I got my powers but before that, I was trained by my uncle in every form of martial arts known to man. I knew how to use weaponry of all kinds and I was fluent in several languages before I even turned 13, but that was when the real decision was made. I could've become queen of the vampires, or I could've continued my training, which I did. Dracula left Transylvania in his son Mordred's hands while I continued to train. Unlike the king Arthur legend, my cousin Mordred was a fair ruler and better liked than his father. One day, the village was under siege and I was the only one aside from my brothers and cousins that could fight, Dracula had spent several years finding my sibling and reuniting them. He'd given us permission to attack the invaders by horseback with armor and swords like in the middle ages. I used my powers as well as my sword, but I knew Mordred's horse smelled different than it had before, the horse had been poisoned so Mordred would die in battle. I didn't let him. It seemed that neither of us were going to give up any time soon, so Dracula gave his kingdom to his son and granted me free passage to and from the kingdom. The next morning, I left for America yet again at the young age of 15. Mordred still rules my uncle's kingdom and Brooke still resides there, as do most of my siblings, and that was how I started to become who I am now."  
Logan smiled, "I've never known anyone with such a life story, and that was only the beginning." "I'll tell you more later, first, let's go get breakfast." TBC

**Chapter 4- Trouble In The Homeland**  
While Nikki was teaching Logan how being a vampire worked, over seas in the town of Transylvania, Mordred Dracula paced the floor of his castle. "Might I suggest we bring in the family?" asked Anna, she looked identical to her twin sister who, unlike her, had more of a tendency for warfare. "Your sister would know this sort of thing Anna" Mordred said, still pacing. "Well, I bring rhyme and reason to this kingdom whilst all you bring is suffering Mordred Dracula, you're no better than your father!" Anna shouted dramatic ly and exited the room. Mordred sighed and sat upon his thrown, how had thing taken such a turn for the worst? "Trouble in parodied little brother?" his older brother Vladislouse asked. "What would you possibly want?" Mordred sighed, his brother only came to him when he wanted something. "I'm only here to help you brother" Vlad replied, "I hear your precious kingdom is in peril, is this true?" "Aye" Mordred replied. His brother scowled, "You're not like the rest of this family so start acting like it!" Mordred growled, "ANNA!" "What?" she asked, popping in. "Who's right this time?" "I don't know, why don't you ask your OTHER cousin, the OTHER twin, the rhyme to my reason" Anna said, her dramatic nature taking over. "Fine! Than we'll go to America and get my better cousin to tell us who shall rule the kingdom!" Mordred shouted. "I heard that!" Anna called, "and I'm coming with you, I can't trust you to go alone without killing each other." "Fine, than we set forth for New York!"  
Meanwhile, Nikki sighed restlessly on the couch, she really should've gone with Logan on that mission. He would know how to control himself, she was sure, but she was getting sick of being stuck in the house. The doorbell and since nobody was confidently around to get it, Nikki did. "Sister!" Anna cried and flung her sister into a bear hug. "Anna?" Nikki managed to choke out. "Let go of her Anna, you'll kill her" Mordred said, prying Anna off her twin. "I'm sure you'd love that wouldn't you?" Vlad asked. "Ignore his insolence, how are you?" Mordred asked Nikki. "Fine, What're you doing here Mordred?" she asked, her glance shooting from Vlad to Anna and back to Mordred. "We're here because He wants to lead the kingdom and SHE is being a royal pain" Mordred explained. "Ah, like brother like sister" Nikki muttered, "Why do you need me?" "We need you to decide who rules the kingdom and solve our problems" Vlad said. "And you're much more reliable than she is" Mordred said, gesturing to Anna. "My sister won't let me be spoken to that way will you sister dear?" Anna said. "Does anybody even remember my name?" Nikki asked, "'Cause ya know after all this time I still have one." Mordred was on the verge of laughter as neither Anna nor Vlad seemed to remember, "OF course I do NIKKI." Anna sighed, "I KNEW it started with an 'N'." "So Nikki, which is it?" Vlad asked. "What're we? Rhyme and Reason*?" Nikki asked, gesturing to her sister and herself. "We'll decide this together, since Vlad is the royal advisor and Mordred is prince, you'll both rule the kingdom with equal power" they both decided after a moment of dissuasion. "One is the warp* for the kingdom" Nikki began. "And the other is the woof*" Anna finished. "You 2 go back to the kingdom and call us if you need anything, we have some catching up to do" Nikki said and waved both her cousins off before leading her sister inside. TBC (A/N* Rhyme and Reason are characters from the phantom tollbooth, a movie I saw in class with the students and the warp and woof are the threads in sewing, I think)  
**Chapter 5- Twins?!**  
Logan sighed as he walked off the jet, he missed Nikki terribly. When he waked down the hall to their room, he heard girls giggling. "Hey hunny" Nikki said when he walked in. "So this is your husband, nice choice" the other Nikki said, wait, the other Nikki?! "What the-?" Logan asked. "Hunny, this is Anna, she's my twin sister and Anna this is my perfect husband Logan" Nikki said. Anna giggled and smiled at Logan, "I can see why she chose you, if you ever get bored with her give me a call and I'll be over in a millisecond." Nikki reached over and pushed her sister playfully, "He's not gonna get bored with me, I have enough surprises for him." Anna pretended to choke and fell back on the bed giggling, "The way you act I'd think you were a teenager again." "Some of us never grow up sis, you were one of them" Nikki sighed. "Shut up!" Anna squealed, smacking Nikki playfully.  
Outside, Haviar Mendoza pulled up to the gate in his old car. "At last, my search is over" he said as he drew an amulet with glowed with fury at the gate. "Finally, they're together. If only they knew what they could do, then it'd be so much more of a challenge." Nikki could smell the burning metal from the amulet and she gasped, knowing what it was. "Anna, we have to get out of here" she whispered. "Why? I was just starting to have fun" her sister countered. "Logan stay with the kids, there's always a possibility he's here for them" Nikki said, blazing from the room, her eyes suddenly burgundy and her fangs down. "Who?" Anna asked. "Havar Mendoza" Nikki whispered, remembering the scent. "But...Henry said-" Anna began. "Well Henry was wrong, Mendoza survived and he's here for my family. I'm not gonna let that happen, are you?" Nikki asked.  
It was one of those questions you had to be guilt-tripped into and Nikki's red eyes were doing plenty of guilt-tripping. "Fine" Anna sighed, "but only because I want one of your kids to take the thrown, not one of mine." "Why, you've always wanted to be queen of something?" Nikki asked, "Now you can be the queen pain." The twins exited the mansion prepared for a fight, but what neither expected was that Mendoza could get them so easily. Nikki looked to Anna and shot off into the trees, falling back hard when something metal struck her head. She groaned, that hurt. "NIKKI!" Anna screamed. Here came the headache, no surprise. Nikki nearly passed out trying to get up, "If she freaked out over a spider I'm gonna kill her."  
Nikki staggered onto the mansion's grounds, Anna nowhere in sight. "ANNA!" she called, wincing at the pain her own voice brought to her throbbing skull. Mendoza's scent had vanished and so had Anna's. "Great, this guy I've only fought one nabs my twin and nearly decapitates me with his shield, when I find this guy I'm gonna massacre him." Nikki staggered into the mansion, still clutching her head. Barely managing to make it to the lab, Nikki knocked weakly, the sound sending shockwaves of pain through her skull yet again. "Hank..." she tried to begin, but felt herself starting to pass out. "Oh, my" Hank said as he caught her, "Nikki what happened?" "Nearly got decapitated by some slayer's shield trying to hunt him. He got Anna" she said, muttering the last part. "Just rest, I'll have Bobby get Logan for you" Hank said. "Thanks Hank, you're a good friend" Nikki said just before she let the darkness enclosed her. TBC  
**Chapter 6- Rescue and abandonment**  
Anna struggled against the bonds, "My sister won't let you get away with this Mendoza!" Mendoza laughed, taking the younger woman's face in his hand, "Little princess did you think I was going to let you die without your sister? You'll die together." "Many have said that about Nikki before and they've seen her husband's wraith!" Anna cried, "and god knows my brother-in-law would avenge me too!"  
In New York, Nikki woke up in the lab, her headache nearly gone. "Hey darlin', how're ya?" Logan whispered, careful not to give her any pain. "Hey" Nikki whispered back, "Missed you. How're the kids?" "They're fine, I'm more worried about you" he whispered, "Hank said you got hit pretty bad." "She should be fine now Logan" Hanks said, walking out of the back room of the lab, "Nikki you may return upstairs anytime you like. There might still be some side-effects from the blow, but you should be fine." Nikki sat up and attempted to stand, but fell only to have Logan catch her. "That would be one of them" Hank said, looking worriedly to Nikki. "I'll be fine" she said, trying to stand on her own. "Nuh-uh darlin', I'm carrying' ya" Logan said, scooping her up in his arms. "We have to save Anna now, I mean it" Nikki said. "Fine, but I'm not letting you outta my sight" Logan said. "Go ahead, but I'd advise you not to get off the jet Nikki, you were hit pretty hard" Hank said.  
Logan insisted someone stay with Nikki so Pixie, Nikki and Logan suited up and boarded the jet. Pixie stayed quiet so Nikki could sit up front with Logan, her hand in his. "I'm gonna go in and get her, bring her back and leave with you 2, okay?" Logan asked. "Okay" Nikki said. Pixie talked to Nikki a little while they waited for Logan to get back but mainly they sat around. Nikki sighed, "I'm sick of this fucking wounded soldier act, I'm goin' in there." "Wait! Nikki! I guess I'm gonna have to come with you too huh?!" Pixie shouted and flitted after Nikki.  
Inside the abandoned church, Logan followed Anna's scent to the basement. Anna was tiredly hanging from the bonds, awaiting a knight in shining armor moment. "Hey, Anna okay?" Nikki whispered, Logan jumped. "How the fuck did you sneak up on me?" he whispered. "I can do a lot with my magic, including disguise my scent" Nikki whispered. "There you are, I told you not to come in here!" Pixie hissed, pulling Nikki back. "I'm going in there, I have to save my sister!" Nikki growled back to Pixie. Megan put her hands on her hips and gave Nikki a look, "You don't scare me, I know you too well." "Come on, let's go save your sister" Logan whispered to Nikki and jogged into the room with Nikki and Pixie following suit. "Anna, we're here, hang on we'll get you down" Pixie whispered. "Well, well, well, look what we have here" Mendoza said. The 3 turned and Nikki growled at Mendoza. Logan finished freeing Anna's bonds while Nikki turned to Pixie, "On the count of 3, run and don't look back, we'll follow. 1...2...3." Pixie shot off, half-flying, half-running with Anna right behind her, Logan and Nikki stayed behind. Mendoza threw a gold sun shaped thing at Nikki, Logan pushed Nikki back behind him and sent his claws up in front of them. "Nikki, run and I swear I'll follow you" he whispered. "Leaving so soon?" Mendoza asked, "Sadly, you won't be leaving at all." "Not on m watch 'bub'!" Pixie shouted and blasted Mendoza with her pixie dust. "Thanks Pix, let's move!" Nikki shouted, and the 3 ran down the corridors, out of the building. TBC  
**Chapter 7- The secret of Iron Girl**  
Allison Grange was pretty much alone in the world beside her all too rich father and her brother that walked out of their lives 2 months after her mother dived when dad had been too busy to notice. Allison headed home in her BMW when the back wheels were blown out. Allison panicked, hitting the breaks too late. The car skidded into a passing truck, it seemed to the world Allison Grange was dead, but not to the heroes she would join.  
"What do you man San Francisco?!" Nikki shouted, "We just moved in here!" "Darlin', the team needs us in San Francisco, we'll come back for the Avengers" Logan said to his wife. Nikki was furious, "Logan, we need to give our kids somewhat of a stable life! It's bad enough we're prancing around in superhero outfits destined to get ourselves killed, they shouldn't have to move every time the team does!" "Nikki-" he began only to be cut off. "Logan, we can't keep doing this, this is the second time in 2 months. We have to give the kids something better than this, a real home" Nikki said. "We'll take them up to Canada, get them unpacked and settled there and we'll go do to San Francisco after we get this mostly sorted out up north, okay?" Logan asked. "Fine, but we're bringing them to San Francisco with us" Nikki said.  
Allison awoke in a small lab, very obviously abandoned. She'd always been a natural at science, so saving herself last night had been simple. "Dammit" Allison whispered, lifting herself off the table, "I'm gonna need more than the generator now aren't I?" The minor sprains were nothing but a nuisance as she started building the suit she'd seen in the Iron Man comics, just like the 8th grade science fair, "Allison, how'd you manage to get yourself into this one?" The young scientist looked at her creation several hours later and smiled, she'd take the name Iron Girl and take to the skies, just like her mother. The sting of each thought never quite faded, but Allison was ready to bear it, she always knew she could be the future Mrs. Tony Stark and if she had to do something incredible to get Tony's attention, then this was it. Iron Girl was born.  
Meanwhile that very morning on the other side of New York, Nikki was no longer angry at her husband. After last night she couldn't be. she sighed while she laid against him, she was gonna sleep just a while longer.  
_The End. (Tomorrow, Iron Girl meets Wolverina, Wolverina and Iron Man)_

The New Girl

_Chapter 1- New Allies_  
Allison was flying. She couldn't believe it herself but she was flying! The super suit she built just like Iron Man's flew with such precision and grace she'd never thought she'd be Iron Girl, no Iron Woman. That was who she was now, forget family, forget the past, this was who she was now. Alli heard the sounds of fighting and flew that way. Oh my god she said in her suit's voice, It's Wolverine! and the New Avengers! My god the comics ARE real! She flew low and shot a blast from the hand gauntlets, quickly disarming one of the Reavers. "Hey, who's that?" Gorge called out to his team. "No clue TW" Luke said, slamming his fist into one of the Reavers' faces. "Who are you supposed to be?" Wolverina asked the girl who landed beside her. I'm Iron Woman, I'm helping you Allison said. I'll tell you my name when you tell me your's. "I'm Wolverina, name's Nikki" Nikki called to the girl. Allison. Allison Grange, call me Alli Iron Woman said. "You're that famous guy's daughter right?" Iron Fist called. "Shut it Rand, let's move!" Logan shouted, Nikki following him. Iron Woman followed the 2 to fight the rest of the Reavers. You do this often Wolverine? Wolverina? Alli asked. "Yeah, pretty much" Nikki said. Who're you? Iron Man asked, appearing behind Allison. Tony? Tony Stark? she asked. Who wants to know? he asked her, the both of them floating in the air, facing each other. Allison, Allison Grange, call me Alli she said, holding out her gauntlet covered hand. Tony landed beside Allison and both of their masks retracted. "I had something to ask you Ms. Grange" Luke said, "Will you join the New Avengers?" "I believe I was talking to Alli first" Tony said, "How would you like to come have dinner with me tonight?" Alli blushed, was it that obvious that she liked him? "Sure and Luke, I'm not sure yet, I'm new to the hero thing" Alli said. "You'll get used to it" Nikki said. "So, how did you create that suit?" Tony asked her.  
"Somebody's got a crush on her" Nikki whispered to Logan. Logan laughed, "She's got a crush on him back, maybe more. All I know is I'll be surprised if they don't go farther than dinner tonight." "What're you guys talking about?" Gorge whispered over. "10 bucks Alli and Tony get in bed tonight" Logan whispered. "You're on" Gorge said back. "Both of you quit it, they might genuinely feel something for each other" Nikki whispered. The friends burst out laughing to everyone's dismay, "You're kidding right?" Gorge asked between laughs. "You never thought Logan and I would work out either and yet here we are, after a year of being married and we're still acting like newlyweds" Nikki said. Logan stopped laughing after Gorge started talking, Nikki was serious. "She might be right" Logan said. "Right about what?" Tony asked, clearly clueless. "You must like him for his looks or the money because the brain just left the building" Gorge joked and everyone started laughing. Nikki went over to a blushing Allison and a clueless Tony, "You'll figure it out tonight and don't listen to them, they're like old women with their gossip. Except Logan, but you get it." Logan smiled while Luke and some of the other guys glared at her.  
"LEEEEEEROY JENKINS!" Deadpool shouted, running out of the alley. "Aw! Fight's over?" "Please tell me you didn't invite him?" Nikki asked. "My fault" Gorge said, "I told him where I was going." "Deadpool, go home" Nikki said. "But I don't wanna!" Deadpool cried and flopped on the ground, sitting Indian style with a pout on his masked face. "You're being a baby" Nikki said in a motherly tone. "I am NOT A BABY!" Deadpool shouted, got up and stormed off. "Well, that was weird" Alli said. "That isn't the beginning of this madness, I'll see you later" Nikki said, leaving with the New Avengers. "Want to go to dinner now or do you want to get your things and change at my place?" Tony asked a very confused Alli. "I hear your place is nice, let's eat in" she said, both letting the masks cover their faces as they shot up into the sky. TBC

_Chapter 2- Eternity lasts forever, right?_  
Stark Tower- Alli sighed, Tony was incredible! He was nothing like she'd read in the comics when she was younger, he was nothing like anyone she'd ever met, he was nice. "Alli?" Tony asked, knocking on her door. Alli quickly covered the makeshift reactor and walked to the door. Tony stood outside in a pair of pajama pants and he smiled upon seeing her, "Hey, I wasn't sure if you were up yet." The reactor seemed to glow brighter when she saw him smile because he noticed it at last. "I thought that was part of the..." he began. "It's not" Allison said, "I'll tell you over breakfast." "I think you need a better reactor, that one seems to be fading" Tony said, "Come to the lab?" "Sure" Alli said shyly, she reached out and took Tony's hand and suddenly a spark jolted both of them. "Let's hope that wasn't the reactor" Alli joked. Tony smiled and looked at her, "You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen and I'm not telling you that so you would get in bed with me." Allison blushed, her face turning a deep pink, "Promise you're not just saying that?" Tony chuckled, "Promise."  
Avengers Apartment,  
"There, all packed again" Nikki sighed, sitting down on her suitcase. "I'm sorry babe, we'll get this sorted out up north okay?" Logan said, gently picking her up to kiss her. "I'm all packed and my cell's charged so I'm set to go" Daken said, sitting on his suitcase. "Will you 2 get up, you look like Bonnie and Clyde" Laura said, dropping 6 fully packed suitcases on the floor. "Okay, I only have 4 and she has 6, now I'm scared" Nikki said. "Your's aren't even packed like that" Logan said. Laura was leaning against the wall, panting. "What did you pack in these, rocks?!" Vincent shouted, heaving another 3 bags onto the floor aside from his 2. "Aleasa's got Gabby and Shawn's stuff, Aron and Josh are packing and we're ready to go" Logan said. "We might need 3 quinjets for all this stuff" Nikki said. "Well, you, Laura, Aleasha, Gabby and Shawn are going in 1 jet with your stuff and the boys and I are going in the other, we'll meet up at the cabin" Logan said, "I was the one who even thought of this idea so don't I get help taking everything out?" "I know I'm gonna regret this but I'll do it" Daken said, and lifted up 2 of Laura's bags only to drop them again, "I think she packed furniture in here." "I did not!" Laura cried, "That's my feminine stuff." "Ugh, I just touched your icky boy band crap didn't I?" Daken asked, earning a glare from Laura. "I think she means makeup" Nikki whispered to Daken. "Is it supposed to weigh that much?" Daken asked back. "Go help your father carry the stuff" Nikki said, "I'll go out to the other jet with these, Laura, grab your things, Vincent, don't help her this time." "I won't" Vincent said gratefully and plopped down on the floor.  
1 hour later,  
"The jets are loaded, the kids are strapped in, let's take off" Logan said into the headset. "I'm only hoping this works out" Nikki said over the comm link. "It will darlin', what could possibly go wrong?" Logan asked. "So many things, don't jinx us" Nikki said.  
Stark Tower, later that evening,  
Allison sighed, Tony was taking her out to dinner. With the new reactor glowing brightly on her chest for the world to see, she could care less, Tony was everything she never thought he'd be. "Ready Alli?" Tony asked through the door. "I'm coming Tony" she said. Grabbing her purse, she left the room for the best date of her life. TBC

_Chapter 3- Love and peace go hand in hand_  
Canada, that evening-  
Nikki and the rest of the Howletts sat around in the living room, Logan and the boys were watching TV, Laura and Aleasha were quietly talking about some celebrity gossip magazine and Nikki held Gabrielle and Shawn on her lap while the hockey game came to an end. The Canadian summer was nice and mild with fields of the most beautiful wildflowers anyone could wish for. Nikki left the room to put the babies to bed, when she walked back in, she was surprised to see that Josh, Laura, Aleasha, Aron and Vincent had all gone to their rooms to unpack and go to bed. "So, this is nice isn't it?" Logan asked while Nikki settled against him. "Yeah, the kids like it here and, well let's face it, aside from everybody using their cell phones every hour on the hour to call their friends, this is the most peace we've had in...forever" she said. "I'm gonna go unpack now, night" Daken said, remembering about some things he needed to do when he got to San Francisco and Rachel. "Logan, do you want to stay here? You know, for good?" Nikki asked. "If you mean giving up heroing-" Logan began. "I'd never ask you to do that, but what about having Kurt move in here too? Then we wouldn't need 2 quinjets to travel back and forth and we wouldn't need to have the kids move so much" Nikki said, "We could stay here and so would Kurt." Logan smiled like a little kid, "You mean Kurt's gonna stay?" "If he wants to" Nikki agreed. "Okay, now I feel like a 10-year-old getting his best friend to move in" Logan said. "Well 10-year-olds can't do this an they?" Nikki purred and kissed him deeply.  
Stark Tower, same time-  
Tony and Allison arrived back from dinner at Tony's. "Tony. Stark." a woman said upon their arrival. "uh-oh" Allison said, noticing the woman sitting on the chair. "Pepper, how're you? Pepper this is Allison-" Tony began. "Don't even start Tony, what about Talon?" Pepper asked. Tony was speechless, "Pepper it's not what you think-" Tony said. "Oh, I think it's exactly what I think it is, you're betraying her! I can't believe this Tony, I'm sorry, I should go" Pepper said, leaving. "Pepper wait! I-" Tony began again. "Tony, I'm sorry, I should've never come here unannounced. I'm going" Pepper said and left. "I feel so stupid right now" Alli said. "Why? You didn't do anything wrong" Tony said, "I never told Pepper I had a guest, I think she just assumed we were together. I'm sorry Allison, I never meant to do this." "Don't you want to be Tony?" Alli found herself asking. "I'd never admit it to anyone else but yes, that may just be some of the old Tony coming back but I've never met anyone like you Allison, I do care about you but...I'm really not sure who I choose" Tony replied, looking more like a lost puppy with every word. "You don't have to choose, I won't make you do that" Allison said, "Be happy with her, because she'll never know what she truly has." "Alli" Tony said. "No, I was stupid to think of this as any more than friendship. I'm the one who should be sorry Tony, I caused all this and now-" Tony cut Allison off by kissing her, he couldn't let her be heartbroken like this. "Tony?" she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I should choose, because either way I'm going to have something to regret, if I let you go I'll have more to regret than I would if I chose Talon, but still...I'll settle this, you just be patient with me please? I've never done this before" Tony said. Alli blushed at the thoughts that had taken over her mind, "Tony? Why don't you settle this in the morning?" "I should think about it first right?" he asked. "No..." she said, walking forward, "I think you should compare who's the better of the two." She kissed him for the second time and she felt that spark again, this time, there wouldn't be any regrets. TBC

_Chapter 4- Not a good thing_  
Canada, the next morning-  
Logan smiled when he woke up, last night Nikki called Kurt and asked if he wanted to come stay with them. Kurt, being Logan's best friend, said he'd be there in the afternoon. Logan had then spent the rest of the night celebrating with Nikki, thank god the house was soundproofed. He smelled breakfast and smiled again, if it was one thing he loved about Nikki, it was her cooking. The surprising thing was that his family was dressed and sitting at the table, talking instead of the normal arguing that would've taken place at the school. "So...this is a nice change" Logan said, sitting down at the table beside Nikki. "Isn't it great?" Laura said, "I finally have my own room!" Everyone began talking at once about how they loved being here, except Daken. "Daken I haven't heard a word out of you all morning, how do you like being here?" Nikki asked. "He's just upset because he misses Rachel" Vincent said. "So what if I am?" Daken snapped at his little brother, "How long am I gonna be here anyway?" "I was wondering when you'd ask that" Nikki said and slid something across the table, "Here, you have a car now, you can come and go as you please." "Can I have a car?" Josh asked. "When you're older, we'll talk" Logan said. "I seriously have a car? I'm heading down to San Francisco this weekend" Daken said, leaning back and grinning. "We also have jets, and no Josh, you can't have a jet" Nikki said.  
Stark Tower-  
Allison walked out from the bathroom that connected to Tony's room, if last night wasn't gonna make him choose her nothing would. She sat on the bed in her robe and gently ran her fingers through Tony's hair. "Hey" he whispered, catching her hand. "Hey Tony" she whispered back, kissing his forehead, "How'd you sleep?" "For some reason I kept dreaming that I was gonna get killed" he replied. "Yeah...you still might" she said. "ANTHONY STARK!!!" a woman shouted as the front door slammed. "..and that would be Karrie" Tony said, scrambling out of bed, "You might want to stay here, she has a bad temper." Allison did as Tony said while Tony went to face the music. "Karrie, hey-" Tony began. "Don't you 'Karrie hey' me! Where is she?!" Karrie shouted. "I'm sorry" Tony said. "What? You think I'm going to suddenly forgive you for this?! How long Tony? How long have you been cheating on me with the spoiled little rich girl?!" Karrie shouted. "I wasn't cheating on you...at least not until last night but I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been accused once already" Tony said. "You weren't?" Karrie asked, her voice softening. "Karrie, I'm sorry for this, but I can't do this. I love you but...I just can't..." Tony said, his voice trailing off. "You can't what? Look me in the face and tell me what you can't do" Karrie said. "I love her Karrie, I can't stay with you. She needs me Karrie, she knows what it's like-" Tony said only to be cut off. "SHE KNOWS WHAT IT'S LIKE?! SHE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOU TONY!" Karrie cried, "I stood by you through all this and this is how you repay me?! I loved you Tony Stark, you have no idea what you're losing." "I would've lost someone special either way, I'm sorry it had to be like this Karrie" Tony said softly, "I still want to be friends..." "Fine, but I might as well tell you now, I'm not gonna be waiting in the wings for you Tony, if this is it then this is it. We end this and date other people" Karrie said. "As long as we stay friends" Tony said. "Alright, fine, friends. I'll be going now" Karrie left and Tony sighed, "This is one of the reasons I tried to stay out of relationships, I never wanted to hurt someone like that." Allison stepped out from the doorway, "You did a good thing Tony, you let her down gently. That was the best thing you could've done at a time like this." Tony sighed, "I guess you're right. I'm sorry Alli, I never meant for you to get caught up in my life like this." "Don't worry about it, I like being 'the future Mrs. Tony Stark'" she joked. "Let's just enjoy now, okay? I'm not sure either of us are easy to get married" Tony said. Alli laughed and sat down beside Tony, "Being with you was the best thing I've ever done." "I'm not sure what the best thing I ever did was, right now, I feel like the biggest dick on the planet" he said. "You're actually nicer than I expected you to be" Alli said, "Now let's focus on today." TBC

_Chapter 5- The Wendigo strikes!_  
Canada-  
The day had passed uneventfully, aside from Kurt moving in and Nikki finding where the old Howlett mansion was. Kurt teleported everyone to the mansion and they moved in. At the very moment, everything was moved in. "Finally" Nikki sighed and sat down on the couch, "Everything's unpacked and everybody's moved in, now all we need to do is find a way to get the cabin up here." "In the morning please" Logan sighed, wrapping his arm around her. "You know, for moving this was actually fun" Nikki said. "Well, we got to move together didn't we? Everything's fun when I'm with you" Logan said, nuzzling her neck. On the stairs, Laura and Josh were spying. "blech! Do they have to do that every time we're not around?" Josh asked. "Be quiet, they'll hear us" Laura hissed. "Isn't that better than watching this?" Josh whispered. Laura gave up on spying and headed to her room, Josh following to his room. He walked in to find his brother sitting on his bed, "Dude, we have our own rooms now, go to yours and I'll stay in mine." "I know, but don't you miss bunking together?" Aron asked. "Yeah, like I miss the over compulsive science geek. Ew, you've got me talking like you" Josh said, scrunching up his nose. "Yeah, I love you too" Aron said and left the room. "Somebody's got a temper!" Josh called after him. Downstairs, Nikki was enjoying just sitting with Logan, especially since they were kissing. Logan sighed against her lips, he loved the time they spent together, even outside of bed. He gently pulled her into his arms and lay her against his chest. Nikki would've pouted because he stopped kissing her until she heard a faint growling. "Logan, do you hear that?" she whispered, sitting strait up. "Turn off the lights" he whispered. She did and told the kids to do the same. "What are those things?" she whimpered, crawling back onto the couch. "Wendigos and I'm guessing they were here for a while before we moved in by the smell of it" Logan whispered. "Nikki? Logan? Are you two alright?" Kurt asked, letting his tail find the couch for him. "Kurt, that's not the couch" Nikki said. "How do you know?" Kurt whispered back. "Because, that's my leg" she whispered back. Kurt blushed in the darkness, his blue cheeks turning light purple. "Don't worry about it elf, I won't kill ya" Logan said. "Just follow that sound of our voices" Nikki whispered. "Ja, okay" Kurt said and scooted toward their voices.  
Stark Tower, the same time-  
Tony smiled at Allison, her idea for dinner in seemed perfect since the press were having a field day with the Iron Woman, 'The love of Iron Man's life'. For once, he thought they might be right. "So, Jarvis, how long have you worked with Tony?" Alli asked Jarvis, making Tony smile as he reached for her hand. "A long while miss, but I can assure you master Tony is perfect for you" Jarvis replied. "Jarvis don't tell me you've been reading what those rags print out" Tony said. "Oh, not the rags master Tony, only the daily bugle" Jarvis replied. "I hate Peter even more now" Tony said, looking at the from page which read, 'Tony Stark spends night with new girlfriend, photos taken by Spider-man and handed to Peter Parker.' Alli laughed, "Tony, lighten up, he's only trying to get money for these and...my lord did that dress really make me look like that?" "No, you looked perfect" Tony said. "So says the man who's sleep with models" Alli said, giggling. Tony attempted to glare at her, but couldn't, she was too perfect for him, "Who says models are perfect?" Allison smiled and leaned in to kiss him, "I just hope my other friends are all right." Tony smiled as he broke their kiss, "If you mean Nikki and Logan you should've seen what was in the Bugle about them, Peter had enough blackmail to start a new mafia." TBC

_Chapter 6- The battle for Howlett territory_  
Canada, the next morning-  
Nikki awoke with Kurt on one side of her and Logan on the other. After the Wendigos had showed up, they stayed together in the living room with the kids, who were getting the couches to sleep on. Nikki shut her eyes again, whoever came up with this bright idea last night was a moron. Then she remembered, SHE was the moron that came up with that idea. Kurt's tail was traveling up her leg at a very award angle and she was caught between waking him up or swatting his tail. She choose swatting his tail, only to have it rise to the same spot again. Sighing, she turned over and snuggled against Logan. She almost fell asleep again when a soft growl came from outside and Kurt's tail smacked her in the bum pretty hard. Nikki was really getting annoyed, so she sat up and nudged Kurt's shoulder. "Quit hitting me with your tail!" she said. "Sorry Nikki, I dreamt you were someone else" Kurt said, blushing slightly.  
San Francisco, the very same moment-  
Rachel lay across her bed with nothing to do. She missed Daken terribly and had been doing nothing since he left. Boredly, she clicked on the TV, the newscast shocking her awake, "In recent news, Laughlin City, near the boarder of deep forest in Alberta, Canada has been evacuated today due to several reports of giant white ape-like creatures stalking the forests." "Oh my god" Rachel whispered, there was only a few other people who would care about this and she had to go find them.  
20 minutes later-  
"Oh what'll we do?!" Megan cried, "We can't just let them stay out there!" "There has to be something we can do" Cessily reassured her. "C'mon girls this is no time for panicking, we have to go up north and save our friends!" Rachel said. "We're in" Cess said. "Yeah *sniffle* we're in" Megan said softly, "I do hope they're alright." "They'll be fine, Wendigos are no match for them anyway" Cessily said. "Oh stop! You're just saying that!" Megan cried. "Get it together girls, we don't have time to loose!" Rachel shouted at the bickering pair and the 3 departed to find a mini-jet.  
New York, Stark Tower, same time-  
"Tony!" Allison cried, shocked. "What is it Alli?" Tony asked soothingly, gently wrapping his arms around her. "Up north, isn't that where Nikki and Logan are? We have to go help them!" she cried and raced from the room. "Alli, Logan's a grown man, don't you think he could take care of himself?!" Tony called after her. "Oh, please Tony! He gets blown up on a near daily basis and now you expect me to believe he can fight a horde of hungry Wendigos?! How stupid do I look?!" Alli shouted. He looked at her Iron Woman outfit and said, "Not stupid, pretty sexy." She sighed, "You make it impossible to be mad at you, you know that? Now come on, we've got a rescue mission on our hands." "Oh dear lord what did we unleash on the world?" Tony whispered. "Come on we don't have all day!" Allison shouted and the sound of her suit taking off filled the room. "Jarvis how do I get myself into this?" Tony asked. "You picked her master Tony, you did this all on your own" Jarvis replied and left Tony to follow Allison. TBC

_Chapter 7- The battle wears on_  
Canada, the late afternoon-  
Tony and Allison landed side by side in shock, 4 of the X-Men and the Howletts fought several incredibly huge Wendigos. "Nikki!" Alli shouted as a wendigo swung its massive talons at her as she barley dodged the blow. Allison was terror stricken, Nikki's pale skin looked even paler as she attempted to swing her claws at another wendigo. The massive creature sent her flying back into a tree, "NIKKI!" Logan and Allison shouted in unison. "Alli, don't!" Tony yelled but Allison had to save her friend, she charged the blast from her flight stabilizers and shot a blast at the oncoming Wendigos. Allison landed beside Nikki, retracting the mask. "Allison, get away from me" Nikki said weakly. "No, you need my help and I'm not gonna let you die here" Alli said. "It's not that" Nikki whispered, "I'm not sure I can control..." Nikki's eyes were swirling red, she'd lost so much blood and had to make up for it. The sound of Alli's frightened pulse overcame every other sound while her fang slid down slowly. She fought against the thirst, 'No I can't do this, I'm not a monster' she thought. 'Yes you are' part of her, the thirst said, 'You just don't want to admit how good the blood could taste if you let it.' Nikki growled, Allison was scared, she'd never seen Nikki like this before. Nikki gave up her thoughts and raced at the Wendigos. "NO!" Alli cried. Nikki leapt with savage ferocity and tore at them, drinking whatever blood she could get. Logan pulled her back after her 4th kill, her eyes starting to turn burgundy. "No" she panted, "Let me hunt." "No" he whispered, stroking her hair to calm her, "we need you here. I know you wouldn't hunt like this if this was different. Nikki, stop, this isn't you." She fell to the ground, Logan kneeling down beside her, "You're right. I'm not this...monster that I think I am" she said breathlessly, "I came so close to killing one of my friends...how could I Logan? How could I do this?" "Mom, you didn't hurt anyone" Daken said, coming to Nikki's side, "The first one you took out was gonna total Josh, you saved him. You saved all of us, there were only 5, you took out 4 and dad took out 1. You didn't hurt us." Nikki embraced her son, "I swear I'm never going to be like that again." The family embraced each other, their friends joining in, but Tony and Allison felt totally out of place. "I'm sorry for everything Logan" Tony finally said, "I never meant for things to escalate like they did during the Civil War. I WA so sure I was right...can you ever forgive me? I didn't know it would cost Cap his life either." "Stark, you've one a lotta no brained things lately, but I forgive ya, as long as you don't try to push the SHRA on us." "Truce?" Tony asked, holding out a hand. "Ah, why not?" Logan said and shook Tony's hand.  
The End


	2. Part 2

**Nikki's Idea (One-shot)**

James and Edward were glaring at each other through the windows of the separate jeeps. "James! Quit acting like a 10-year-old and turn around!" Victoria shouted, making her stubborn husband turn around. "Are we there yet?" Andrew asked. "No we're no there yet" James said, shooting a glare out the window into the other jeep. "James!" Victoria shouted. "What? We're supposed to hate them anyway!" James said.  
In the other car, Edward was waiting until he saw his stepsister for the explosion. His fists were clenched on the armrests and he glared at James with his butterscotch eyes narrowed. "Edward Anthony Masen Cullen turn around this minute!" Alice shouted, seeing what he was about to do. "Yes mother" he replied sarcastically. "Don't make me turn around you two" Emmett said jokingly. "Of course father dearest" Edwards replied sarcastically yet again. "We're your siblings not your parents Eddie-" Rose said. "If you finish that sentence Rose.." Edward began. "Shut up, we're here!" Jasper shouted and leapt out of the car.  
James was calm as he walked up the path to the estate, he knew his niece would have some explanation as to why he was related to HIM. The others were following him as he knocked pleasantly on the door. "Uncle James, it's great to see you" Nikki said, smiling as she hugged her uncle, "Dare I ask.." "Edward seems to think we're related, please tell me he thinks false" James said. "Well...actually, he's kind of your nephew now..." Nikki said. "Then I ask permission to kill your stepbrother" James said. "Nobody's killing anybody" Victoria said, walking up to the two, "Please tell me you have an idea." Nikki grinned, "I have the perfect idea."  
Later-  
"Victoria!" James shouted, "This isn't fair! Vicki! If I don't get out of here I love you!" "Bella!" Edward cried, "GET ME OUT OF HERE! PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU PLEASE!" "This has to be the best plan Nikki's ever had" Victoria said, smiling as she watched the two men pound on the walls of the 'box'. "VICTORIA!!!!" James cried sadly. "Ready to get them out now?" Victoria asked Bella. "No, let's let them get along a while more first. Wanna go shopping?" Bella replied. "Sure, doesn't Alice have a platinum card?" Victoria asked as they left the room.  
The End.  
**The X-Warriors Move In**

Chapter 1- Confessions and grudges  
Nikki was happy to be with her family, the new Avengers and the X-men all at once but the thing she was now happy about was that Gorge Gargan, known as Time Warrior to the outside world, had offered her a place on the X-warriors. With the X-Men taking a break and the NA in hiding, most of her time was spent at home. She loved her family but she still wanted to be out on the battle field, kicking bad guy $$. Now all he had to do was tell Logan they wanted to stay here for a while. "Hunny, is it okay of Gorge's new team stays here for a while? Gorge, Kim and their kids will be here too" she said, gently rubbing her husband's shoulders. "Sure babe, if you don't mind I don't mind" Logan replied, earning a kiss from his wife. "Great, we have plenty of room and we can fit everybody with room to spare, thanks hunny" she said, giving him another quick kiss before going to ready the rooms.  
Later-  
Gorge stopped the car in the garage, "Now before we go in, ground rules, 1. Vic, you don't pick fights  
2. Vic doesn't get anybody angry or else he sleeps outside  
3. Vic avoids getting killed again  
Everybody clear?" "That was just about me" Victor grumbled. "Exactly, you're the one we have to worry about" Gorge said. Victor growled and grabbed his bag, waiting for the others. Gorge led the group in and one look at the place was all Victor needed to know that this place was so huge he might not even see runt or runt's girl. "Hey Nikki, Logan, this is the team, everybody be nice" Gorge said. Victor looked at Nikki and his jaw hung partly open, Nikki looked incredible. Her dark red v-neck top hilighted her wavy crimson hair with the delicate indigo streak running down the side, her jeans were normal but looked almost too tight for her. "Vic, what're you staring at?" Deadpool whispered. "Did you see how Nikki's dressed?" Vic whispered over. Deadpool looked and shouted, "Awooga! Nikki you look hot!" Nikki's face flushed pink and Logan growled so Deadpool could hear. "Thank you Wade" Nikki said. "Vic" Gorge whispered, nudging him, "You're supposed to complement her too, I did." "Ya look beautiful darlin'" Vic said, surprised at his own words, "Good enough ta eat." Nikki suppressed a shiver, Victor still scared her, "Thanks Victor." "Okay everybody go claim your rooms" Gorge said. "I call top bunk!" Wade shouted and ran off. Nikki walked into the kitchen with Victor following, "Ya know I wasn't just sayin' that frail, ya do look beautiful." Nikki turned at the sound of his voice, "Victor..you scared me." "Ya should still be scared, but I'm not sayin' I regret doin' what I did, I just never ment ta hurt ya like that, forgive me?" "For hurting me? You didn't Victor, if you hadn't I wouldn't have Vincent and I have to.. thank you for that" she said, her voice was unsteady. "Maybe we should do it again sometime huh?" Vic growled, his eyes turning a darker amber. Nikki backed away, "Victor..." He growled, "I'm not gonna hurt ya, not this time. I changed Nikki, I promise I'll never do that to ya again." Upon saying that he left the room, leaving a very confused Nikki behind. TBC

Chapter 2- Dangerous game  
"So Vic, what do you think of Nikki, ya know, now that your all good and everything?" Deadpool asked form the other side of the room where he was cleaning his guns. "She's okay I guess..." Vic began, "Kinda wish I had more time to spend with Vincent though." "So...he's your's right?" Wade asked, flipping over. "Yeah, but he choose the good side like his ma, and I'm proud a' him for that. Before you ask Wilson, Nikki an' I weren't together, ya know I didn't change before then" Victor said, a hint of regret in his tone. "Does that mean you actually LOVE Wolverine's wife?!" Wade shouted. "I'm not in love with her, least I don't think so.. Wade I got a wife an' a daughter aside from all this, don't you think I just wanna go home ta them sometime too!?" Victor roared. "Somebody's moody lately" Wade said, grinning. "Well how do ya think I feel?! The last time I got ta see Erica was at her talent show an' Chloe fer that matter too! An' ain't it bad enough runt goes to every one of Vincent's baseball games?! You don't get me Wilson, 'cause you don't have to deal with watching your kids grow up while you wait on the sidelines to see 'em fight you one day. Vincent already chose that an' I know Erica will too, that's why I'm trying' here, I wanna be part of their lives" Vic said. "Wow, that was deep for a former sociopath" Wade said, "Hey big guy, don't'cha think if Nikki hears you act all chick flick-y than she'll let you get to know your son? Huh? Nice plan huh?" "I think I should go talk ta her, there's something' I been meaning' ta tell her" Victor said and left the room.  
"Hey Frail" Victor said, entering the kitchen. "What do you want Victor?" Nikki asked. "Look, I been meaning' ta talk to ya about something'..." he began. "Yeah?" she said, looking up at him. Something, somewhere in him made him do what he did next, he pulled her to him and kissed her roughly. Nikki pushed Victor's arms but to no avail, his grip was locked around her back, his claws catching her hair as she struggled to get away from him. Victor could feel her fighting him, but he didn't want to stop, finally he broke away. "Victor" Nikki gasped, "Was the..what were you thinking?!" "I didn't know how ta tell ya, I tried earlier but I didn't think you'd get it, I want ya. I don't care that you're runt's I want ya" Vic growled. "Victor, I love Logan, I wouldn't do that to him ever. If you want me so #$&*ing bad then you can wait unti lI'm dead bacuse I'll never love you while I have Logan" Nikki said. Victor growled low in hi throat and took her hand, "It ain't muc hta ask of ya darlin' just a one night stand's all, maybe more." Nikki pulled away, "Victor if you ever think I would leave Logan for you, then you are the same arrogant person I ran away from. When you came to the school, I was ready to leave again, but then Logan killed you and I finally felt safe. So tell me right now why I would give everything up to be with the one man in the world I hate the most." Victor shook his head, "I didn't want ya ta feel like that anymore Nikki, I want ya ta know, you're alwase safe with me. Now anyway." He tried to get closer but she turned away, "Victor...it was a mistake letting myself be that vulnerable before and I'm never gonna let that happen again, so I should tell you now, I don't want to be close to you, not after you betrayed me like that. You made me think we were friends and then you...god it's been 9 years and I still can't talk about it! I trusted you and you turned on me, I'm never gonna let that happen again." Victor looked at her and took a moment to realize she was upset, the salty scent of her tears made Victor actually regret what he'd just done, "I'm sorry." She turned to face him, tears still running from her eyes, "That's not gonna help Vic, it never did." He turned and left the room, storming back upstairs. "So, how'd it go?" Wade asked. "Do I look like I wanna talk about it?" Vic asked. "She tried to kill ya didn't she?" Wade said. "Nope, what she said did the trick" Victor said and decided to go to sleep. "Dude, I've never seen you like this before, what'd she say?" Wade asked. "She told me the truth and I hated it" Victor said. "Wow...she must've been honest with you because for once you show some real emotion, I really oughta give my advice to Gorge first shouldn't I?" Victor growled and put the pillow over his head to try and drown out Wade's blabing. "Kid shoulda killed him when he had the chance" Victor muttered and clamped his hands over his ears. TBC  
Chapter 3- Competition  
Logan sat on the couch with Gorge and 612 watching the hockey game when Deadpool rushed in, "Hey Logan, guess what?" "Do I wanna know?" Logan asked. "Vic's in love with Nikki but won't admit it and now she's avoiding him because he tried to get her away from you and she won't abandon you for him because she loves you" Wade said all in one breath. Logan growled angrily and 612 looked at Wade, "Please tell me he didn't do anything that would get him killed." "Well...he made out with Nikki but she was pushing him away..." Wade began and Logan looked twice as angry as he had a minute ago. "Gorge, I hope you don't mind loosing a team-member" Logan growled and stalked out of the room. "I'm gonna go watch this" Wade said leaving with 612. Victor was flipping channels on the TV in the rec room when Logan walked in, murder evident in his stare, "I told you if you EVER came near Nikki again I'd kill ya, what part of that don't you get?!" Victor chuckled, "She didn't want ta be with me anyway runt, she loves you." "Logan?" Nikki said. "I can't get a minute to myself can I?" Victor growled and brushed past Nikki out of the room. "What's his problem lately?" she asked, letting Logan wrap his arms around her. "So you never told me he had a thing for you" he said jokingly. "Me and Victor? That's funny sweetheart, I'd have to be a total air-head for that to happen" she said and grinned. "I'm sorry I lost my temper hunny, you know he really ticks me off" Logan said and gently kissed her. "I know, you need to relax though Logan, I'll never leave your side. Not now, not ever" she whispered. "Awwww! Group hug!" Wade shouted and pulled the couple into his arms. "I want to hit him really bad right now" Logan muttered. Deadpool snuggled Nikki's hair and she whispered, "So do I." "Wade, you might want to get off them now because I think Nikki might murder you" 612 said, pulling Wade back. "Not just Nikki" Logan said, sending his claws down an inch form Wade's nose. "Wow, they're shiney" Wade said, touching his claws. 612 let him go, "If he wants to be a moron, he can kill himself but I'm not waiting around for it." Logan retracted his claws and backed away from Wade, "You really creep me out Wilson. C'mon Nikki, let's go do something else." "Awww! I wanted to see if they ping when you tap 'em!" Wade shouted and jogged after the couple. TBC

Chapter 4- Deadpool and Souja boy should never mix  
Nikki stood in the door to the rec room trying to stifle her giggles. "What's so funny?" Maria asked and Nikki pointed into the room, there in front of the TV was Deadpool attempting to dance the souja boy dance. Maria nearly collapsed giggling and had to leave the room while Nikki ran to get her camera. Deadpool had humiliated them before so now it was their chance to get him back, Nikki grabbed her camera and recorded the sight that was Wade dancing and unsurprisingly, she wasn't the only person in the house with this idea, Daken was recording this as blackmail should he ever have to use it. "Hello YouTube" Nikki said softly as she recorded all of Wade's flubs. After he stopped, Nikki rushed upstairs to put the video on the internet.  
Victor was trying to find something to do when he found the video, Wade doing Soulja boy?! "What in the-?!" he shouted, "I think I just went blind." Downstairs, Nikki was showing off her masterwork to her teammates, all of them laughing. "Please tell me that wasn't really Wilson doin' Soulja boy" Victor said, coming downstairs. "That was, and there's another copy" Nikki said, grinning. "You're still an evil genius darlin'" Logan said, pulling Nikki into a kiss. "GIVE ME THAT TAPE!!!" Wade shouted, running down the hallway. "Grrrrr....NOBODY HUMILIATES THE MERC WITH A MOUTH!" "We do" Gorge muttered and everybody burst out laughing. "Who...recorded that?" Wade said, shaking a bit. Resounding "Wasn't me"s filled the room. "It makes really good blackmail though, you wouldn't want it to fall into the wrong hands..." Logan said, smiling at Nikki and Daken. "So it WAS you!" Wade cried, "Victor, I thought you changed! WE bunk together man! You've seen me unpack my GI Joe undies, you know me man! Why would you do that?" "I didn't do crap, and Wilson I know you better than I should so please, move out already" Feral said. "Then who posted that" Wade asked. Nikki giggled, "I may be cute but I still am an evil mastermind." "You're more than cute, and if you did it, I'm not mad, you kinda owed me some payback for a while..." Wade said. Logan growled at Wade. "What'd I do?!" Wade said. "You said Nikki was hot, although I agree wen she doesn't want to kill me" Victor whispered. "YOU THINK NIKKI'S HOT?! I thought I knew you man" Wade said. "Wilson...when I come back I'm gonna kill you" Victor said and bolted for the door, he knew better than to stick around when Logan was angry. Nikki sighed and sat beside Logan, giving him a gentle kiss, "You should feel lucky they think I'm hot, otherwise I wouldn't wear what I wear around you." "I just wanna be the only man that gets to tell you you're hot, you're mine you know that?" Logan asked, holding her to him. "Yeah, and you're mine too, no other girl gets this kinda perfection" Nikki whispered and kissed him, letting the team cheer in the background. TBC  
Chapter 5- The Hunt  
Feral woke in the dead of night, his highly trained senses telling him something was wrong. A muffled sound came from downstairs, shuffling footsteps and a muffled scream. Victor bolted upright, he knew that scream. "Get up Wilson, somebody's here" he said, getting out of bed and going to the door. "Wha-?" Wade began. "No time, stay quiet and at the first sound a' fighting', cover me" Feral said and raced down the stairs. Nikki's eyes were wide with fear, she knew there was no way she could get away from Cyber without something bad happening. ""Shhh, now just tell me where Daken is" Cyber whispered. Nikki saw Feral ready to spring in the doorway and her heart raced, Victor could easily out power Cyber. "Well?" Cyber whispered and Victor lunged. "Nikki go! Get back!" Victor shouted. Nikki pulled from Cyber's grip and Victor blocked Cyber from her. "I'm not here for her, I'm here for the boy" Cyber calmly explained. "You don't go after Nikki's cubs without getting' hunted for it" Victor growled. Nikki stood behind him, she wasn't going to let Cyber threaten her children.  
Victor and Cyber fought with Nikki standing back. Deadpool and Logan arrived to watch the fight. "So, who's winning?" Wade asked. "Tie" Nikki said, "What time is it?" "3 AM" Logan replied. Nikki turned and smiled, "Today's my birthday." Logan kissed her deeply, "Happy birthday." Wade was looking back and forth between the fight and Nikki and Logan until a lightbulb popped in his mind. He ran upstairs, picked up a golf club, ran back downstairs and to the couch again. "Celebrate, I'll handle this" he said and ran at the fight with a golf club. "Leeeroy Jenkins!" he cried and swung the club at Cyber. Nikki giggled, "Wade gets even more insane by the day." "Let's just hope he knocks them both out with that thing" Logan said, making Nikki giggle again, "In the meantime, he's right, let's go celebrate." Logan hitched her leg over his waist and grinned, kissing her deeply as he carried her upstairs.  
"Watch it with the club Wilson!" Feral shouted. "Ow! Ow! Ow! OW!" Cyber cried as he got whacked over and over again. "Creed, get Cyber outta here, I got Bessy!" Wade said. "Who's Bessy?" Victor asked. Wade kissed the club before he brought it down on Cyber again. "Aw dammit, the club is Bessy isn't it?" Feral asked. The two chased Cyber out into the woods and stood in a clearing laughing and whooping until dawn broke the horizon. TBC

Chapter 6- Revelations and a party  
Cyber arrived back at base with no information. "Well? We didn't send you for nothing" Felix thundered. "I did what I was sent for, but they were being stubborn" Cyber replied. "How so?" Jane asked. "I never reached the boy, the team began to fight me the moment I arrived" Cyber said, "Wolverina was the first to fight me and, I have no idea why, Sabretooth fought me as well as that moron in the red and black." "This could be harder than we thought" Demitri said. Jane scowled at them, "Incompetence! Never in my years have I dealt with such incompetent morons!" "Is she talking about me?" Felix asked Cyber. Jane growled in frustration and stormed from the room.  
Canada-  
After the team had fully awoken that morning, Nikki was surprised that no-one except Logan and Feral remembered what day it was. She sat on the couch with breakfast, not even paying attention to the TV. "Happy birthday mom" Vincent said, holding up a box. "Aww, hunny" Nikki said, setting breakfast aside, "Aside from Logan and Victor you're the only person who remembered" She picked him up and hugged him tightly, "Nobody else forgot, they were just being lazy so now they're rushing to get you stuff" Vincent said. "They are? No wonder I haven't seen anybody since last night. Thank you hunny" Nikki said. "Love you mom" Vincent said, scurrying off the couch to go get breakfast. "Logan?" Victor asked, the restraint in his voice evident. "What Vic?" Logan asked. "I think we ought do something' for Nikki, it is her birthday after all" Victor said. "Like what? I'm giving her a present later" Logan said. "I'm talking about a party runt, a surprise party, nobody remembered it was today except us and your kids, we get them to help and they're in the clear from the birthday girl's wraith" Victor said. Logan chuckled, "It would be fun to see her try to kill Wilson though." "So...truce?" Victor asked. "For Nikki? Truce" Logan said. The work on the party began. TBC

Chapter 7- Jealousy  
After everyone had gotten word of the surprise party except Nikki, they went to work on it. Logan found Nikki still sitting in the living room, watching some mindless chick-flick marathon. "Hey, having' a good birthday?" he asked, sitting down beside her and pulling her close. "Aside from the few people who remembered my birthday, no" she said, unintentionally pouting. Logan smiled and let her settle against him, "So what're we watching?" "50 First Dates. For an Adam Sandler flick, it's not that bad" she said. "Why don't we do something else?" he said, lifting her into his arms. She laughed and held on to him, "What exactly are you gonna do to me? Throw me in a fish tank?" He smiled at her sarcasm and took her upstairs. "I wanna give you my present first and there is no way you could hate it" he said, sitting her down on the bed. She giggled and gasped when he took a huge box out and set it down beside her. "I'm giving you this first so it doesn't seem like I'm trying to outdo anybody." "Everybody remembered?" she asked. "How could they forget?" he said, giving her a kiss. She smiled and opened the box, "Another box?" Three boxes later, Logan was on the verge of laughing even though Nikki wasn't. "Okay, are you pranking me?" she asked. "No, just open one more" he said. The last box was opened when Nikki smiled and her eyes teared up, "Thank you, I love it." He took the necklace from the box and fastened it around her neck. "I needed some way to show you how much I love you, this seemed like the perfect way" he whispered and kissed her deeply. She smiled and touched the ruby that seemed to glow, "but why this? All you had to do was show me." "It looks like your eyes when you let yourself be what you are, I love you even when you think you're a monster. Just to tell you, if you think you're a monster, just wait until I show you what I can do with the power you gave me" he whispered and lay back with her.  
Victor listened to the sounds from upstairs and a low growl escaped his throat. "Somebody's jealous" Deadpool muttered. Victor smacked him. "OW! Sorry, I didn't mean it!" Wade said. Victor turned away from Wade and went to get back to work. TBC  
Chapter 8- The Party  
Logan smiled and held his hands over Nikki's eyes. "Are you sure I can't peek?" she said with a small pout. He grinned and kissed her softly, "Be patent, you'll love it." As he removed his hands from her eyes she gasped softly in surprise at the beautifully decorated room and its occupants. Nikki smiled and ran to go hug her siblings, who'd come out or the occasion and she turned and smiled at Logan, "Who came up with this?" Logan chuckled, "You may not believe it, but Vic did." "I knew he would but I didn't want to ruin the surprise for you" Alice said. "I get it, the psychic sees all" Nikki said, ruffling her younger stepsister's hair. Jasper laughed, Logan noticed how all of them seemed to sound like music when they talked or laughed, it was a bit eerie now that he noticed it. Nikki smiled and went to find Victor, she just had to thank him for all this. Victor sat outside, aside from runt, nobody gave him a spark of gratitude for this, this was his idea and nobody cared. "Victor?" Nikki's voice was soft, the bell-like tone soothing. "What?" Victor asked gruffly, surprised when she hugged him tightly. "Thank you for the party" she said. "um..No problem" he replied. She smiled and went back inside.  
A couple hours later, Nikki and her friends and family sat around in the living room, there had been a little tension between everyone at first but with Jasper's abilities everyone calmed enough to enjoy the party. "So, what's been going on back in the Midwest?" she asked. "Same ol' same ol'" Jasper said, his southern twang coming back into his voice, "Why'd ya pick up here in th' cold an' lonesome? Ya coulda just stayed in New York." Edward, ever the thinker, said, "She was split between two teams, she came up here to stay in between them obviously right Nikki?" "3 actually and yes" she said. "Well, I still don't see why you don't come stay with us for a while, it'll be fun!" Alice said. "Alice your idea of fun is torture to us" Bella sighed. Rosalie giggled, "She has a point." "Rose" Emmett warned, lifting her onto his lap. Rosalie giggled in reply, tugging playfully at his shirt. "Not this again!" Edward said, burying his head in his hands. "Now you know how we feel with the lovebirds all the time" 612 said, patting Edward's shoulder. "Complain about us one more time and I'll tell Nikki about Edwina" Rosalie said. "You wouldn't dare" Edward challenged. "I would dare" Rosalie said, "I'd dare a lot." "Who's Edwina?" Deadpool asked. "NO!" Edward cried. "Edwina's Edward's cross dresser alter ego, he got drunk and she appeared" Rosalie said. "Oh dear god" Bella whispered. "THAT WAS FORM FANFICTION! YOU CAN NEVER PROVE THAT!" Edward cried. "Yes, I can, I was the one who taped it and wrote it" Rosalie said. Jasper calmed things down while Alice, Emmett and Bella laughed. "So that's where my mascara went!" Bella shouted between giggles. "I hate you so much right now Rosalie Lillian Hale or should I say Lillith!" Edward shouted. "Call me what you want, I'll still have this over you" Rose said. A soft sound came from outside and the Cullen's stiffened. "The pack is coming" Edward whispered. The team looked to one another, this wouldn't be good. TBC  
Chapter 9- Choose a side  
Earlier-  
The dark of night engulfed the wolves as they shot through the forest. One dark russet brown wolf stopped in it's tracks when it saw where they were. 'I'm not turning on her' he thought to Sam, the pack leader. 'She rejected you, what do you care about her?' Sam thought back. 'She may have chosen Logan but she's still my friend, I still love her like that' Sal thought. 'I'm with him, Nikki never did anything to us, none of the Cullens did' Seth thought. 'Shut up! Both of you! You do realize you're siding with leeches right?' Sam thought. 'Yeah I do and you know what? I had to take a vampire's life before, I'm never going to betray their kind again' Seth thought angrily. 'We're going, so if you wanna avenge Jake, do it yourself' Sal thought. 'Wait! Sal, you're not going alone' Leah thought. 'I'm coming with him' Seth thought. 'You hardly count little brother, Sal please, let me come with you' Leah thought, her dark brown eyes widening with sadness. 'Sure, let's go' Sal thought and the three bounded along, side by side.  
Now- Sal, Seth and Leah returned to their human forms beyond the trees. They dressed quickly and jogged toward the mansion house. Inside, Nikki sniffed the air. The other Cullens were tense, they didn't have her sense of smell. She relaxed, "It's Sal, Leah, and Seth, they're my friends." "You made friends with mutts?" Edward asked, seemingly disgusted. "Your wife did too, you've got nothing' to talk about" Nikki said, glaring at Edward. Sal knocked at the back door impatiently. "Sal!" Nikki said, pulling open the door. "Nikki" he sighed, lifting her up in a hug. "Leah, Seth!" she said, hugging each of them. Leah leaned close to Sal and Nikki caught on, "You imprinted! Seth, I feel so bad for you." Sal nudged Nikki playfully as she laughed, "We should do reunions later, the pack is coming, they want to avenge Jake but everyone's turning against Sam, they all like you." "Looks like you've got a fan club frail" Feral growled and Seth stepped back. "N-Nikki that's Sabretooth" he whispered. "He goes by Feral now" Nikki said, "I think he's a good guy but we can't tell can we?" She shot a glare in Feral's direction. "C'mon in" she said. Logan looked at Sal as he came in, Sal's hand was in Leah's and Seth looked miserable. "They imprinted didn't they?" he whispered to Nikki. "Yup, and Seth hates it" Nikki whispered back. The three told what they knew from Sam's plans. "I wonder what they'll do to get us to fight them" 612 said. "We aren't going to fight you" Embry said, walking in, "Sam is. He went to La Push for Emily and Koda, we kept Kim and Claire hidden." "They're at your place Cullens, I would keep away form them if I were you" Quil growled. "Warning taken, tell us what he plans to do with Emily and Koda" Jasper said. Emily ran in, "What happened with Sam?" Tears were running down her face, something was wrong. "What happened?" Jasper asked soothingly, sending a wave of calm her way. "He has Koda, he said to come in here and tell the Cullens to go out there and fight like warriors, not cowards" Emily sobbed. "Cowards? He dares call Emmett Mcarty Cullen a coward?! I'll show him-!" Emmett said, about to storm off. "Oh no you're not!" Rosalie said, pulling her husband back by the shirt collar, "For as long as we've been married I've know you to do stupid things, this will not be one of them, hear me?!" Emmett sighed, "You never let me have any fun." "It's the joys of being married, you'll get used to it" Jasper said. Alice smacked him, "Is that what you think of our marriage? No fun? Just because I never let you jump off a cliff we have no fun?!" "Agree with them and you're sleeping outside for a year. In a tent. Never coming inside." Bella growled. "Agree with them and you'll be sleeping on the couch" Nikki said. "We have a great marriage, you don't see me complaining" Logan said. "I agree with Logan" Edward said, "I love being with you Bella." "Alright, save the drabble for later, now we got a fight to win!" Wade shouted, holding up his fist. "That's just because you could never keep a woman" Logan said. "I'm gonna ignore that" Wade said.  
"CULLENS! SHOW YOURSELVES!" Sam shouted, "If any of you know what's good for you you'll come save the children." "Children?" Quil whispered. "He has Connor too" Emily sobbed. "Connor?" Nikki said. "Her baby, Connor wasn't born more than 5 weeks ago" Leah said. "I'm going out there" Nikki said. "Wait" Gorge said. "No I won't wait!" Nikki said, "I'm gonna go out there and save 2 innocent kids, you know why? Because at least I'll know I can save someone." Her eyes glittered with tears and she turned away. "Nikki" Logan said. "No, just don't, I'm not talking about this now, I'm going out there and I'm saving them. You cant tell me it wasn't my fault because it was, you just won't believe it" she said softly and left the room. Logan followed her, he wouldn't let her fight alone. "Sam!" she called. A baby began crying, "Looking for me?" Sam said. He was holding Connor in one arm and Koda's sleeve in the other. "Let the kids go Sam, you don't have to risk them to fight us, we knew you mean it" Logan said. Sam sent Koda forward with baby Connor, "Go inside" Nikki whispered, "Go hide with your mom." "Sam we don't want to have to fight you" Logan said, "You don't have to fight us." "Actually, I do. I was pack alpha for a reason, you see, Jake was my half-brother and you killed him" Sam growled. "How could Jake have been your brother?" Nikki said. "Mrs. Uley was my mother, just like Mrs. Black was Jake's, but we had the same father. You can guess who that is" Sam said. "So insanity and being evil run in your family then?" Logan asked. "I am neither evil nor insane, I'm only more than ready to finish you leeches for all it's worth" Sam growled. Sam started to transform into his wolf, 'This might not end well' Nikki thought. 'It really better.' TBC

Chapter 10- The War Has Begun  
Sam lunged, his claws were aimed at Nikki. Logan shot forward, his claws shot out and struck Sam. Emily ran forward but Nikki held her back, "Go inside." "But Sam-" Emily began. "Go inside, I won't let them kill each other" Nikki said. Logan couldn't believe how much better fighting seemed now. "You're a- the treaty was broken a long time ago, now this is personal" Sam said. Sam nearly got around Logan, but Logan managed to nearly K. O. Sam with his claws. "Logan stop!" Nikki cried, she wanted to hold him back, but she couldn't. Logan turned and he realized the bloodlust had been all he was thinking about. He slowly went to Nikki's side, holding her against him, "I'm sorry, I didn't know what I was doing." She looked up and terror spread through her wide eyes, "LOGAN!" He effortlessly ran Nikki over to a safe distance before going back. Sam knew he could be out powered, but not when he had something else up his sleeve. Sam ran to the front of the house, Logan following and Nikki went after him, she couldn't let anything happen to him. Sam raced out in the street, grabbing an old truck and hurling it. Logan pushed Nikki down, bracing her for impact, his hand shot out and stopped the truck from hitting them. The truck fell to the side in a broken pile of metal with Sam snarling at them, "Why won't you parasites die?!" Logan didn't have time to move Nikki away this time, Sam lunged and sent him off her, onto the ground at her side. "Sam stop!" Nikki cried, "Please!" Sam was prepared to strike a killing blow when something hit him, hard. Surprisingly, Nikki picked up what was left of the truck he;d thrown at them and swung it with all her might, knocking Sam into the trees. She knelt at Logan's side, his several wounds still healing. "Why do you have to be the hero? I can be too" she said. "I know you can, I just don't want you to have to be" he said, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She smiled and listened to the night, "I guess Sam took off, he'll be back." "We'll be waiting" Logan whispered, leaning up to gently kiss her. Woots could be heard form the open doorway, Nikki turned, glaring at the first person she could see. "What? We're only being honest" Deadpool said. "Yeah, why don't you go be honest in a bar somewhere" Nikki said. Several 'ooo's arouse until Wade nudged Victor's shoulder, "Hear that, she's letting us leave, let's go pick up chicks!" Nikki laughed, "Wade, you couldn't do that if you tried and you can as long as you don't bring them here." "I call shotgun" Wade said, running over to one of the cars. "Let the record be that I feel really bad for you right now" Nikki said, patting Victor's shoulder. "So do I" Victor said and left behind Wade. Just a normal day in their world. Yeah, right. The End.  
**Wolverina: The End**

Chapter 1- Family reunion  
91 years. It seemed like so long ago this was their home, his home. Shawn Howlett looked at the vast mansion where he spent his childhood, he smiled at the memories of playing football with his older brothers, watching his younger siblings grow up. Now that Kaylie was 18, she moved out. Kaylie was the youngest of the family and yet he still visited this place every chance he got. "Dad where are we?" Matthew asked. Matthew was Shawn's 14 year-old son, it was scary to know that his sister was only 4 years older than his son. "We're at my parents' place" Shawn replied. "Hey! Runt! Long time no see!" Vincent called. Shawn mentally cursed that nickname, his brother was one of the big shots of the family now, appearing in every comic book just like their dad, fighting alongside the most famous heroes on the planet and still having a world-wide fan base. "Runt?" Matt asked, trying to hide his laughter. "Don't ask" Shawn replied. Several of his older siblings appeared in the door, Laura, Josh, Aron and Daken. He missed all of them so much. "Shawn!" Gabrielle called. "Gabby!" Shawn laughed, pulling his sister into a hug. The youngest of the family were Erin, Drake, Alex and Kaylie, in order. Alex was the only person in the family that had just inherited one trait from their parents, the healing factor. All 12 of his siblings made every 'big family' he'd ever seen look small and normal, but he wasn't complaining. Hours of chatting with his siblings, introducing his son to his nieces and nephews and catching up with his parents, both retired after Kaylie's birth. "I missed being home" Shawn said while the kids were outside, "After Samantha died I thought of moving back in here, I still might." "I never thought I'd say it, but I missed being here too" Daken said, "I never thought I'd go back to San Francisco either, not after..." They knew it was still hard for him to talk about Rachel, after she died in the war with the Marauders he'd never been the same. "If it helps today is 60 years since I got divorced" Gabby said. "I wish you wouldn't talk about that" Josh said, "Everyone knows that story back and forth." "I'm just glad you're all here" Nikki said, smiling. "I'm just glad we're finally all together, a family" Logan said. They all smiled but then the ground began shaking, the Howletts running outside. "Oh &#^*" Josh said. The Maurders were coming. A sudden blast knocked them all back, shattering glass and shaking the already quaking ground. Several other blasts followed, everyone running for cover where they could. Nikki, Logan, Daken and Wendy, Daken's daughter, huddled in the remains of part of the estate. The dust settled and Logan looked over the remains of the wall. "Where did the other kids go?" he whispered to Nikki. "Shawn, Matthew, Alex, Drake, Kaylie, Gabby, Vincent and Laura hid in the sub-basment, why?" "Because, you don't want to look" Logan whispered. Panic filled Nikki's eyes as she peered over the edge, a sob coming from her. Aron, Josh, Aleasha and Erin, along with their kids were gone. "What happened?" Daken whispered, holding his hans over Wendy's ears. "They're..." Nikki trailed off, this was alwase what killed her inside, she couldn't protect them and now... they were gone. She sobbed, Logan pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried. This had never happened before, not this many of them at once. Unexpectedly, a loud final blast rocked the ground and the floor nearly caved in. "Oh god" Nikki whispered, her eyes going wide. "Go" Logan whispered, nudging his son and grand-dughter out first, then Nikki before himself. The floor caved in and Nikki began sobbing again. Logan held her to him, tears running down his face, same as his son. Their family was destroyed by their enemies, now it was time for the Maruders to pay.  
Logan lifted Nikki and steadied her on her feet, Daken helping Wendy stand. "Dad where are we going?" Wendy asked as Daken pulled her along. "Someplace safe" Daken replied. "I thought this place was safe, I thought nobody could find us out here" Wendy said, panic rising in her voice. "I promised your mother I'd never let anything happen to you, I also promised myself I'd never have to run again, so I'm taking you to San Francisco and I'm going with my parents, I'm going to avenge your mother" Daken said. "I'm coming too" Wendy said. "You don't know how dangerous it is" Daken said. "I have both your powers and mom's why can't I come?" Wendy asked. "I just lost all of my sibling, my nieces and nephews and I lost your mother do you honestly think I want to lose you too?" Daken said. "Dad, you're not gonna lose me, you taught me everything you know. You're alive now aren't you, so am I, that means if I can survive this, I can survive this war too" Wendy said. Logan looked back at his son and grand-daughter, "She's so much like him it's unbelievable." Nikki perked up a bit at that, "At least I didn't lose everything, I still have you, Daken and Wendy." "Don't make it sound so terrible, I feel like I should've been able to save them too, at least we still have something to hold onto" Logan said, taking his wife's hand and running his finger along the wedding band. "'Till death do us part, through everything, that's what we promised each other, I'm keeping my promise." He gently kissed her and smiled as the back doors to the car opened, "We're coming too" Wendy said. "If I say it's too dangerous though-" Daken began. "It's to dangerous, go run and hide, I got it dad" Wendy said. "She really is your daughter Daken" Logan said. "Yeah, I just wish she was more like her mother" Daken said. "Do you even have any idea where we're going?" Wendy asked. "I know where we can find out where they are" Nikki said. "So do I" Logan said. The car sped down the road to San Francisco, and to old friends.

Chapter 2- Back in Action  
Gorge Gargan was back at the institute, he had been for a while after both of his children had joined the X-Men. His wife Kimberly sat at his side, many years before Kim had almost died but somehow through Nikki's magic, she was able to give Kim part of the power Gorge received from his sword to keep Kim alive. The car pulled into the mansion, so many memories were in this place, so many good and bad that it hurt to be here, yet here they were. "Gorge!" Nikki shouted, hugging her old friend. "Hey Nikki, how's life?" Gorge asked. "It sucks" Nikki said. "Who's there?" Feral asked. "Hey Vic" Nikki said, the pain in her voice evident. "What's wrong frail? Miss me too bad?" Victor asked. "No, I've had a really bad day, and that's truly an understatement" Nikki said. "Welcome back Nikki" Kim said, hugging her old friend. "Dear god not them again!" Deadpool shouted, "I'm still scarred form the last time I dealt with those 3, why are there 4 of them now?" "She's my daughter Wilson, Wendy this is the single most moronic person I've ever met, Wade, this is Wendy" Daken said. "So, I thought there were 11 more Howletts we would see" Gorge said. Nikki looked away, telling herself not to cry. "We just lost them Gorge" Logan said. "Oh my god, Nikki! I'm so sorry!" Kim said, hugging her friend as she broke down again. "We think the Marauders did it" Logan said. "That's not possible, the Marauders disbanded 40 years ago" Gorge said. Nikki's head snapped up, "The Volturi, it had to be the Volturi, they're the only ones that would do this to me other than them." Daken held his daughter closer, "Why would they hunt us? Wendy doesn't even know what they are, what you are either." "What? Dad what're you talking about?" Wendy asked. "Well, that must've been hard" Wade said. "Shut it Wilson" Daken growled, "I'll tell you after this is over." "We have to go to Volterra, we can't let them go after anyone else" Nikki said. "Alright, I think Wendy should stay here then" Daken said. "Hey, I told you I was in, you were better with it when you thought it was the Marauders but now the Volvo people show up and you're scared? What's the deal with them then?" Wendy asked. "The Volturi, they're vampires, very powerful vampires and the Marauders would've been safer for you to fight" Daken said. "Look, I'm your kid, you taught me never to back down and I'm not. I told you I was gonna fight them and I'm gonna fight them, unless you want me to go alone and meet you there?" Wendy said. "Fine, you aren't leaving my side once got it?" Daken said. "Deal, you need my help anyway" Wendy said.  
A couple hours later-  
The buildings flew by in Volterra, Italy as the Porsche flew through the city's streets after noon. "We find the Volturi and we fight them okay?" Nikki said. "Okay, don't worry, we'll avenge the kids" Logan said. Outside the Volturi's palace, Nikki and Logan went in first, with Daken and Wendy following through a different path. Nikki stayed close to Logan, her gut feeling said something even worse was yet to come. Logan stopped her and went around the corner, Nikki moved to follow him but gasped when she saw around the corner. Felix was holding a blade almost identical to Logan's and her heart felt torn out when she saw Logan. "Mom?" Daken asked. Nikki turned, tears were running down her face, "Stay here." Nikki looked around the corner, Felix was gone. Nikki ran out, letting her tears run down her face, "LOGAN!" She held his head on her lap, her hand pressed to his chest to try to stop the bleeding. "Dad" Daken gasped and ran to his father's side. Wendy ran behind her dad, "This can't be happening." Nikki sobbed, her heart felt like it had been torn out and stepped on, only worse. "Logan" she sobbed. "Don't cry" Logan whispered. "Yeah I'll damn well cry, I can't lose you, I love you Logan!" she sobbed. "Nikki" He whispered, brushing a tear from her cheek, "I love you too, knowing you, I'll see you soon anyway. Daken, take care of Wendy, she needs a good father like you, remember me, okay?" "Okay dad" Daken said, trying to fight back tears. "I love you Nikki, I'll see you soon" Logan said. His eyes went dull and Nikki sobbed. "I'll-I'll kill Felix, I swear it" Nikki gasped. "Mom, relax, what did he mean he'll see you soon?" Daken said. "I'm going to be with him after I avenge everyone who's died today" Nikki said, her tears still running down her face. "Mom, no, don't you dare think about it" Daken said. "Why would you-?" Wendy began. "Stop, you can't change my mind, either of you, just keep your promise to your father and take care of her. I'll take care of this" Nikki said. "We'll fight with you, I'll be here with you mom, I'm not going to leave you now, you're the only family I have left from before all this insanity started" Daken said. "Hey, was I part of the insanity?" Wendy said. "stop it, just stop it!" Nikki cried, "Wendy listen to your father, he's only trying to protect you! I want you to promise me something now, I want you to take care of your dad too." "Okay" Wendy said, "We'll take care of each other." "Good, I'm sorry you had to be here for all this" Nikki whispered, hugging her grand-daughter. "Let's go kick some Volturi ass" Daken said. The 3 then went to confront the Volturi, for the last time. TBC  
Chapter 3- Goodbyes  
Nikki knew Daken and Wendy were behind her the whole time she slid from corridor to corridor, never looking over her shoulder to register their presence. "I'm going in, if I yell for you, come help me then, not a moment before" Nikki said. "What if you can't?" Wendy gasped. "Then avenge me some other time, keep your promises first" Nikki said. "Mom, if you don't come out of this, then I'm sorry for everything before you and dad got together. I love you mom" Daken said, hugging the only mother he'd ever knew. Tears threatened to stream down Nikki's face, "Love you too hun. Keep your promise, nothing' else matters now." Daken nodded and stood by Wendy's side. Wendy sobbed softly and hugged her grandma tightly for a moment, before grudgingly letting go. Nikki had to look away as she went in, leaving the only family she had left behind. Long ago, there was more to this, her blood family mattered as much as her children, but over time she grew apart with them. They still cared about her, that was why she could never tell them about this. Jane was the last member of the Volturi, her long light blond hair was pulled back, her dark red eyes showing how close to death she really was. "I'm so sorry it had to come to this" she said in a shaky voice, "I had to do a final thing before I died, so come now, kill me, I don't want to live eternal on this earth any longer, my own power would kill me slowly anyway, so my time is almost up." Felix stepped out, streaks of gray ran through his short black hair, where Nikki and Jane looked as they always had. Felix didn't speak a word, yet lunged at the younger vampire, Nikki tearing him to shreds with her claws. Jane sat back, awaiting the slow, agonizing pain she knew Nikki would inflict on her before she died. Jane felt a sword being slipped into her hands, "Kill me, if you want to die so badly kill me and my son will kill you" Nikki whispered. "Why?" Jane asked. "You've taken everything from me, my home, my family, my husband, Daken can take care of himself, I just want to be with my family again" Nikki said. "They still live in Chicago if you want to be with them so bad" Jane said, chuckling. "Kill me now Jane, you've always wanted to" Nikki said. Jane felt the need to object, but she did anyway. Nikki gasped as the sword broke through her back, piercing her through. She held onto Jane's wrist to say her final words, "Thank you." Jane had killed many over the years, but killing her...she regretted. A sob broke the silence, a young girl stood in the door with her father and Jane smiled, this seemed to be the end for her too.  
Days later, the Cullens gathered at the cemetery, Sal never imagined he'd outlive his best friend, Emmett never thought he'd outlive his sister, neither did the other Cullens. All the Howletts were buried together, just as they should've been and somehow, someway the sun broke through the clouds over the graves, shining down on them, and Bella looked up at the sun for the first time in over 90 years, and smiled, she knew that if there was one thing Nikki loved as much as her family, it was the sun.  
The end.

**Diary Of Wolverina- Summer Vacation And Everything Up To It**

1 week, 4 days until summer-  
Nikki sighed, classes dragged by for what seemed like forever and she was just glad today was a half day. She walked into the bedroom and sat down on the bed, pulling her laptop to her side and logging on. "Hey, how was your day?" Logan asked, sitting beside her. "Now I can see why the kids want summer so bad, this sucks!" she groaned, rolling over to face him. Logan chuckled, "You sound like a teenager." "I feel like one after zoning out all day, at 9 this morning, I got so bored I started reading the comics Scott confiscated last year" she said. "Don't you do that anyway?" he asked, taking her hand in his own. "Yeah, but this is different" she said. Logan smiled and pulled her back against him, "Maybe you just need to relax a little this weekend." "Can't. Party then I can relax Sunday and Monday" she said. "If only your other friends knew what you do everyday" Logan said. She pulled up her laptop, "If they knew what I do everyday, they wouldn't believe it." "Yes, because the life of a student is so very boring" he said. "Don't say it like that, my friends don't know the difference between what I do and what they do yet" Nikki said. "What are you doing?" Logan finally asked after string blankly at the computer screen. "Runescape, I can't afford to die again" she said. "...and?" Logan asked. "Marvel, YouTube and, forgive me for this, club penguin" she said. "Club what?" he asked. "Club Penguin, it's cute, I love puffels" she said, pouting. "I'm just not gonna ask" he said, "So what's on?" "Simpsons" Nikki replied, "nothing' new." "So this is what you did all day" he asked. "Yep" she replied. "And it doesn't bother you that you could've done something...better?" Logan asked. "Nope" Nikki replied. "I'll only wonder why you're so addicted to the internet" he said. "You sound like Edward" she said. "I'm not that uptight and vain am I?" Logan asked, a grin spreading across is lips. "He's not that bad, you have to get used to him" Nikki said, letting Logan keep his hold around her. "June 4th and we're free" Logan sighed. "Yup, and I'm gonna love every minute up until then, Tuesday, we launch rockets in the science class, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we go swimming in Gym, the Tuesday after that's the end-of-the-year party all day and the day after that's the awards assembly" Nikki said. "What's the 2nd's routine?" Logan asked. "Nothing' major, we get the day off" Nikki replied, "Oh, Gorge and everybody think we should do like, a barbeque or something for Monday since we're off." "This Monday?" Logan asked. "Yeah, I think it'd be fun" Nikki said. "Hey, what'cha doin'?" Deadpool asked, running in, plopping on the bed and folding his legs Indian-style. "um..Nothing Wade" Nikki said. "What'cha watching?" Wade asked, looking over the computer upside down. "Nothing Wade, I'm typing" Nikki said. "Can I watch?" Wade asked, "Please?" "Okay..." Nikki said. "Yippee!" Wade said, "Vic's busy an' I got nothing' else to do." "Okay, um, just sit there then" Nikki said. Logan was close to laughing out loud when Deadpool changed that in an instant. He hopped off the bed, went out in the hall, waited a minute and came back in. "What were you doing?" Logan asked, afraid of the answer. "I went back to my room to fart since I wouldn't do that in front of you guys" Wade said. Logan did start laughing, Nikki looked disgusted. "Did he really just say that?" she whispered. "WADE!!!" Victor's voice thundered. "ewww, he did" Nikki whispered and Deadpool left the room. There was a thump and almost a splat sound and Nikki looked at Logan, "I really don't wanna know." TBC  
Nikki sighed, writing was a pastime for her, but for a change, her worries stayed with her as she wrote. 'Keeping a diary makes some things feel better, but it makes some things feel worse' she thought. "You okay darlin'?" Logan asked. "No" she whispered, the day had been perfect until she got back, "I just...miss having somebody to talk to..you know, that is remotely human." She held up the journal dramatically, sighing as it fell beside her on the bed. "You know you can tell me everything right?" he asked, running his fingers gently through her hair. Sighing once more, she told him everything, all her problems, ideas, everything. After she finished Logan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and laid down beside her, kissing her gently. He chuckled, "Even though I'm not a telepath, I feel like I can read your mind now." Nikki smiled, "Somehow, that doesn't make me feel much better." "After everything we've been though together, everything we've faced, I never knew why you chose me, I never really knew anything about you even though I thought I knew everything. It helps a lot to know what you're thinking, with our connection, I can feel what you feel, but it's not the same when I can't tell why you're feeling it" he said, kissing her deeply. She smiled, her eyes tearing up, "Can I have a human girl minute?" He nodded and let her lay her head on his shoulder, he could feel the tears running from her eyes as she sobbed softly, he could feel the sadness and anger behind the tears and finally, the peace of telling him everything, letting him see how her mind worked. "For someone so normal to me, you can be so absurd" he said, brushing her wet hair off her face. She scoffed, "You don't make sense to me all the time either." "All the more reason why I love you" he said, kissing her deeply again. "I feel so much better now, thanks" she said, settling into his arms. "Anything for you darlin', you know that" he said. "Now, it's time for me to make it up to you" she purred, climbing on top of him and using her magic, she locked the door. TBC  
1 week, 2 days until summer-  
Nikki woke up smiling, Logan was awake at her side, his arms wrapped around her waist. "Hey" she whispered, kissing him deeply. "Hey yourself" Logan said and grinned. "Beautiful day, I hate to waste it inside" she said, looking out the window. "We'll do something outside tomorrow, or maybe later" he said, kissing her again. She smiled and got out of bed, ready to start the day.  
Later- Nikki sat around, not really doing anything too important. "Want to do something?" Logan asked. "I'm not sure, I really don't have anything to do" she said. "Why don't we at least do something?" he asked. She sighed, "We have so much to look forward to, and yet so little." Logan wrapped his arm around her, "We could...watch movies?" Nikki sighed, "I love you, don't try so hard to think of something we can do together." "Well, what do you want to do?" he asked. "Why don't we do something useful, like cleaning?" she asked. "Oh $&^*" he said as she tugged him off the couch. Josh and the rest of their sons smield up at him, "Good luck" Josh said, "The last time I cleaned my room there were 3 dead mice and a half-eaten molded over ham sandwitch in there." "Laura looked away disgustedly and Vincent, ever the adventurer asked, "How'd it taste?" "I don't know, it's still in there if you want it" Josh said. "Now I'm glad I have my own room" Aron said. "Jeez you're such a neat-freak my junk couldn't live in there if it tried" Josh said. "Exactly, you need to throw out some junk because do you really expect a 9-year-old to eat that?" Aron asked. Vincent ran downstairs with something that looked like it was dunked in duckweed, rubbed on a dog, dragged behind a car for a year and left out in a July afternoon. "Do you really think I'm stupid enough to eat this?" Vincent asked. "I think that one was the one, that might be the one form 6 summers ago" Josh said. "Do you pack your stuff in garbage bags because I'm starting to think that's where it belongs" Aron asked. "You men are SO disgusting!" Laura shouted and raced out of the room. "Wait until she sees my room then" Daken said. His brothers laughed and Aleasha looked at the two babies, "Shawn, never become like them and Gabby, stay normal please!" TBC  
1 week, 1 day later, the day before summer-  
In San Francisco everyone in the X-Mansion was buzzing with excitement at the summer in 2 hours. Emma wasn't happy that the X-Warriors had arrived at the school, but she had to admit, the day seemed to perk up when the assembly arrived. Emma was almost finished speaking and the X-warriors were nearly asleep, given the exception for Victor and Wade, who were both out cold. A loud snore resounded through the room, and everyone turned to face Wade, even Victor woke up. "Oh hell" 612 said, covering his eyes, Emma was giving Wade a death glare. "Wade, get up frosty's gonna murder you" Vic said. "Pony I love you" Wade said and snuggled Vic's arm. Nikki, Logan and half of the students started to laugh at the look of terror that crossed Victor's face. "Wade, wake up now" Gorge said in a commanding voice. "Later Viccy, I'm snuggling pony now, oh pony I love you so much" Wade said, attempting to kiss Victor. "Aright, I'm waking' him up even if I end up killing' him" Vic said and pushed Deadpool out of his chair. Wade snored as he hit the floor, and woke up when his head did, "Vic! Why'd you have to do that?! Pony an' I were having fun together!" "You thought I was pony" Vic growled. "Run" Nikki whispered, "Now." Wade shot off the floor and ran around the room. "Help! Help! Somebody call SHEILD!" Wade cried. "Why did I not expect that?" Nikki said. 612 sighed and stood up, letting Deadpool run behind him, "Vic, you say you're not a bad guy, so don't kill the poor psycho." "Yeah, the poor psycho has some body parts he'd like to keep intact, like his head which you planned on cutting off" Wade said. Vic growled and Wade ducked behind 612, "Vic stay away from him" Nikki said. "So NOW you stand up to me! Finally, I never thought you would!" Victor exclaimed sarcastically. Nikki was trying to control her temper when Deadpool snickered. "Viccy farted" Wade said. Vic looked at Deadpool with murder evident in his eyes, "Shut up psycho." "Is that the est you can think of? Wolverine's son did better than that!" Wade said. "We're trying to help here but if you have a death wish..." 612 said. Wade paled as Nikki stepped aside and so did 612, "I'm dead." "Oh yeah" Vic said and ran after Deadpool. "Nikki, little help?" Gorge asked. "Sure" Nikki said, grinning. She raised her hand and Deadpool's pants fell down, knocking him over. "Nikki, I ment help him get away, not help Vic get him" Gorge said. "Well he was asking for it" Nikki said and made Vic fall over Wade. "Oh this is not good" Gorge said. "I agree, I think I have a migraine too" 612 said. The bell rung and cheers filled the auditorium, "My migraine just got worse" 612 said and left the room. TBC  
Summer, day 1-  
Victor turned over in his sleep. A loud air-horn blast awoke him in an instant. "WADE!" Vic growled, glaring at the other man. "I was asleep I swear!" Wade cried. A giggle was heard from the closet. Victor huffed and tore open the door, "Oh, hi Mr. Creed" Vincent said. Vic looked shocked for a minute, "Where'd you learn to prank somebody at 7 am?" "My brothers, why?" Vincent asked, acting innocent. "Oh, you're good kid. Real good. You must get that from yer mum" Vic said. "Did my mom ever get you?" Vincent asked, "She never talks about you and she acts like she hates you but I know she doesn't. She just doesn't trust you 'cause you hurt her." "Smart kid" Wade muttered. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" Vic asked in that 'get out before you see your guts on the outside' tone, "I've hurt a lotta people, she shouldn't take it personally." "Tell me what happened" Vincent said, "She said you were her friend. That whenever you two got paired up for the worst of missions you didn't complain. She said you took care of her like family, so why'd you betray her?" Victor chuckled, "When you look in the mirror, who do you see staring' back at you kid?" "My reflection?" Vincent answered, hoping it was the right answer. Victor chuckled again, "Your mum ever tell you who your dad was, your real dad?" "Yeah" Vincent said, "I have his dogtags in my box, she never gave me a picture though." "I think, for a while then, I loved your mom. She was pretty much everything a woman could be ta me. I did think of her as family for a while...but I couldn't help being' a man" Victor began and laughed, "She was the single most beautiful woman in the Marauders I'd ever seen. One day, I got real mad at Sinister for sending' me ta the mansion an' yer mum came along, pretty as ever. I couldn't stop myself then, after that I never thought I could face her, until..." Victor stopped, what was he doing? "I know you're my father just tell me already" Vincent said. "Until I found out she would have you. After that, I met Chloe and well, I never stopped thinking how it was better she told me off before you were born. I can't imagine how bad having me for a dad would've screwed you up, except runt's doin' a pretty bang-up job in that department" Victor said. "That 'runt' is my dad fur ball, you don't mess with him unless you wanna get your ass handed to you" Vincent said. "Does your mother let you talk like that?" Vic asked. "Hey, if you heard what my brothers say, I pale in comparison" Vincent said. "Awww! The father/son moment is still going on! Can I tell you a story about why my father was the worst?" Wade asked, sitting on the bed like a kid. "oy..." Vincent said. Victor laughed, "Get outta here kid, you don't have to endure this like I do." "Oh yeah? Try living' across the hall from miss 'new guy every night', it's torture!" Vincent said. "Well, Maria has been know as over the top" Vic said. "Well, she's got your record topped as of yesterday" Vincent said and left. "Do we even wanna know?" Wade asked. "No, I don't think we do" Vic replied and left to grab some breakfast. TBC

Day 2-  
The forest seemed quiet, too quiet for a normal day. Victor noticed the change the moment he stepped outside. His feet didn't make a sound as he silently walked thorough the underbrush. "Lost?" a musical voice asked. Victor turned to face whoever spoke and looked shocked as he turned to her. She had long dark brown hair, her eyes were bright crimson and her skin, a deathly pale, seemed to glimmer in the light that escaped the tree tops. "I'm Bree" she said, her voice sounded like bells. "Victor" he said, "You look like someone I know." She laughed, her laugh carried on the wind that rustled the leaves and blew her hair around, her scent was beautiful, like sugar and honey mixed together. "You knew Victoria too right?" she said. "No, her niece" Vic said, he was taken aback by her beauty and the long royal blue low-cut dress with the silver medallion hanging in the perfect place. "Will you take me to meet Victoria's niece?" she asked. She came closer and rested her hand on his shoulder, "Sure Bree." She smiled, her perfect white teeth gleamed and he started to walk with her. "I've walked an awful long way, would it be too much trouble to ask if you could carry me?" Bree asked. Victor simply scooped her up, making her laugh again, "I enjoy your company Victor, you're very strong." He smiled at her, "I'm not only strong, you should see how I fight." Her smile fell, "That's why I need to see Victoria's niece, I have a problem I suppose she could help me with." A howl pierced the silence of the woods and Bree paled, if possible. "You alright Bree?" he asked. She looked at him, then over his shoulder into the trees, "We need to keep going." When they reached Nikki's place, Victor set Bree down gently. "We're here" he said. "Thank you" she replied. She took a few steps and nearly collapsed. "Bree!" Victor said, "Bree, c'mon, wake up darlin', I've got you." She groaned and her eyes opened slightly, "I really shouldn't've come all this way without..." "Without what?" Victor asked. He carried Bree in, gently laying her down on the couch and going to find Nikki.  
"Nikki, get over here, I need your help" Vic said. Nikki sighed, he was popping up everywhere lately. Victor stayed near Bree's side while Nikki came in, "Victor where did you find her?" Nikki asked. "Her name's Bree, when I found her she was alright, she wanted to talk to you but then she said she shouldn't've left without something" Vic said. "She's a vampire, like my siblings and my aunt Victoria, she needs to feed" Nikki said. "...and you're not like her?" he asked. "No, she's venomous, I'm not" Nikki said. "Then how'd you-" he began. "We both are, it's just my venom's in my blood, hers is in her teeth, that's why she doesn't have fangs" Nikki said, cutting him off before he could say more. Nikki left the room and came back with a glass full of red liquid, "Is that-?" Vic began but Nikki passed him without a glance. Bree opened her eye at the smell of blood, her eyes black as coals, "Thank you miss." Nikki smiled, "You wanted to talk to me?" Bree smiled in reply, "Yes, Riley said I could find you here, the wolves are after us." "Riley? As in 'tried to take Victoria from James' Riley?" Nikki asked. "Yes, but if you don't want me here-" Bree began. "No, don't worry. I think Riley's gotten over that. Which wolf?" Nikki asked. "How'd you know it was 1 wolf?" Bree asked. "Lucky guess" Nikki replied. "The shaggy one with russet fur" Bree said. "Jacob" Nikki growled. Bree stepped back, "I really don't want to be a burden..." "You're not" Nikki said, "Stay here with us. You'll be safer here." "Thank you" Bree said softly, she looked at the floor as she spoke, "I have a camp not too far from here..." "I'll go with you to get your things, we'll take care of Jacob for you" Nikki said. Bree smiled, looking up, "You remind me so much of Victoria, you're just as kind to me as she used to be, I was in her coven once. Good thing Riley and Sara found each other otherwise there's be more drama than there already is." Nikki chuckled, "Now that sounds like my family." Victor stared after the tow women as they left the yard at speeds no feral could keep up with unless he was tracking them. "Vic, you okay?" Wade asked, approaching with Logan. "I just met the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and it turns out she knows runt's wife. How did I get wrapped up in this soap opera?!" Vic shouted to no-one. "Oh jeez, he's gone insane" Wade said. "No, that's just what happens when you fall in love, I asked myself the same thing when I met Nikki" Logan said. "Oh god HE IS INSANE!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!" Wade cried and ran down the hall. "Wow...what just happened to him?" 612 asked Logan. "I hope we never find out" Logan said. 612 looked at Gorge who entered the room with him, "Hey, I'm not psychotic enough to figure that one out either." TBC  
Day 3-  
Bree sat timidly on the sofa with some other girls, she didn't know any of their names. "Laura, come help me with dinner" Nikki called from the other room. "'Kay mom" the girl that must've been Laura said and left. Another young girl played with dolls while the little ones napped. "So, what're you stuck here for?" the woman beside her asked. "I'm Bree, I need Nikki's help" Bree said. "Maria, they call me Redeemer" Maria said. "Aleasha" the little girl said. "Aleasha and Maria, nice to meet you" Bree whispered timidly. "You're more of a mouse than I'm used to, most people Nikki knows are loud and roudy as hell" Maria said. "You mean the pack?" Bree asked. "Not just, them and everyone else" Maria said. "You get used to it" a voice said fon behind them, making Bree jump. "Woah! Didn't mean to scare you, Andrew 612, at your service" 612 said, bowing. "Oh, please, like a gal like her would fall for you" Vic said, walking in with dinner. "I'm sure she would if she didn't have to be disgusted by you" 612 replied. Bree looked at Victor, "He isn't disgusting. I think he's quite handsome." "Hellooo, girl you need your eyes checked" Wade said leaning in front of her. "No, I do not Wade, I think Victor would be a perfect boyfriend. That is, if he wanted to be" Bree turned to Victor and smiled, her eyes puppy-dog like. "I...um..." Victor said, trying to find the right words, "Yeah." Bree jumped up and clapped, then sat down on his lap, "Yay! I've waited for this since I met you." She grinned enthusiastically and kissed him deeply. Victor went bug-eyed in surprise, but who was he to turn down a woman that wanted to kiss him. "Ugh, it's even more disgusting with them" 612 muttered. "What the...?" Gorge said, walking in. "I'm not even sure myself" Maria muttered. "Ewww" Vincent said, sitting next to his sister, "When mom and dad do it, it's fine, but that's just mentally corrupting." Everyone turned to look at him, "You're 9" Wade said. "I'm just saying what Daken said when he saw them making out" Vincent said. "Once again, you're 9!" Wade said. "I'm a smart 9-year-old" Vincent said, grinning. "And scary, don't forget scary" Wade said. "Thanks, I take after my mom" Vincent said, grinning wider. "You're an evil little 9-year-old" Wade said. "I know, I try" Vincent said. "Why do you hate each other so much?" 612 asked. "The meanie put shaving cream in my toothpaste" Wade said. "You're old, I thought you knew the difference" Vincent said. Maria laughed, "Wade, cut the kid some slack, both of his parents though the dame thing until they heard you say that." "But I am smart!" Wade said. "That's debatable" Daken said. "When'd you get here?" 612 asked. "When it got intrusting" Daken replied. "Forget this, I'm going to my room!" Wade shouted.  
Wade grumbled all the way up the stairs, but when he reached the room, he sighed, "I'm so tired of this." He opened the door and shouted incoherently, "What the-?! Vic! You couldn't'a done it somewhere else?!" Vic looked up from Bree, "It's my bed." Wade groaned and slammed the door. Bree giggled, "Is he always like that?" "Worse than a six year old girl? Yeah pretty much" Vic said. "Nikki!" Wade shouted, stamping his foot. "What now Wade?" Nikki asked. "Vic's in our room with a girl and he won't go do it somewhere else!" Wade said. "It's his room too ya know" Nikki said, "Compromise. You'll learn for when you get married." "Oh god, not that! Anything but marriage!" Wade cried and ran out of the room. "I can't see why he thinks it's so bad, I have you" Logan said,d wrapping his arms around her waist. "I also let you do pretty much anything you want..except I get free reign with you later" Nikki grinned and kissed him. "Yeah, marriage isn't that bad" Logan said. TBC

Day 4-  
Jacob growled softly, look at them. They didn't even know how close he was to tearing them apart and yet, the children ran around the yard on the bright summer day. "You're it!" Marie Gargan shouted, tagging Vincent's shoulder. It was times like these Laura had a rare moment to herself to just think. The cool breeze whipped her hair over her shoulder and she let the sun warm her face, sighing she lay back against the tree branch. "Just thinking' sis?" Daken asked, scaring her awake. "What-? When-?" she stuttered, too angry to finish one sentence. "Relax, I wasn't gonna kill you. Yet" Daken said, swinging himself beside her. "What the hell are YOU doing here, I thought you were supposed to be the 'civilized' person in the family" Laura growled. Daken chuckled, "I gave up on that a LONG time ago. After all, I couldn't resist with all of you having so much fun." "Well, can't you go away, I'm trying to think?" Laura said. "Fine, but if something happens to me later you'll regret it" Daken said. The thought made Laura shiver, but he used that one a lot. Mainly because their mom had taught him to guilt trip like that. A strange scent crossed the wind and Laura watched after her brother, her eyes going wide, "Daken LOOK OUT!" Daken leapt to the side before Jacob could sink his claws into him. Jake shot out of the trees, ready for a fight. "Laura get them inside, I'll handle wolf-man!" Daken shouted. Laura raced down from the tree, gathering the kids and sending them inside before joining her brother.  
Inside, Vincent pulled a chair to the window, "Get mom and dad, they can't last long!" Jake swung his talons at Daken, Daken easily dodging. Laura swiped at Jake, narrowly missing her target. While Jake turned to Laura, Daken struck Jake with his claws, cutting deep into the wolf's fur. Jake howled in pain and threw Daken off, turning to Laura with rage in his eyes. Laura backed up, she was trapped between the trees and Jake, there was no way out now. She whimpered, it was just her and Jake. Jake suddenly roared, thrashing back and forth. "Mom!" Laura cried, watching the other creature cut deeply into the monster's fur. Logan started for the fight, the Wendigo was overpowering Jacob, but how long until it turned on Laura? "Logan don't!" Nikki said. She held his hand, trying to pull him back. "I've got to!" he growled, watching the monsters. "Let me help then" she said. "Fine, get them out of here. I'll handle the boys" Logan growled and shot at the two creatures. "Dad!" Laura cried, looking around desperately for Nikki. "Here, take my hand" Nikki said from the branch above. "Mom?" Laura whispered. Nikki pulled Laura up and jumped as the tree shook when the Wendigo collided with it. "Get your brother and get inside" Nikki said. "No, we can help" Laura said. "I know you can, but now you need to listen to me" Nikki said, "Do you want me to help you?" "No, I'm fine, just please, meet us in there" Laura said, hugging Nikki. "Will do, now get Daken and go" Nikki said, running back to the fight. Logan managed to hold back both Jake and the Wendigo for now, but he felt relvied when Nikki joined him, taking on Jake. He smiled to his wife and took out the Wendigo. Nikki was still half Jake's size while he was in wolf form, but she didn't want him to change back any time soon, that was a mental picture she did NOT need. Jake swung and she dodged, that was how it went for a while but then Jake struck hard, anticipating her next move. She was knocked back, the wind knocked out of her momentarily. "sonofa-" she heard Jake mutter as he watched the other fight, kicking him square in the chest before e could finish. "Yeah, I really am something' aren't I?" she said, grinning at her husband. Jake growled and swung at her again, slamming her back into the trees. "Well that didn't go as planned" she muttered, trying to stand but Jake swung again, knocking her through another tree. "&*%$" she said, she could feel the wounds starting to heal. Jake knew what he could do, Logan would hate him for it but he wasn't exactly on his good side now anyway. Picking Nikki up ever so gently, he smiled and gave a wolf-laugh before thrusting his claws throguh her stomach. He heard her gasp and felt blood running down his arm, he let her drop and walked away, he hoped he'd get a chance to fight her again. Logan finished off the Wendigo and saw the path of detruction Jake caused, then he smelled the most beautiful scent he'd ever smelled, at the same time it was the worst, it was her blood. He ran to her side faster then he ever would'e if she'd left him mostly human, he gently brushed his hand over her cheek, wanting to see her awaken at his touch. The rain started falling and he lifted her in his arms, Jake would pay, but first he had to take care of her. Gorge had made the kids go wait in their rooms, Laura and Daken being the exeption. Logan was thankful for that when he walked in with her, "Gorge, help her." He realized his voice was breaking, the water running down his face wasn't from the rain, just the possibility of loosing her made everything change. "Logan, you have stop the bleeding, we can get Beast here soon" Gorge said, "She'll be alright Logan, we both know that." "Then why hasn't she woken up yet?" he said softly. "I called, he's on his way" Maria said. Victor and Bree rushed down the stairs, "Is she alright?" Bree asked worriedly. "She will be" Gorge said, leaning down beside Logan, "Logan, she will be okay. No matter what, she's alwase come back. She told me herself that that's because she has you." "When'd she say that? Before or after I left her in Chicago?" Logan said. "She loves you anyway can't you see that?" Gorge asked. "I'm the reason for so much of her pain, why does she still care?" Logan asked. "Beacuse she loves you" Gorge said. The sound of jet engines filled the room and Logan realized Gorge was right, she would be alright. "I'm here" Hank said, "Although I wish it were on better circumstances." Logan moved aside so Hank could take care of Nikki, but as long as Hank let him stay with her, he would. Gently taking her hand in his own, he stroked the back of her hand, the rings that showed how much she loved him and he smiled, he knew he'd alwase have her.  
Soon, Hank had Nikki in bed, she wasn't allowed to fight until she was fully healed. Logan stayed with her and he didn't have to wait long until her eyes fluttered open. "Logan?" she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I'm here darlin', you okay?" he asked. She chuckled, "I missed you." "Even though I had you here I missed you too" he said. "God, I bet I sound pathetic right now huh?" she asked. "No, I'm sorry. This was my fault..." Logan began. Nikki placed her hand on his face, "It wasn't your fault. You didn't fight Jake did you? Now just come here, obviously I can't come up there." He smiled and leaned down to her, letting her kiss him deeply. "Soon, I'm going to kill Jake for you. I promise" he said. "Great, when you're stuck here too that'll REALLY make me feel better" Nikki said sarcastically. "I only would if you wanted me to" he said. "Which, we'll do together. Some other day. After all this" she said. She lay back and he held her hand, smiling and relaxing with her until they both fell asleep there.  
The End


	3. Part 3

**The Witch Hunt**

Chapter 1- Reunions  
Sunnydale, CA-  
Nikki's bright red mustang shot down the streets at speeds that would make her speed-demon stepbrothers jealous. The Howletts had come to California for a day and Nikki had some time to explore the area near San Francisco, after about 20 minutes of driving, she reached Sunnydale. The sun was too bright today, something she'd been taught to fear, but living in California wasn't exactly what her parents had in mind. She pulled off to a bar, The Lion's Den, seemed good enough for the day. She sat at the bar beside a blond man, his dark eyes shooting over to her only once with a glimmer of memory. "I don't see many girls like you around here" he said in a British accent. "Well, I'm new around here" she said, "name's Nikki, yours?" "Spike" he said, turning back to his drink. "There are 7 demons in her and 2 vampires, I'm starting' to wonder if you're one of 'em" she said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "You don't wanna know" he said. "I can tell you are, I ain't prejudiced, I'm one of 'em" she said. Spike turned to look at her, "Where're you from?" "Canada, originally Chicago, why?" she asked. "I used to live in Chicago" he said, turning away.  
"My family hasn't left since they moved there, after everything we've been through there, I don't think they will. I remember my brother William, well my older brother William, always used to go hunting with my dad. Dad kept the old ways alive, I'll tell you that" Nikki said, chuckling. "You're brother William, had brown hair" Spike said. "Yeah, he took after mom, wait, how do you know that?" she asked. Spike grinned, "I used to be William the bloody, I have brown hair, and I used to live in Chicago and go hunting with my father. Aside from that I had a lil' sister, dad always called her 'Nikki' even though mum always tried to call her by her first name." Nikki looked astounded, "So you're the only family uncle Drac couldn't reach right?" Spike laughed, "Some thin' like that lil' bit." "I ain't no 'lil' bit', I'm 112 years old" she said. Spike laughed, "I remeber that. That must be why Dawn-y's been a lil' sister to me all this time." "Dawn-y?" she asked. "SPIKE! C'mon we've gotta go, Buffy wants us at the house, crap. daylight" a brown-haired teenager said. "She's Dawn huh?" Nikki asked. Spike nodded, "and who are you?" Dawn asked. "I'm Spike's little sister" Nikki said.  
Dawn looked between the two, "But she wasn't here last night!" "She can walk among the living unnoticed. Can I do that?" Spike asked. "You could try it, I wouldn't just in case you DO get fried" Nikki said. "Xander won't like her" Dawn muttered. "I do, so, how long has it been?" Spike asked. "108 years brother" Nikki said. "Brother, when was I ever called that lil' bit?" Spike asked. Dawn huffed, "Hellooo, real lil' bit right here!" "Dawn, you're not a lil' bit anymore, you've been telling me that for what? Months now?" Spike asked. A car screeched outside, "Does she normally do that?" Nikki asked, covering her ears. "Yeah and for some reason I still love her" Spike said. Two women, one blond, one red haired, and a man entered the bar, "Spike!" the red-head shouted. "That's Willow, next to her is Buffy and the Nick Fury junior is Xander" Spike said. Willow jogged over and stopped in her tracks, "Who's she?" "I'm his sister" Nikki said. "You have a sister?" Xander asked, "and she's that hot? Why didn't you ever tell us man?!" "I'm married Rambo" Nikki said. "Dammit" Xander hissed. Nikki grinned, Buffy seemed to hate her already, it was a mutual feeling. "So, you're the famous Buffy the vampire slayer, I'm a big fan" Nikki said, still grinning. "and you're Spike's sister" Buffy said cautiously. "Don't worry, I don't bite. Much" Nikki joked. Dawn paled a bit and Willow laughed, "I'm Willow, ignore them. Xander's fuming because he can never get a woman and Buffy and Dawn are just being careful. I don't need to be."  
"Wiccan right?" Nikki said, "Name's Nikki." "Nikki, yeah, I am, and proud of it" Willow said, "You can call me Will if you want, it's shorter." "Will, I am too, 1/4 wiccan, 1/4 vamp, 1/4 wolf and 1/4 Luipis Superior" Nikki said. will looked surprised, "Can you really be all that?" "Yeah and some day my kids might be too" Nikki said. "You have kids?! Just rip my heart out please!" Xander said, leaning on Dawn. "As pathetic as you sound, I'm still married and you really need to consider dating someone...more your style" Nikki said. Will laughed, "I like you already." "If you guys want to come back to San Francisco with me, you can meet my family" Nikki said.  
"I can't, I might die" Xander said. "You'll meet plenty of girls" Nikki offered. "I'm in" Xander said. "Anything to know my lil' sis" Spike said. "I'm in too" Will said. Dawn and Buffy looked to one another, "We'll come. If you even try to kill us one time-" Buffy began. "Oh, chillax, I don't kill people unless they deserve it" Nikki said, heading out to the mustang. "I like her" Will said, following her out. "When in Rome luv" Spike said, kissing Buffy on the cheek and following his sister. "I hate her" Dawn muttered and Buffy just stared, how'd she get herself into this? TBC

Chapter 2- The Hunt Begins  
The mansion was a buzz with the news of Nikki's long lost brother being right here in California all this time. As the group sat in the garage after introductions, Logan had to admit, he was okay with Nikki's brother hanging around. "So lil' bit, when were you gonna tell me you had such a life?"Spike asked. "After you told me what you do" Nikki said. "Something' like you. I help Buffy time to time" Spike said. The loud sound of tires screeching down the driveway pulled them all back to reality. "Nikki!" Sal shouted, leaping out of Emmett's Jeep Wrangler and crushing Nikki in a tight bear hug. "Sal, can't breath!" Nikki gasped. "Sal, dear god let go of her before you crush her!" Cassie shouted, teleporting behind him. "She's my best friend, I can crush her all I want" Sal said. Sal jumped, nearly dropping Nikki, "Jeez Nancy! Ya didn't have to fry me!" Nancy laughed, flipping card between her fingers, "I know I didn't need to mes ami, but I jus' did non?" "Finally she speaks!" Cassie said, "Excuse her, her boyfriend taught her to be that violent." "I remeber you, you're Cassie" Nikki said, "What's everybody doing here?" "Alice saw Estella and got worried, we knew you were here even though Alice wanted to follow you up to Canada" Cassie said. "I could've said that" Alice said. "Alice, I think I have a new best friend for you" Nikki said. Pixie was sitting on the Mustang with Logan and Pixie smiled, "Hi Alice!" "Hi Megan!" Alice shouted overenthusiasticly as usual. "You met?" Nikki asked.  
"I already knew about Megan, I'm psychic remember?" Alice said. "Who could forget Alice" Edward said, coming to hug his sister. Sal stepped back, "Between her and him I have a lot to worry about." "Wait, it happened didn't it?" Nikki asked. "Nikki, let me introduce all of them" Alice said, "There's Sal, Cassie, Max, Nancy, Edward, Haley, me, Emmett, Bella, Rosalie, Jasper, you and Logan and we're gonna make the most awsome team ever!" Nikki looked at Cassie, "I haven't been around lately, does she do this a lot?" "Yeah, pretty much" Cassie said. "Well, then I guess we're making this an official witch hunt" Nikki said. Logan stepped up behind her, "What exactly did you see Alice?" "Okay, Estella was following you and Logan back to Canada overnight and she was totally gonna kill you guys but then this wolf thing got in the way and I couldn't see what happened" Alice said. "She thinks I would be dumb enough to hunt a witch single-handedly" Sal said. Logan growled and pulled Nikki close, "It could've been Jake." Alice looked shocked as she considered that possibility. "I can't believe you didn't think of that!" Rosalie shouted. "Rose cool it, she didn't know" Emmett said. "I-I can't believe I didn't think of that" Alice said, sinking down to the floor. "Alice" Nikki said, going to her sister's side while she sat there, dazed and depressed. "Thanks a lot Rosalie" Jasper snarled, glaring at Rosalie while rubbing his wife arm. "I'm so sorry Nikki" Alice said. "What did you see?" Nikki whispered. "I can't see your future, I can't tell if we protected you or not" Alice whispered. "We should go, we'll be back after this settles" Edward said to Spike. "I understand, I'll get them out of your way" Spike said. "Wait! Estella's a witch, I'm a wiccan, you could use me!" Willow said. "Don't Will, you don't want to fight Jake and Estella" Nikki said, "We'll go and be back after this." They set out in the cars, Logan drove the mustang, Nikki was deep in thought. Something everyone wanted to protect everyone else from, it was never going to end was it? Bella's was the other coven, Alice's was Biloxi, Jasper's was the war, her's would never end, not even after their enemies were gone. There would always be more.  
The sun began to set and Nikki looked to Logan, "This wasn't supposed to happen was it?" "We'll win again darlin', we always do" he said. "This never will end will it?" she whispered. Logan took her hand in his own, "It will someday." Nikki took his hand and held it to her heart, "I'll be here, with you, until the day I die." "We'll win this, I know it" he whispered as they drove into the mountains near Canada. TBC  
Chapter 3- First attack  
Nikki bolted upright in bed, her eyes scanning the room for danger and settling on the open window. 'Get a hold of yourself Nikki, it's just the wind. God, this feels like a horror movie' she thought. She slid out of bed, careful not to disturb Logan and crossed the room to shut the window. The latch clicked into place and a soft rustling sound made her turn her attention to the closet. Even though the team had discussed strategy when they arrived home, there wasn't a plan for this. Nikki heard the muted growl that made her know, above all else, there was no way she was escaping this without a fight. Logan heard the growl too, and the sound only he could hear, the sound of Nikki's heartbeat quickening. He slid soundlessly behind her, wrapping his arms around her to pull her back. The muffled sounds of searching were getting louder, either Jake knew they were awake or he stopped caring, he was looking for the necklace. Logan stepped in front of Nikki, she wordlessly knew what he planned on doing, "No" she whispered. Logan looked back to her, he knew how afraid she was, but when her scent started to fade, he looked shocked. "You're not the only one with an ace up your sleeve" she said without talking. "How'd you do that?" Logan thought. "Our connection, I strengthened it so we could hear each other's thoughts, I used my magic. It worked didn't it?" she thought back. He smiled, "Our scents?" "Gone, as of now. Jake will freak big time when he think we've gotten away from him and 'Stella" she thought. "You're an evil little vixen, you know that?" he thought to her. "You've thought it" she purred, "Now let's go kick Jake's $$."

Logan kissed her for a moment, the moment Jacob slunk out of the closet, Logan was there, fighting. Nikki sighed and fought beside him. Logan picked Jake up by his fur and held him nose-to-snout and said softly, "You ever decide you wanna come here again and I'll personally tear off whatever body parts you're not using at the moment and I'll hand them to you personally, got it bub?" Nikki smiled, he was good at this. Jake gave a grunting sound and shook his shaggy fur, "He said he got it" Nikki said. Logan let go of Jake's fur and Jake sprinted for the window, whining when he saw it was closed. Nikki opened it, letting him out, "I'd advise you not to come back. You might wanna tell her that." Logan was with her in a second, kissing her deeply. "You alright?" he whispered, holding her to him. "Dazzled, but fine" Nikki chuckled. "I dazzle you?" he asked, kissing her again. "I thought you knew you did. Why else would you kiss me like this?" she said. He took her to bed and sat her down with him, stroking her hair, "I love you, do I need a reason?" He kissed her neck from behind, "Whatever thought I just had is gone" she said. He chuckled against her skin, making her sigh dreamily, "I really do dazzle you." "It must be fun" she said, "Right now I have to remember to breath." "Actually, you dazzle me too. I can't breath when you're the one kissing me" he said. She sighed, "I couldn't think of a better way to end a fight." "I could" he grinned and lay down with her, kissing her deeply, "Now do you know what I'm thinking?" "Let me find out" she purred and kissed him again. TBC  
Chapter 4- The Battle  
Logan smiled and sighed, momentarily forgetting everything in the world except his mate, soundly sleeping beside him. her emerald/silver eyes fluttered open and he smiled, not having to say anything before he kissed her. "Morning' darlin'" Logan whispered, gently holding her face in his hands. "Morning my love" Nikki whispered, smiling despite the fact she hoped this war would be over soon so they could have more time like this. The tense way everyone did everything in the morning alerted the few who noticed to the problem, the few being the Howlett kids. "So what are we supposed to do about it?" Laura asked her younger siblings as she paced the room. "We should figure out why you think someone made you queen of the world" Josh said, Aron high-fiving him. "In case you moronic boys didn't figure it out already, mom and dad are in trouble and we could be targets" Laura said. "You're the moron, us, targets, seriously? What dumb-$$ in their right mind would try to pick us, we'd kill 'em" Josh said. "God you men!" Laura muttered, "No stupid, they would target us because we're the kids! God, either you're just to lazy or too stupid to figure that out!" "Oh, look who's talking'!" Josh replied. "Okay, cool it! oy" Aron said, stepping between them, "We are never going to get anywhere if we keep this up, mom and dad left two hours ago after they called San Francisco to make sure the others weren't heading there. Whoever the others are, we have to stop them." "Okay, we're in" Laura said.  
In the edge of the northern Washington wilderness, in the exact spot Bella hid 2 years ago, Nikki and Logan set up camp while the others started away. "We're splitting up, half of us are going to Tulelake, California to head off the army and the other half will stay near Forks to block Estella and Jake" Sal said. Nikki couldn't help but keep her gaze away from his, he was her best friend dammit! She shouldn't let him do this. "Don't go" she whispered, letting herself tear up a little before wiping it away. "I'm not gonna get killed or let you get killed either" Sal said softly, gently wiping a tear off her pale face, "You missed one. You're my best friend, I'll never go as long as you want me here." Nikki couldn't stop herself from running into one of his bear hugs before he could go. "I'll miss ya Nik" he whispered into her hair, hugging her tightly. "I will too" she almost sobbed against his oven-hot russet skin. "Take care of yourself" he whispered. "You better come back or I'll hunt you down and kill you myself if you're not dead already" she muttered. "Here, hang onto this and you can't forget me" he whispered, slipping something into her pocket, "No peeking 'till I'm gone." He set her down and said good-bye to Logan, but Nikki felt too depressed to hear it. Sal flashed a huge grin and jogged off, like he used to before there was any targets painted on them. "He'll be fine, he's your best friend" Logan said. Nikki waited a few minutes until she knew Sal was gone and she took the object out of her pocket. The shiney silver chain glinted off the sunlight as though it was new, aside form the polished look, she almost thought it would've been. The little bronze wolf hanging from the chain was carved delicately, by hand. "It looks like him in a good mood" Logan muttered, not meaning for Nikki to hear. "It does not!" she said, "He doesn't look anything like a wolf even when he morphs, he's too human to be anything but." Logan smiled, "Aren't you glad you're here?" "It could be worse" she said, kissing him deeply and mischievously undoing a few buttons on his shirt. "It is a lot worse now young nightwalkers" Estella said, striding out of the trees with Jacob behind her. Nikki opened the pack mentality to hear what Jake was thinking, "I shouldn't be doing this, Nikki's always been my friend. I never should've trusted Estella, but she's so beautiful, how could I resist?" Nikki turned off Jake's thoughts then, she didn't wanna know what he thought about Estella. "Jake, you don't have to listen to her" Nikki whispered so only Jake could hear, "I could easily help you like she could. I could do more." "You can?" Jake whispered, marveled by the very idea. "Yes, everything she can do and more. Much, much more" Nikki whispered, her voice enticing, "Just help us with her and I'll grant you anything your heart desires." 'Okay, I've got to admit that's a little overused, but why not? It's working' she thought. Jake lunged and tackled Estella to the ground, "Wait!" she shouted. "Why?" Nikki asked, "After the many times you've tried to kill us, why should we let you live?" "Because I was only following orders!" Estella cried, shielding her face from Jacob. "Jake, off. Orders from who?" Nikki asked, slowly approaching Estella. "Romulus" Estella whispered, barely loud enough to hear. Nikki growled but extended her hand, "I won't kill you. Not now anyhow. You ally yourself with us and we'll see what time offers." "Thank you" Estella whispered. Logan and Jake looked to each other, "I'm surprised they would truce after that" Jake said. "Stay, the others will be here by dusk, for now, let's just relax. We have a lot to discuss when the others get back" Nikki said. TBC  
Chapter 5- Truce  
The team all seemed shocked seeing Nikki, Logan, Estella and Jake sitting around the campfire just after dusk. "What're they doing here?" Emmett asked coldly. "They're on our side now, deal with it" Nikki said. Jake sat on one side of Logan and Nikki and Estella sat on the other, everyone else made a point to sit away from them. "Okay, will you guys relax, they don't have the plague for god's sake" Nikki sighed. Cassie stood and sat beside Estella while Sal sat with his former pack brother. The others looked at the four of them like they were insane, but sat closer anyway.  
All fell quiet as Estella began her story, "As many of you know, I'm not the youngest person here, in fact, I'm probably the eldest. After my parent's deaths, I met Romulus. He let me join him even though I was clearly not a Lupine such as some of you and over time he trusted me more and more. The trust established was broken not long later, when Romulus believed what a young boy said against me. I never understood why Romulus had become so involved with making the child who he wanted him to be, it was sickening. The boy was Romulus's prodigy, I suspect he was the closest thing Romulus had to family aside from me, but soon, Romulus began being involved in every soldier's life. He thought it would make them better. It did work for many, but a few found it even more difficult to be in the battlefield. As the time progressed, Romulus only trusted the boy and not me, it became nerve wracking. The boy was gone soon after, Romulus was panic-stricken for a while, yet he still sent me to hunt you. That must be the worst mistake he's ever made."For a moment her story didn't seem to fit, but then, as though it were a puzzle piece, it clicked into place. "The boy, you didn't know him?" Nikki asked. "No, why?" Estella said. "I think that boy was Daken" Nikki said, wondering if she'd finally lost it. "That was his name, or close to it anyway. don't know much about him, but it seems like you do" Estella said.  
After the team set camp, Nikki lay in the tent, thinking. "You okay darlin?" Logan whispered, wrapping his arms around her. "I will be, after I figure out exactly why I'm so confused right now" she whispered, snuggling close to him. "Relax, you've got nothing to be worried about" he whispered, "I'm here." She smiled, nearly asleep, "I love you." "Love you too darlin, get some rest" he whispered as they both drifted to sleep.  
The End  
**The X-Warriors Presents- The Team Up, Wolverina and Deadpool**

"I hate you so much right now Wilson" Nikki growled, the chains cutting into her wrists and ankles. "...and that's 38 times you've told me that" Wade said. "I'd rather be stuck with Creed right now" Nikki said. "Okay! I'm sorry jeez!" Wade said, struggling against the bonds. "We never would've gotten into this if it wasn't for you" Nikki sighed and said. "Sorry again!" Wade shouted. "Shhh, We're getting outta here, be quiet" Nikki whispered.  
"So you think you've gotten out of this yet heroes?" the mystery villain asked. "Well, why would we think that?" Nikki snapped, "We're kinda stuck here moron!" "Wolverina don't backtalk the bad guy!" Wade shouted. "Shut up Deadpool" Nikki growled. "I think we're in trouble" Wade said. "Well why would you think that?" Nikki asked sarcastically. "Because, my dead sense is tingling and we're being lowered into a pit of some kinds bloodthirsty fish" Wade said. "Well ya wanna know how I know? The damn fish are trying' to bite my leg off!" Nikki growled. "Like husband like wife" Wade muttered. "I hate you" Nikki growled. "39!" Wade shouted. "Any last words heroes?" the villain asked. "Yeah, who the hell are you so I can at least know who killed me" Nikki said sarcastically. "I am. Dr. Newton!" Dr. Newton shouted. "Who the hell are you?" Nikki asked. "I just said I'm Dr. Newton!" Dr Newton shouted. "I know but I've never heard of you" Nikki retorted. "Rina!" Wade shouted. "What? I'm not backtalkin'!" Nikki said. "Have a nice time sleeping with the fishes" Dr. Newton said as the heroes were brushing the water's surface. "Nikki, use your plan now" Wade whispered. "Don't hate me yet" Nikki whispered back and her claws shot down, cutting th chains as Deadpool grabbed the chains to hold on. "Sorry bub, I'm not a water sign, I'm a force of nature" Nikki growled and jumped at the 'doctor'. "Nikki! Help me!" Wade shouted. "Chill, I'm coming' I'm coming!" Nikki shouted as the 'doctor' ran away, "I have to thank you for being' a moron Wade, otherwise we never would've gotten the bad guy. Stark's on his way, let's go." Deadpool climbed out, "But I feel bad for the little guys, what should we do with them?" Deadpool pointed to the fish. "I've got a plan for them too" Nikki said and smiled.  
Later-  
"Ow! WADE!" Feral shouted from the bathroom. "I told you I had a plan for those piranha" Nikki said. "Why'd it involve me?" Wade whined and ran away as Feral ran by with a towel on. Hepzibah walked in and sat beside Nikki while she cracked up laughing, "I thought you hated Victor." "I do but if he gets Wade I won't hate him as much" Nikki laughed. Th two watched the men chase each other until they collapsed.  
The End  
**The Hunt Of A Lifetime (AU)**

Chapter 1- Traitor  
1985-  
The new coven had been brought together, James, Victoria, Laurent, Laurent's son Aiden, Riley, Bree and James and Victoria's son Andrew and the Cullens were getting worried. Unknown to them, James had one more member in mind for the coven. Esme and Carlisle had never in their wildest dreams had thought there would be some way a young girl could survive something like she had and yet they still had no idea who she was or where she came from. "What would you like to be called young one?" Carlisle asked the young woman with claws. "A-A name?" she whispered. "Yes, it seems as though you'll be staying here for a while" Carlisle said. "Lily, call me Lily" she whispered.  
Now-  
Lily sat on her brother's bed, reading comic books with him. "No wonder you decided to call me Lily Logan, his claws look like mine" she said to Jasper. "Do you think you could be related to him?" Jasper asked, nearly bouncing with excitement at the very thought. Lily laughed, "No, I know I was human before Weapon X, or at least I thought I was. I remember living in Chicago if that helps." "Edward! Lily really is your sister" Jasper called. Carlisle walked into Jasper's room, "Lily, would you mind speaking to a friend of mine?" "I'll be back" she said to Jasper. "Charles, this is Lily, Lily this is Charles Xavier" Carlisle said. Lily only had eyes for the man beside Charles. "Lily, this is Logan, he was a project in Weapon X as well" Charles said. Lily and Logan stared at each other intently, "I know you" she whispered. "I remember you" he sad softly. "Lily?" Japer asked, stopping on the stairs. "Jasper, go" Carlisle ordered. "You remember each other?" Charles asked. "I think I do" Lily said, "Lily isn't my name is it?" "No, it wasn't. I can't remember it though" Logan said, walking to her and wrapping his arms around her, "I remember that I loved you." "I loved you too. I know I still do" Lily whispered. Jasper had motioned for the other Cullens to watch and Edward caught the scent from not far away, "James's coven is on their way." Lily heard her brother speak, "Where?" Logan caught Lily's hand, "Don't. Stay, please." The other Cullens watched in awe when she went closer to Logan instead of going to them. "Who is he to you anyway?" Rosalie asked. Lily stopped, the sudden rush of memories was too much. A beautiful house, a young boy playing outside, Logan, the child and Lily herself sitting around a fireplace, a wedding, a fight, all came rushing back to her. Logan remembered the same as he held Lily's hand, the life before Weapon X. "Lily!" Alice shouted, running to her sister. Lily looked up to Logan, the memories setting into the right places in her mind, "Where-?" "I don't know" Logan said as if he could read her mind. "We'll find him won't we?" Lily whispered. "Yeah, we will" Logan said, helping her to her feet.  
Seattle, Washington, same time-  
The two young men entered the coven's hideout, "Have you found them for us?" Joseph asked. "Yes, only hope you and your brother can find them among the Cullens" James said, "You and your brother are our only hopes." "Don't worry, with my little half brother here, you'll have our parents in a day or less" Daken said, "After all, I've taught him everything he needs to know." "Yes but does your father know you're still alive?" James asked. "If he did would I be here now?" Daken asked. "You're very lucky Joseph's mother met your father after in Japan or else you'd never be one of us" Aiden said. "Now go, find your parents and bring them to me" Laurent said and watched as the boys left, "Soon, there won't be any of you to interfere with my plans." TBC

Chapter 2- Revelations  
Edward had been gone all night with his human girlfriend Bella as usual so Lily had some alone time while her other siblings were 'preoccupied'. "We were a family before?" she asked Logan. "Yeah, I guess so" he said. "Then where are-?" she began but the sudden wave of dread stopped her, she could feel the power in the air as suddenly, her memories rushed back like water bursting from a dam. Logan felt the same as his memories returned, he felt Lily drop to the floor, clutching her head against the sudden rush as he focused on piecing them together. "LILY!" Edward's voice came from outside the room, but Lily couldn't answer, the sudden knowledge of who she was, what she could do, was coming back. "Oh, god" Jasper sounded frightened, "Edward! I know what's happening!" "Jas..per" Lily gasped, she couldn't open her eyes to see her brother's worried expression as everything fit together to stay. As soon as the memories came, they fit into place and she opened her eyes, blinking against the light from the hallway. "Jasper, I remember everything" Lily whispered. "Who are you? What can you do?" Jasper didn't give her a moment to think before bombarding her with questions.  
"My name is Nikki, I'm Logan's wife. We lived in Canada, not very far from here, about an hour's run with your speed, we had a son, Joseph after our wedding. I met Logan in Japan, he'd been married once but she died, as did her baby. Logan and I fell in love the moment we met and... and I remember my life" Nikki whispered. "So, no more Lily huh?" Jasper asked, using his powers to calm her. "Guess not" Nikki said. Logan helped her back onto the large black leather couch, "I never asked so many things about here, is this your room?" "I share it with Edward, he gets the bed and I'm stuck with the couch but at lest I have this now, I used to have the floor" Nikki said, giggling at the memory. "Lily, are you alright?" Carlisle asked concernedly. Nikki smiled, "I remember everything." Esme grinned and hugged Nikki, "I'm just going to miss you." "Who says I have to leave right away? You've been my mother for so long Esme, it'd be an honor to stay for a while more" Nikki grinned, her bright eyes sparkling.  
Outside the Cullen mansion-  
"How pathetic! They're seriously acting like her remembering us is a huge thing" Daken sighed, watching the house. "I don't know about you, but I missed mom and dad" Joseph said softly. "You actually knew dad, you also got to meet your mother before she died, you had a good life when I was stuck supposedly dead" Daken said back to his brother. Joseph got a fire going, "I just miss home. I can't believe I'm saying this but I miss my bed. I miss my room. I miss my life!" "You whine like a 10 year old girl" Daken muttered. "I heard that" Joseph said. "Great, should I give you a medal?" Daken asked sarcastically. "Wow, you really are dad's kid, I thought you were adopted" Joseph said. "Was that supposed to be funny?" Daken asked, "If it was, that was just pathetic." "Everything's pathetic to you" Joseph said, "It's not like any of us can enjoy life around you." "Who's us, you're the only one complaining?" Daken said, "Oh, please! Could they be any gushy-er? It's like watching Lifetime." "I'm guessing you know that because your girlfriend told you, or one of them I should say" Joseph said and sighed. "Well, I can help it if I'm the one the ladies like" Daken said, grinning. "Yeah, right" Joseph sighed, "Can we go in there now? I'm freezing my $$ off out here." "You're the moron that suggested camping out, deal with it for a night will you, they're going to bed, let's get some sleep" Daken said. "Wait, where am I supposed to sleep?" Joseph asked. "I'll sleep over here, you stay there" Daken said, "Simple." "If I die of frostbite, I'll come back just to kill you" Joseph muttered but Daken was already fast asleep. TBC

Chapter 3- Trails  
The unusually bright sun woke Nikki from the most peaceful sleep she had since Weapon X. She smiled, running her fingers through Logan's hair. "Morning' darlin" he whispered, catching her hand. "Morning my love" she whispered, holding their hands to her heart. "You think your brother'll mind we took the bed?" Logan asked, grinning. "If he does, I'll just have to remind him why he choose being stuck with me instead of Emmett and Rosalie" Nikki said, grinning at the memory. "Morning' Nikki! Oh, jeez, what did I walk in on?" Emmett asked, shielding his eyes with his hand. "We were talking Emmett, I'm surprised you would care about Logan and I did last night though" Nikki said. "I'm not interested, I just came to grab something of Edward's" Emmett said, turning and rummaging through the closet. "Emmett, I don't like to be kept waiting" Rosalie purred from down the hall. "You've officially freaked me out" Nikki said to Emmett. "Hey, I love my wife, I'll do whatever she wants" Emmett said. "I know how that feels" Logan said, pulling Nikki closer to him. "Okay, awkward, I'm outta here" Emmett said, running out of the room. "What do you want to do today?" Nikki asked, smiling. "I've got a million questions for you and I want to spend some time with you, how about a hike?" Logan asked, pushing her hair back. "Sounds fun as long as I'm with you" she said.  
Outside-  
The unusual brightness was a cause for waking a lot of people up that day, but apparently not Joseph's brother. Joseph looked at his watch, debating if he should wake Daken up himself but then realized that wasn't something he wanted to do. "Do you have to pace like that?" Daken muttered sleepily, "I'm trying to sleep here." "You slept all night and I was freezing! Now it's at the most 65 degrees and you're still not cold?" Joseph asked. "Nope, just tired" Daken said, turning over to go to sleep again. "We've got a chance to get close to mom and dad why won't you get up?" Joseph asked. "We do?" Daken sighed. "We do, now get up and let's go" Joseph said. Daken sighed and packed up his stuff, tossing it over a tree branch and setting out after his brother.  
The meadow-  
Nikki smiled, laying in the grass with the sound of the waterfall not so far away. "What happened after Weapon X?" she asked, "I came here, but where did you go, and have you seen Joseph?" "No but I went to a team in Canada first, then the X-men and now, here we are" Logan said. "What're they doing?" Joseph whispered. "Laying there" Daken whispered back, "We should go now." "Now?" Joseph sounded nervous. "Yes now, before you chicken out" Daken whispered and left through the trees the other way. Logan sat up, suddenly catching a familiar scent. Nikki perked up too, "Joseph." "Looking for us?" Daken asked, entering the clearing with his brother at his side, "Hello father, remember me?" Logan looked to Nikki and back to Daken, "My son? Is that really you?" "Your 'other' son you mean" Daken said, his voice filled with loathing, "Imagine my surprise when I found out I had a little half brother waiting for my help after his parents had abandoned him like my father did years ago. It was only right that I took him under my guidance to be the best big brother I could be so he wouldn't be anything like you." "You don't have to do this" Nikki said, "We didn't abandon you, either of you. Logan and I only recently found each other again, we knew we could find you again Joseph, we never ment for you to think we left of our own will. Weapon X took us away from you, I'm sorry you ever believed we would leave you." "You're lying!" Daken growled, "All my life I knew my father didn't care and looks like I was right, he had a new family to care about while I was just a pawn for a game. That was until James came and found me, now I can do so much more with my life, like finally getting the revenge I deserve." "I didn't know you were alive, when your mother was killed I thought you died with her, I'm sorry" Logan said. "You don't care, you never did! If you cared so much about me why didn't you at least try to save me if you thought I was dead?!" Daken shouted. "He was broken about losing you and your mother, doesn't that mean anything to you?" Nikki asked. Daken looked at her, "I can't- I won't believe it. Nobody ever cared if I was alive or dead, nobody." "Your father does" she said, "and so do I. For both of you." Joseph couldn't believe it, "So you didn't abandon me?" "No, we never would" Logan said. "This is ridiculous! They have to be lying. They can't-" Daken tried to say what he knew was not true, he couldn't argue with them, they weren't lying. Logan stood in front of his son, "I want you to e part of our family, I can't force you, I can just tell you that no one will care about as much as we do." "I'll come, what choice do I have anyway? I have nowhere else to go" Daken said, "but ever think I'll trust you the same-." "You won't, I get it" Logan said. Joseph was clinging to his mother, letting tears stream openly down his face, "I missed you so much mom." "I missed you too" Nikki said softly, welcoming the rest of her family to them. That wasn't where the story ended though, the Howlett family returned to the X-Mansion with Professor Xavier, never actually finding the home they had before. The Cullens continued to live in Forks, and not long after joining the team did Nikki have her daughter.  
The End  
**Stormy Day (OS)**

The rain splattered on the windows and the wind whipped the trees while small rumbles of thunder coursed the air, for Nikki, this was just another storm given to stay inside and watch 'Superhero Sunday 2' on FX. "Mom!" Vincent shouted, jumping on her lap. "Don't tell me your brother was telling you about the thunder demon again" she sighed. "I didn't say anything!" Josh shouted downstairs, "Aron was the one talking about the science of storms and it freaked him out." "Don't worry, rain can't hurt you, you know that" Nikki said. "Mom, it's not rain I'm worried about, it's the lighting that can split people in half!" Vincent said. "Hunny, your claws can split people in half too, you have nothing to worry about. I have a better chance getting struck by lightning than you do because of the adamantium" Nikki said. "But if you and dad get hit by lightning we'll all be orphans!" Vincent said, clinging to his mother's shirt. "We won't get hit by lighting, nothing could take us away from you guys" Nikki said. "Vincent, anyone in the world has a one in a million chance anyway" Aron said. "Please, no more science today" Nikki said, "It's scaring your brother." "Okay" Aron muttered. "See, nothing to worry about" Nikki said, smiling. Josh ran downstairs, "Vincent! The lighting demon is in the house!" "Mommy!" Vincent clung to Nikki's shirt. "Josh!" Nikki said. "What? I'm just trying to toughen him up" Josh said. "Go upstairs, Aron go with him please" Nikki said. "Hard day parenting?" Logan asked. "You've got to go talk to your son about him and his demon stories" Nikki said, turning the volume back on the TV. "In a little bit, let's see if he comes up with a better excuse for 'em"Logan said. "You won't let my get killed by demons right dad?" Vincent asked. "Nope, I'd take 'em out and show your brother their skins" Logan said, chuckling. Nikki sighed, men and their monsters.  
The End  
**Forgetting The Past**

Chapter 1- Inner Demons  
This would've been Scott Summers proudest moment if he hadn't screwed everything up in the beginning so he could be there for it. Everyone knew even though Scott wasn't there, it was still one of Logan and Nikki's happiest days. The wedding, Daken and Rachel's wedding to be exact. Nikki refused to let Alice help with this one since she could help better, and that was exactly how it worked out. It was a joyous day for everyone in the school as they watched the happiest moment the newer students had ever seen. The wedding had been hours ago, the bride and groom left for their honeymoon, and Nikki and Logan sat in the rec room of the mansion, remembering exactly why they loved this place. Nikki smiled, "This makes me think of our wedding, only our was in February, in New York, on the lakeshore and all I could think of besides you was trying not to trip over the dress." Logan laughed, "I kept thinking how beautiful you looked and how much longer it was until I could get out of the tux Alice forced me into. She could've at least got one from this century." Nikki laughed, "Yeah, that was fun, good thing Cyke isn't here to screw it up." Logan looked up as he heard the front door slam shut. "Who do you think-?" Nikki asked. Emma's mental voice rung out to Nikki and Logan, "You might want to get out of here, Scott just walked through the front door." "Wait, he's supposed to be dead!" Nikki thought. "Knowing the X-Men, when are they ever" Emma thought back. "We should go darlin', Scott'll calm down soon" Logan said. "Okay" Nikki sighed, "We should head home about now anyway." Logan went to tell Kurt and Peter they were gonna go since Scott was back, but they'd be back. "Hey Nikki" Scott said, passing her in the hall. "Scott, aren't you angry at us?" she asked. "Don't think I can be, nice dress" he said, passing by. Nikki looked after him, confused, but went to the Quinjet anyway.  
"I don't think Scott's angry at us anymore hunny" she said as the Quinjet descended to their home. "Why?" Logan asked. "He said he wasn't and he complemented this dress" Nikki said. "I like that dress, it's very sexy on you" Logan growled, pulling her into a deep kiss. "You're my husband, you're the only man that can tell me that" she purred and kissed him. In San Francisco, Scott looked out the window, thinking his plan through. 'They'll be back. They'll all be back, and I'll get my revenge if it's the last thing I ever do.'  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Repressing memories  
The next day, Logan spent time with his friends while Nikki helped with some little jobs around the mansion. "Hey Nikki, where's Logan?" Scott asked. Nikki jumped, "Scott, you scared me! Logan's in the danger room with the guys, did you need something?" "Would you come help me with something, if you don't mind that is?" Scott asked. "Sure, I've got time" Nikki said, letting Scott pull her to her feet from the garden. Scott led her upstairs, smiling over his shoulder to her as they entered Scott's office. "I hope you don't mind..." he said, handing her some papers to help with. She smiled, "Not at all, I'm just glad you don't hate us anymore. No hard feelings?" "Not a one" Scott lied, smiling at her while he worked, "I've wanted to talk to you for a while, how're things with Logan and the kids?" "Good" she said. "Just good? I'm surprised, you seem to have everything when you have Logan" Scott said. Nikki looked bewildered for a moment, "Scott, what're you talking about?" "I'm just surprised, I thought you'd rant for hours about how awsome things were going" he said, chuckling. "You're hiding something" Nikki said. "Nikki, why would you think that?" Scott asked. Nikki stood and backed up, "I can tell you're hiding something, what are you trying to hide?" He looked up grimly, his eyes darkening, "I just wanted a nice chat with you first." "First?" Nikki said, her heart was hammering against her chest, Scott had been lying. She thought she was overreacting, that he'd changed. She was wrong. "Before I decided what I'd do as torture, before I killed you" he said, sliding out of his chair and walking close. "Scott, don't, please" she gasped. "Logan won't be able to hear you, and I think I know how I want this to go" he said, holding her face in his hand.  
Logan headed up the hall, laughing and joking with the guys like it was the past when they heard Nikki's piercing scream. Kurt bamf'ed in a heartbeat, going to his friend's side. "Nikki, hold still" Kurt whispered, holding her against him while he bamf'ed back to Logan and Peter. Logan raced forward, taking Nikki from Kurt's arms, "Nikki, who did this? What did he do to you?" "Scott did it" Nikki gasped, "He...I can't say it Logan, just don't do anything drastic." "What did he do darlin'? You can tell me" Logan asked. "Scott lied to me. I thought I was overreacting, so I trusted him and I let him get me alone. He...he was worse than Victor, Logan, it hurt so much" she whispered. Kurt looked away from Nikki, the pain in her eyes was unbearable, but when he looked to Logan, there was so much rage in his eyes, he was holding her to him tightly, protecting her. "Logan, don't-" Kurt began. "I'm gonna rip his heart out elf, when Vic was Sabretooth, he forced himself on her like that and it hurt her so much, now Cyke's got the nerve to even think I'll let him live...he's kidding himself" Logan growled, carrying her to Hank's lab. "Hank, take care of her, I'm gonna go kill Cyke" Logan growled. "No, she'd want you to stay with her Logan" Peter said, holding his friend back, "When she is finished in there, she'll want to be with you, not us." "Listen to him Logan, you can't go off on Scott yet" Kurt said. "Fine elf, I'll be here for her. After that, I'm gonna take Scott out, slowly and painfully" Logan growled. "Logan, I need to talk to you" Hank said. "Is she alright?" Logan asked. "She's fine, but she won't want to be around Scott for a while. Not after this" Hank said, "Logan, I'm trusting you not to take out Scott this very moment. I have proof of this for Emma and the Professor, so they will punish him as they see fit, than you can get your revenge for her. She wasn't harmed that badly Logan, the emotional stress from this was stronger than the actual wounds, I'd suggest you take her home and let her rest, she needs it." Logan sighed as Nikki walked out of the room, running into his arms, "I don't want to be around him again, please do something." "I will darlin', Pete and Kurt are coming' back to the house with us, they're gonna tell the team what happened while I'm taking care of you" Logan whispered, holding her to him.  
The moment they returned home, Logan took Nikki upstairs and took care of the kids while Peter and Kurt filled everyone in on what happened. "Nikki, you okay?" Victor asked, sitting on the bed beside her. "I will be, just help Logan if he needs it, please" she whispered. "'Kay, and Nik, you're not a frail, you're the strongest woman I've ever met" he whispered, bushing her hair back off her face and left her to lay in bed for a while.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- 3 things  
At the very moment, Nikki was sure of 3 things.  
1. Scott had a plan, something they could change  
2. Some part of that plan, she didn't know what, would never work and  
3. something very bad was going to happen.  
It didn't seem like more than a half-baked thought at first, but what if, someway, a lot of things happening could be connected? Logan insisted she relax today and let him take care of everything, but sitting around with time to think didn't help much. Victor walked in the room, "Hey Nikki, feeling' better?" "Yeah, got a minute?" she asked, at least one person was willing to make sense of this. Victor sat down beside her and se began explaining what she'd been thinking, all the while he sat and listened to her, never interrupting. "It makes sense" he said when she was done, "Cyke could be that brilliant, or maybe you're giving him too much credit. He couldn't figure all that out in a day." "What if he's been planning this ever since we thought he was dead? What if he really did have a plan he thought was full proof? What if-?" Nikki said. "Slow down, he's not that bright Nikki, don't give him that much credit. There's no way in hell Cyke could think of a plan that fast, he's gone bad$$ on us, I know, but he's still not the brightest bulb in the pack. You know that yourself, an' maybe if you stopped tempting' us men this wouldn't be happening" Victor said. Nikki chuckled, "I'm not sure if I should thank you or slap you." "Maybe if that thank you involved-" Vic began. "If that sentence ends the way I think it ends, I'll kill you" Nikki said, leaning close so he got the point. "Then maybe you shouldn't think so much" Vic growled, pulling her against him, "an' it did."  
He leaned down, kissing her gently and getting her comfortable on his lap. Nikki pushed him back, "Victor...I'm not gonna lead you on like that." "What if I want you to?" he growled, kissing her again. "No" she whispered, pushing him back, "Victor you know I love Logan, I won't do that to him." "It's not just him you're worried about is it?" he asked, backing off so she could relax again. "No, I just can't Vic. I could once, when I thought I wanted to...but that time ended 9 years ago. You're my friend Victor, I'm not gonna tell you this is something it isn't, I won't hurt you like that. God only knows that was one of many ways I've been hurt over the years" she said. "I'm not taking it back, but I'm sorry I did that, even though I'd do it again if you wanted me to. I never wanted to hurt you, not then, not ever" he said, "You know, Logan does love you. But there are plenty of us that are waiting in the wings if you need us, Wade's one of 'em." "Wade?" Nikki asked, the thought of Wade falling for her made her laugh. "Yeah, he always goes for girls out of his league, guess I like to too"Vic said. "Shut up" Nikki laughed, playfully smacking his shoulder. "Even though you were scared of me at first, you still are the only friend I can trust on this team" he said. "What about Wade?" Nikki asked. "Wade's a dumb$$, he couldn't figure out how to tie his shoes if it weren't for us" Victor said. "Okay, I'm not arguing there" Nikki chuckled, "You aren't a bad friend yourself, but we might never want to speak of this again unless you want Logan to kill you. He already has Scott on his hit list, I don't need you being the next one on there." Victor smiled, "If you ever get tired of runt, remeber who's waiting in the wings." He left the room and Nikki smiled, "He sounds like Jake. He must've started reading the same book Jake read to figure that one out."  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Plotting  
Scott chuckled, "Finally, I've got something that will tear their team apart. Now, to wait." Logan growled, "Vic. Here. Now." Victor looked at Wade and followed Logan out of the room. "What?" Vic asked, leaning back. "I really want to kill you right now, but you should have an excuse, why did you kiss my wife?" Logan growled. "Logan, just to let you know, I gave her a choice, she chose you. I'm not gonna say I'm sorry for it. I'm not gonna take it back. I'm always gonna be waiting in the wings for her if she needs me, she didn't want what I had to give her. She loves you runt, I don't know why, but she does, and I'm not going to take her away form you if that's what she wants" Victor said. "I'm talking' to Nikki first, before I kill you" Logan growled.  
Logan went into the living room where Nikki sat with her book, even when he was on the verge of going berserk, she could calm him down with her very presence. "Hey hunny, what's wrong?" she asked, her voice soothing him further. "Why did Creed kiss you?" he asked, he couldn't be angry at her. "I...I'm sorry Logan" she whispered, "I can't say anything. He had his reasons and I shouldn't have tempted him." Logan saw the guilt she felt plain as day in her eyes and he went forward to hold her, "I'm not angry darlin', I was until I saw you sitting here, looking as beautiful as ever." She smiled, "Who told you?" "Got a video of it in an email, whoever did it wasn't anyone here, nobody knew" he said. "Scott" Nikki sighed. "And for the record, you don't tempt men, not half as badly as you tempt me, even when you're not trying" Logan growled, pulling her into a kiss. She smiled, "Don't rip his throat out, please." "Well, we need a plan of our own" he said. "I've got a plan, but we need a single guy on our teams help" Nikki said, grinning like a Cheshire cat.  
Scott smiled, but when he opened the email, he knew he needed a better plan and another drink, the email read, 'Bet you wish you were Wade right now huh Summers?' with a picture of Wade kissing Emma. "Logan, I hate you" Scott growled.  
"How'd you mange to make that?" Logan asked, leaning over Nikki on the computer. "Sweetheart, I can hack SHIELD, photoshopping blackmail is nothing compared to what I do everyday." TBC  
Chapter 5- Vengeance  
Logan watched Nikki sleep, knowing in less than an hour he'd be out with the team getting vengeance for Nikki. He smiled as she turned over, snuggling against him. He gently lifted her up, laying her down again when he had climbed out, still longing to stay with her. He kissed her good-bye before he left the room to meet the team downstairs. "You okay runt?" Victor asked when Logan reached the team. "I'm fine, I'll miss her though" Logan said. "Logan, you're doing this for her, she'll love you for it when she gets back" Gorge said, walking to the Quinjet.  
The Savage Land-  
Scott watched as Logan's Quinjet landed in the dense brush. 'Now they'll see my plan take action' he thought and attacked. His blasts cut through the brush that covered the Quinjet, aiming for Logan and the team. "Logan! Feral! Go head up the tree house, we'll meet you there!" Gorge shouted, "612, Redeemer, you're with me! Wade, Hez, Bobby, go the other way and get Scott's attention away from Vic and Logan!" Logan and Feral ran for the tree house, climbing the sides. 'Where did they go?' Scott thought. "Hey one-eye miss me?" Feral growled, kicking his way in. "For Nikki!" Logan roared, slashing Scott across the chest. Scott blasted Feral back into the wall while Logan slashed him again. "Logan, get him!" Feral growled. Logan lunged, roaring, cutting into Scott. Scott's blast sent Logan back, Feral ripped through Scott from behind, "Ya should've never crossed paths with me when I'm angry Cyke!" Scott doubled over, trying to stop the wound from bleeding, "I'll...never..give up." "Which is why I'm stopping' you now" Feral growled, rising his claws again. The team looked up at the tree house as the heard Scott scream in pain. "Damn, you must like killing' people still Vic" Logan said, rising to his feet. "It's a stress reliever" Victor said. "Bet the team thinks you're insane" Logan said. Gorge looked at them as the swung down, staring at Victor mostly.  
When they got back here, Logan went upstairs, watching Nikki as she slept. "Hey" she said sleepily, holding his hand. "Hey darlin', ask Vic what happened this morning" he said. "Did you try to kill him again?" she asked. He chuckled, "No, but we did some killing'." "You went after Scott?" she asked. He nodded. "Aww! I love you sweetheart" she said, kissing him. Victor sat in front of the TV with Wade, nothing much was really on. "So, when did you figure out she was out of your league?" Wade asked. "After I kissed her, but I don't care, I'm still waiting' in the wings for her" Vic said. "Wanna go find a girl that'll give us 'something'?" Wade asked. Vic sighed, thinking for a minute, "Yeah, why not."  
The End

**The X-Warriors Take A Vacation**

Chapter 1- Travel  
"You have got to be kidding me" Laura said, the very idea of going on vacation with he siblings and the team was not a good one in her opinion. "Of course they're not kidding, what? You don't want to not save the world for a week?" Josh asked. Laura growled, glaring at her brother. "Okay, please, just get along for a little while" Nikki sighed, "It's just 5 days and we come back here for the weekend." "I'm not going, not with them" Laura said, glaring at her brothers. "Oh, come on! You have one less of us to deal with for now anyway!" Josh said. "Logan" Nikki said, looking to her husband for help. "Listen to your mother" Logan said. "I'm not going" Laura said. "You are going and that's final" Logan said. Laura stared, "But...but-" "No 'but' about it, go pack, we're going to the coast" Logan said. The others chered but Laura looked at her parents in horror, "No, not with THEM! Please! I'll stay here and babysit the dog!" "Even the dog is coming with us, sorry Laura" Nikki said. "Look on the bright side sis, you might be sharing a room at last" Josh said as they walked upstairs. A loud crash showed exactly how much Laura like that idea. "Mom! She just tried to hit me!" Josh called down. "Oh. this'll be an interesting vacation" Nikki said, sitting with Logan. Logan laughed, "Well, I guess I should be glad Vic's coming' with us, this'll get more interesting by the day." "You better not be thinking what I think you're thinking" Nikki said. Logan laughed, "For you, yeah, but for her...maybe." "I see what you're doing, I'm not telling you what I'm thinking because then you'll listen to that plan instead" Nikki said.  
They team and the Howletts boarded the Quinjet and set out for the coast of California, away from the X-Men for once. The jets landed at a very large beach mansion just outside of the city, "Now, for rooms" Logan said. About 20 minutes later, Laura walked into the room she had to share with Hepzibah. "I'm glad I ended up stuck in here with you instead of any of the others" Laura said. "Thank you, you aren't so bad either" Hez said. The others were unpacking and Nikki looked to her husband, "Exactly what is your brilliant master plan for Laura?" Logan leaned close, whispering his plan to her, and Nikki smiled, this one would work.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- This is what you get when you travel with family  
Laura awoke to the open window, the bright sun made her feel better about the whole trip until breakfast. 'Water skiing? What made anyone thing I know how to water ski?' she thought, being dragged by her brothers, Josh and Aron, to the pier. "What are you doing with me? Let me go!" she said. Josh snickered, "Not until you show how awsome you are big sis." He pushed her onto the skis witch Laura had no idea how to work and the boat started. She heard her brothers laughing from the pier as she screamed and let go, suddenly hitting the water. Josh laughed so hard he was crying, "Wipeout!" "I'm telling mom!" Aleasha said, "and dad'll be sooo mad at you." "C'mon, I'll give you a ride on a turtle?" Josh asked, hoping it would work. "Okay" Aleasha said, pulling him along. Laura pulled herself up on the pier, her clothes were soaking wet and she was ready to kill her brothers, unluckily, they were all the way down the beach when she managed to get up on the wood. She sighed and plopped down, letting the sun start drying her. "Hey, you okay?" a voice asked. Laura opened her eyes, seeing a boy in an open hawian shirt with his sunglasses back on his spiky red-tipped blond hair. He was looking at her with genuine concern wile she felt like she was marveling at him, "I'm fine, my stupid brothers-" she began, blushing furiously. "Hey, it's cool, I have brothers too, except they throw me in the water, not make me wipe out like that. I'm Jared" he said, pulling her to her feet. She blushed harder and stared at his sandals and his tan shorts, "Laura, I wish we'd met differently." He chuckled, "I live right up there in that beach house in the bay, you?" "My parents got a beach house for the summer so my siblings and their friends could come down here on vacation. We're not that far away" Laura said. "Well, Laura, you seem perfect for San Diego, live here?" Jared asked. "Canada actually, but I've been in San Francisco for a while before" Laura said. 'and I'm one of the outlaw mutant heroes you've heard of on the news' she thought. 'Can I..show you something?" Jared asked, "You seem like you wouldn't hate me for it." "Okay, sure" Laura said. He took her to the shore, leaning over the water, "Watch."  
The water changed shape and floated, turning into ice, evaporating, and retuning to water while he held it in the air, then letting it flow into the ocean once more. "I'm a mutant" he said, avoiding her gaze, "and so are my brothers. There are only 2 of them and me so you don't have to worry." Laura laughed, "Why would I? I'm a mutant too, all of my siblings are and so are both of my parents and their friends. Well, except for Tw but he's got powers." "Tw, as in Time Warrior? You're Laura Kinney, X-23, oh my god I'm talking to X-23" he said, trailing off, a look of pure astonishment on his face. She smiled, "Who else?" "I've never seen you smile like that and I've read every issue you've been in" Jared said. "Tell me about your brothers" Laura said, sitting on the sand with him. He grinned, "Well, I'm Jared Black, my brothers are Marcus and Gregory, Marc and Greg for short, my brother Greg can control rock, lame power, I know, and Marc can control and create fire. My mom could control air and dad was a feral, so we have a lot of elemental blood." "You said 'was' and 'could', what about now? Were they depowered?" Laura asked. "I wish" Jared said, "When my dad lost his power it killed him, he was hunting and then he couldn't hear the mountain lion approaching. My mom, she took care of us after that, but then, a storm came to the bay and she thought she could stop it from doing serious damage here, I held the rain back while she tried to control the winds. She couldn't hold it, but she tried. She tried so hard her powers overloaded, it killed her. Marcus is the oldest and he takes care of us now, Greg's in the middle and I'm the youngest. I'm 16." "Oh. Wow" Laura said softly, "Guess we have a lot in common." Jared looked at her, "You must be the only girl around here that doesn't think I'm a sympathy case just wanting attention." "Well, I can't help it if I like you more than they do, what do they know about mutants anyway?" Laura said. Jared smiled, flashing his perfectly white teeth, "I wish you'd been here sooner. I like having you around to talk to, it's like suddenly the world doesn't hate me." She smiled, "I agree." "Wanna go meet my brothers? You can have lunch with us. You know...if you want" he asked, giving her a puppy look with his bright blue eyes. "Sure, I'll tell them where I've been later" she said, heading down the beach with Jared at her side. Suddenly, this vacation didn't seem so terrible.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Meet the family  
Laura smiled as Jared held the door open for her, a light blush coloring her cheeks. "Marc! Greg! I'm home!" Jared called. "In here Jared" a voice called. A tall older boy with shaggy blond hair to his shoulders and pretty much the same clothes as Jared stood by the open refrigerator door, "You brought a girl back? Finally, you got a girlfriend!" Jared blushed a little, "Greg, this is Laura, where's Marc?" "In here, the game's on!" another boy called over the couch, his also longer red-ended blond hair falling to his shoulders. "Why do your brothers have such long hair?" Laura whispered. "'Cause we can" Marc said. "We differ ourselves from one another" Greg said, rifling through the cabinets, "My hair is only long and blond, Marc's is long, blond and red, and Jared's is short blond and red." "Here" Jared said, handing Laura a sandwich form his brother's snack pile. "Thanks" she said, smiling at him. "So, you going over to her house for dinner?" Greg asked. "Why?" Jared asked. "Because your sandwiches were dinner. Now I can go out with Melanie and Marc can go out with Liza, you have to go with her" Greg said. Laura blushed, "I'm sure I'd be okay." Jared smiled brightly at her and motioned her to the couch, "My room's there, next one's Marc's, then Greg's and then there's the bathroom. The kitchen and the living room are pretty much the same room as you can see." "What about...?" Laura whispered. "Greg and I used to share a room, he took theirs" Jared said, sitting beside Laura, "Now, you didn't tell me much about your family." "Well, the oldest is Daken, then me, Aron, Josh, Aleasha, Vincent, Gabrielle, and Shawn. In order. My dad is Wolverine and my mom is-" Laura said. "Wolverina" Jared finished. "Yeah" Laura said, blushing. "You don't need to blush, I'm sorry if I'm embarrassing you" Jared said. "No problem" Laura blushed. "You 2 kids better run off now, the game just ended" Marc said, getting up with Greg. "Okay, let's go Laura, bye guys" Jared said, leaving with Laura. "So, my family might act a little weird around you so..." she began. "It's okay, I'm used to it" Jared said, taking her hand. She blushed furiously again, but smiled and walked with him.  
At the house-  
Josh's jaw dropped as he watched Laura walk up the path to the house with a guy. "Dude! We only managed to get her a date!" he said to Aron. "Who doing what now?" Wade asked, popping up next to them. "Laura has a date" Josh said astonished, "Oh, c'mon! Even the emo can get a date and I can't! What's wrong with that picture!" "Josh do not call your sister an emo" Nikki said. "What's this about Laura getting a date?" Logan asked. "Logan, don't even think about it" Nikki said, striding over to him, "You really don't want Laura seeing him alone without our permission do you?" Logan nearly jumped at that thought, "She's too young!" "Not in our world hunny" Nikki said, "Give them a chance, not all boys are Julian Keller." "Hey Mom, Dad, this is Jared, Jared, this is everybody" Laura said. "Wolverine, Wolverina, I am so glad to finally meet you. I have to be your single biggest fan" Jared said. Logan smiled, "I like this one, you can keep him Laura." Laura blushed, "Now you met them, I'll take you to meet the team." She hurried along, blushing. "Logan, don't embarrass her like that" Nikki said. "I wasn't" Logan said. "You've never been a teenage girl, that was embarrassing her" Nikki said, kissing his cheek, "I can forgive you, but you might want to wait a while with her."  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Secrets  
Laura woke to a sound in the night, just outside her window. She opened the curtains and smiled, Jared was sitting in the tree, grinning and beconing her outside. She pushed up the window and sighed, "Are you crazy? Do you want my parents to catch you?" "I'm not afraid of your parents, although I probably should be. I came to spend time with you, excuse that it's 4 in the morning, I wated until we both got some rest though" Jared said, still grinning, "Come out here." Laura looked back, happy that Hepzibah was slepping soundly and she clmbed out, shutting the window behind her. "So, what do you wanna do?" he asked, wrapping his arm around her waist while they sat. She blushed, "Do your brothers know you're here?" "They're out with their girlfriends, they don't care. I have free reign when they're not home" Jared said, grinning, "Wanna go back to my place?" Laura's face turned bright red as she thought of her possibilities, "But what if we get caught?" "We won't, you're a superhero, you shouldn't be afraid of spending time with your boyfriend" he said, kissing her cheek. She blushed again, "You know you're making me blush." He chuckled, "I know. C'mon let's go." They ran across the sand to Jared's and Laura smiled as they walked in. "It looks different without them here" she said, reaching for his hand. "Well, you never saw my room, just theirs" he said, grinning. She smiled at the room, it was so open, the windows made up one wall of the room while the other walls of the room were blue, his stuff placed neatly were they were supposed to be. "I don't think I've ever seen a clean guy's room" she said. Jared laughed, taking her hand, "We've got hours until the sunrise, you wanna do something?" She grinned, "I think I do."  
Back at the house, Josh awoke with the sound of a door closing. "Laura I caught you now" he whispered, looking under the door to see who was outside. Whoever it was was coming right for his door, he sprung back as the door cracked open. Grabbing a baseball bat, he leapt to his feet as the door opened. "Josh! Dammit, put that down!" Aron said, backing up. "Well don't scare me like that!" Josh panted, "I thought #$&%in Weapon X was outside my door." "Laura just left, she climbed out her window and went to Jared's" Aron said. "Dude, do you have the power of all knowing?" Josh asked. "No, I heard it. Grab your claws dude, I think Laura's gonna get in trouble with this guy" Aron said. "Laura alwase get's in trouble, she's like dad. Go back to bed and we'll ask her in the morning" Josh said. "Fine, but if I'm right-" Aron began. "If you're right we'll throw a party. 'Night" Josh said, shutting his door.  
The sunrise was spectacular, and not long after Laura climbed back in her window, smiling as Jared kissed her deeply, no longer blushing. "I'll see you later. Go back to bed for a while, you need it babe, and so do I" he said, shutting the window for her. She layed back, thinking of him, she knew that tonight that had been...the most incredible night she'd ever had. As Laura slept, she could imagine a life like her parent's with Jared.  
Logan was the first to wake up, the clock next to the bed said 9 AM, that was pretty good timing. Nikki was still asleep against him, he could wait until she got up for anything. He let his mind wander, when the soft sound of her awakening sigh brought him back to her. "Morning' darlin" he whispered, running his fingers through the delicate waves of her hair. "Morning sweetheart" she said, kissing him gently. "What're we doing today?" he asked, brushing her hair back. "We'll know later. But today, we're having some fun" she said. She had a plan, and everyone was gonna like it.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Summer fun, X-Warriors style  
The team left for the beach the moment everyone was awake. The waves crashed against the shore and the seagulls cawed with pride. "C'mon Logan, I wanna teach you something" Nikki said, pulling him along. "What? I know you Nikki, I'm not doing something I'll regret" he said. "Trust me" she said, pulling him to the cliffs. "What could you possibly teach me up here?" he asked. Nikki grinned, "You'll see." She took his hand, stepped back, and ran for the edge. He had no choice but to go with her, and the feeling of soaring in the air wouldn't let him regret it. They splashed into the water, Nikki grinning the whole time. "You decided to teach me how to jump off a cliff?" Logan asked. Nikki laughed, "No, I just taught you cliff diving." Logan pulled her into his arms, "Ya know, you could warn a guy when you wanna jump off a cliff with him." She smiled, "That kinda takes away the surprise love." He kissed her, but the waves apparently didn't want that. A wave crashed over them, getting them both soaked further. Nikki laughed, her eyes sparkling in the summer sun. Logan couldn't help but smile as she laughed, her happiness was contagious. They swam back to the beach, where Victor and Wade were sitting there with beers, apparently tanning. Nikki held Logan back for a moment as she splashed the two on shore, laughing as they started awake from the cool water. "Beach party all right!" Deadpool shouted, "I call the hot chicks for volleyball!" Nikki laughed again, "That's the spirit Wade!" Victor sat down again, "What's the big deal about today anyway?" Nikki grinned evilly, "You just volunteered yourself to learn something new today." Logan looked at Victor, "It'll be fun, but I still feel bad for you. Who knows what evil my girl'll cook up for you?" "Hunny, don't encourage me, I just might make him do something that will kill him" Nikki said.  
"Surfing?" Victor asked in disbelief, "There's no way in hell I'm surfing!" "Yes, you are" Nikki said. "No, I'm not" Victor growled. "I'll give you a kiss" Nikki said. "I'll surf!" Wade shouted, leaning in for a kiss from Nikki. "No" Victor said. "On the lips?" Nikki asked innocently. "Alright I'm in. But I better get that kiss" Victor growled. Logan looked at Nikki, "You sure you can handle them?" "You're coming with me, you'll be the first one I kiss" Nikki purred, pulling him along. "Works for me" Logan said. The waves were perfect, once Victor and Wade learned how to stand on the boards, they could go. "How come you know how to do this?" Wade called to Logan. "It was one of many things I learned when Nikki and I had free time last summer" he said, holding back laughter. Nikki smiled, "Now, get on a wave and I'll show you how it's done." Wade paddled up to Logan, "Are you SURE she's from Chicago? I've never met a girl from there that knows what she knows." "It's her talent" Logan replied, going after her. Victor and Wade both managed to wipe out the first try, but Nikki still persisted. "It was a one-time deal" Victor growled, "Now where's my kiss?" "Shut your eyes" Nikki said. Logan looked at her, she picked a fish out of the water, whispered a quick apology to it, and pressed it's mouth to Victor's. Wade's eyes were shut too, but Nikki pitied him and the fish and kissed his cheek. Wade leapt out of the water, cheering, while Victor looked like he would faint, "Wasn't as good as before but I ain't complaining'." Logan took Nikki's hand and led her across the beach, "I really feel bad for that fish." She grinned, "So do I, but at least I found a loophole, he never said who or what had to kiss him." Logan lay down their beach blanket, setting up their things to spend the day. Nikki lay down on the blanket with him, smiling happily, "This made my top 10 days. How 'bout you?" "Yeah, but now it's even better" he said softly, kissing her deeply.  
Hepzibah, Gorge, 612 and Maria watched the two freaking out best friends and the couple. "Does he even know it was a fish?" 612 thought out loud. "He's not the sharpest crayon in the pack 612" Maria said, "He'll figure it out eventually." Gorge was laughing, "Vic got what he asked for though." Hez looked from them to Nikki and Logan, "It's so sweet what they'd do for each other." The three team mates looked to Hez, "Say what?" Maria asked. "It's cute" Hez said softly. If only they knew how the rest of the day would be.  
TBC  
Chapter 6- Going home and a surprise  
The team had packed up to go home and Laura was even more depressed than when she'd left. "Laura!" Jared called, snapping her back to reality. "Jared! What're you doing here?" she asked, hugging him tightly. "I've got great news, my brothers found a place up by yours, in Canada, we won't be that far apart" he said. Laura cheered, kissing Jared happily. "ugh, Happy endings make me sick" Josh said, sitting on the end of the Quinjet. "Tell me about it" Victor growled, staring at Nikki and Logan. "Vic, get over it. I'm talking about my sister getting a happy ending already and not me" Josh said. ""I'll see you there?" Jared said. "Yeah, count on it" Laura said, smiling happily.  
The ride home was nothing spectacular, but when they got home, they were surprised to see Daken and Rachel had come home already. After dinner, the Howlett family gathered around the couple for news. "First, I know that we're supposed to move out now, but I was thinking if you guys still wanted us around we'd stay here" Daken said. "Of course!" Nikki said, smiling, "As long as you're part of this family you can stay. You didn't need to ask us." "Okay, second thing is really good news" Daken said, looking to his wife to tell them. "We're gonna have a baby" Rachel said. Nikki grinned and hugged Rachel gently, while Logan congratulated his son. Josh looked to Aron, "Great. Now we've got another baby in the house. Isn't it bad enough to have 3?" "There are only 2 babies in the house Josh" Aron said. "No, you can be one so I'm counting it as 3" Josh said, earning a smack from his brother. "I've already got advice for you" Nikki said, "Don't tell me stepsister anything. Alice has a tendency to go over-the-top with EVERYTHING." The phone rang at that moment and Nikki picked it up, "You must forget I'm psychic" Alice said over the line, "Now, let's talk baby clothes." "Alice, you've done this twice, please, just let one kid in this family have a normal childhood. One that doesn't involve psychic Alice doing everything early" Nikki said. "Fine, but when you need help-" Alice began. "We won't. Bye Alice" Nikki said. Alice huffed, "Bye." "Another thing, don't let her guilt-trip you. She has powerful methods of guilt, don't buy it. Alice would never cry or anything, she's just a good actress" Nikki said. "I think I'll need your help with her" Rachel said. "So did I, that's what I'm here for" Nikki said.  
The End.  
**Marionette**

Chapter 1- Kitten and Feral  
Koda Uley's life had basically gone to hell. The 17 3/4-year-old girl missed her godmother who brought the only spice to the boring town she lived in. "KODA! If you're not down here in 10 minutes I'll drag you to school myself!" Sam thundered. Sam was Koda's father, and apparently prison warden. Koda picked up her 2 duffel bags and tossed them out the window, into he convertible. Her room was officially bare, after school, it was Canada or bust. She'd already said good-bye to her friends in La Push, only one knowing about her mutation, her parents didn't even know she was a mutant. She slung the book bag over her shoulder and jogged downstairs, grabbing pop tarts from her mother Emily's hand, and jogging out to her car. She loaded the bags into the trunk, tossing her bag in the back, and pulled out. '2 weeks' she thought, 'I just have to stay hidden for 2 weeks and I can do whatever I want.' Her best friend, Micki was waiting for her to pull up as usual. "I can't believe you're running off to your godmother's after school" she said, wiping away a mascara stained tear, "I'll miss you so much!" "Mic, we'll stay in touch, I've got my other cell that only you know the number to and I'll only be a few hours away. Nikki's awsome, she'll let me wait 2 weeks there" Koda said. "but Kitty-" Micki sobbed. Koda loved her nickname Kitten, because of her mutation she had kitten like claws and the cat like eyes, healing factor that her god mom would be proud of, and the senses, the senses rocked. "But what? You can call me if you miss me so bad" Kitten replied. The day was so monotone, Kitty was just glad the moment she hopped in her car, her possessions packed, and drove straight to Canada. Kitten knew the mansion's address form a letter her god mom sent on her birthday, but it was incredible in real life! Pulling into the driveway, she hopped out and jogged to the front door.  
The game was on, Penguins vs. Leafs, a classic, and Victor had no intention of missing this game, until the doorbell rang. Sighing, he got up, pulling the door open. Kitten marveled at the huge feral in front of her, Victor stared back, there was something about that girl... "Is Nikki there?" Kitten managed to say. "Yeah, uh, I'm Victor" Feral said, something about that girl was different. "Kitten, she knows me as Koda though" Kitten said, "You can call me Kitten, Kitty, Cat, whatever you like, just not Koda." Victor nodded, letting her walk past him. "Koda? Is that you?" Nikki asked from the stairs. "Call me Kitten, or Kitty, or Cat" Koda answered on reflex. "Kitty?" Nikki asked. "I need to stay here a while, only 2 weeks, I'm on my way to some relatives in Alaska, but I don't need to be there soon, I left early so I could stop here" Kitty said. "Kitty, I can smell a lie a mile away, why are you really here?" Nikki asked, embracing the girl. "I need to escape that place, I turn 18 in 2 weeks, just let me crash here until I'm legally able to live on my own" Kitty said. Nikki laughed, "Okay, grab your stuff, I'll get the guest room ready for you. Victor, I hope you don't mind if she's in the room next to yours?" "Not a problem, see ya 'round Kitten" he said, going to watch the game upstairs, he was right, there was something about that girl, and he liked it.  
"So, you drove all the way up here?" Nikki asked. "Yeah, my car's good to me like that" Kitty said. "So, what can you do Kitty?" Nikki asked. "What?" Kitty replied. "You're a female feral, kinda rare. What can you do?" Nikki repeated. "Claws, factor, senses, just like Victor" Kitty said. "He doesn't usually act like that with other people" Nikki muttered. "Why?" Kitty asked. "He usually doesn't care one way or another, he really seemed to care you were here" Nikki said. "Maybe he senses the kindred spirit" Kitty said. Nikki chuckled, "Maybe. I'll get lunch ready soon, so came down when you're ready." Kitten sat for a moment, debating calling Micki. Victor chuckled from the doorway, "Kindred spirits huh?" "Well, we can do the same things" Kitten replied. "I got a kindred spirit, but I'm sure by now she hates me for Bein' a hero all of a sudden" Victor said, "Since you let me call you Kitten, I'll let you call me Vic, or Feral if you want." "Vic, you are feral. So, who's the lucky gal?" Kitten asked. "Names Chloe, I think she may hate me now because of the hero thing" Vic said. "I wouldn't be that stupid. You're a hero, a good guy, she shouldn't hate you for that" Kitten said. "Maybe. I'll see ya later Kitten" Vic said.  
Chloe was pulling up behind the silver convertible with Erica fast asleep in the back seat, her things packed up. Chloe took her daughter, wrapped in a bundle, and her daughter's bags and went up to the door. Nikki pulled the door open, surprised to see Chloe. "Take her" Chloe said softly, handing Erica to Nikki, "I need to talk to Victor. I need her to stay here for a while, is that alright?" "Of course" Nikki said softly, careful not to wake the napping little girl. Nikki gestured Chloe to Victor's room and Chloe went into the room. Victor was watching the game when Chloe walked in, "I was just thinking' 'bout you" Victor said. "Save it, I can't do this anymore Victor. I can't keep raising our daughter on my own" Chloe said. "You did fine while I was dead" Victor growled, taking a drink form his beer. "That was it, she only had me then. Now you're back and you're never around! She's staying here, she'll have a normal family. I can't try to reform the team and raise my daughter at the same time" Chloe said, taking off the wedding ring and setting it on the table beside him, "Victor, she's your daughter too. I'm giving you full custody of her. Take care of her. Goodbye Victor." "Chloe! What'd I do?" he managed. "That's it, you don't do anything!" she roared angrily, "You never come home, you never even help us when we need you, you showed up once for your daughter's sake, that's it! I can't be the wife and mom when I have no husband and father to help me. I've already handled everything. I get everything that was mine, and you get everything that was yours, including your daughter. I'm gone Vic, I'm done. Goodbye." "Chloe-" he said, going after her. "Don't even think about it!" she growled, swiping at him with her claws, "I'm done Vic. This is it. Goodbye and just forget me." She stormed downstairs and left, pulling out without a single regret. Victor went downstairs, "Can she stay with Aleasha? She needs a girl closer to her own age to talk to." "Sure, Vic, I'm sorry" Nikki said. "It'll be okay Nik, at least I got what I got" he said. Kitten listened through the conversation, dabbing away tears, then she knew exactly why she thought Victor was so extraordinary, she was in love with him.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Forbidden Love  
Kitten knocked at Victor's door, surprised when he roughly pulled open the door, "What?!" His amber eyes were red from his obvious crying, the tear stains running down his face, the thought of him crying took her aback for a moment. "Victor...I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know I'm here if you need me" Kitten said softly. "Kitten, come in. I'm sorry...I just feel terrible right now" Victor said, letting her in. She looked around his room, "You're a terrible slob." He smiled and chuckled and she grinned, happy he felt a little better. "Kitten, why do ya care if I'm happy?" he asked. Kitty didn't know what she was supposed to say, that she loved him? She watched him sit down, and sat down on his lap, snuggling his chest, "I don't know if you feel the same way about me Victor, but I love you. I felt it the moment I saw you. I know how badly you hurt now, and I know you need someone to talk to and have comfort you and I want to be that someone" Kitten said. Victor put his face in her hair, "I do Kitten. This was both good and bad, good, cause I have you, and bad because I lost the one mate that really ever loved me." "I do Victor, I love you" she said. "You sure you wanna get involved with a guy like me?" he said. "Yeah, I like flirting with danger and you're the most dangerous babe I know of. I need you Victor, I just know it" she purred, kissing him deeply. Victor sighed, the pain of being tossed aside dulled as he kissed her back, getting adventurous with her. "Kitten, maybe we should take it slow" he whispered, gently pulling her back. "Why?" she whispered, kissing him again, coaxing him to do what she wanted. "You're young" he said, pulling back. "So?" she said, still perched on his lap. "So? You've got your life ahead Kitten, I don't wanna take any chances with you that could put you in danger" he said. "I'm a big girl Victor, I can take care of myself, but I might need a little help on your part" she purred, unbuttoning his shirt. "You've done this before?" he managed between kisses. "Nope, but I've seen it done, I know what I'm in for" she purred, her fangs gently piercing his lower lip. "Kitten, you're good already" he sighed, pulling her closer, content to just kiss her, "I heard you earlier, why'd ya run away? Life can't be that bad."  
"It was, dad was my own personal warden and he fought with mom over pack stuff every single flaming' night. I got my mutation young, and my best friend was the only one that knew about it. Micki and I have been friends since pre-k and we tell each other everything so when I got the powers she started calling' me Kitten and it stuck. Never really liked anything in La Push, dad's friends that couldn't get a girlfriend their own age were still in the pack, still young and still trying to date me. I was sick of being yelled at for being who I was, and I couldn't help the rages because that was WHAT I was. So I told my only friend where I was going, that I'd call her, and that I'd bust her out of this mess when I could and that's how I ended up here" Kitten said. "Did he ever hurt you?" Victor asked, keeping his arms protectively wrapped around her. "Only when he was drunk" she sighed, "I started losing it when that happened, I lost it too far once. Nearly killed him, when that happened I ran away for about a month. Micki was the one that found me, only after I decided I was coming home though." "When was that?" he asked. "Not long ago" she said. He smiled, anybody dare hurt his Kitten, they were gonna have to answer to him now. Kitten pressed her lips to his again, recapturing the mood. "Kitten-" Victor began. "Victor, once you try it with me you may like it" she purred. Victor knew there might be something he'd have to deal with in the long run, but for now, Kitten was all that mattered.  
"Seems like Vic's gotten over Chloe quick" Logan said, sitting beside Nikki, "Who do you think? Redeemer?" "Probably" Nikki said, "As long as Vic's over her, no clue what he saw in her in the first place, I'm happy." "You still hate her huh?" Logan said, on the verge of laughing. "Until the day I die hunny, anybody dares threaten my mate even once and there on my hit list" Nikki growled. Logan purred for her, "and you're a very scary monster." He kissed her deeply, holding her against him. "Want me to show you how bad I can be?" she purred. "I think I Know but if you want to refresh my memory.." Logan growled, taking her upstairs.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Shadows in the darkness  
The evening ended peacefully and made way for the night. Kitten was happy not to have to sleep alone, but the nightmares still haunted her. Victor awoke to Kitten muttering in her sleep, claws out, thrashing occasionally as if to get something away from her. "Kitten" he whispered, gently nudging her awake, "Kitten, it's okay." She sprang up, awake and looked around the room, "This isn't good." "What Kitten?" he whispered, sitting up beside her. "I only get those nightmares when he's coming, it's impossible for him to find me here" she whispered. "Who Kitten?" he whispered, he could smell her fear. "Astroth" she whispered. "What the hell's an Astroth?" he said, she darted her hand over his mouth before he said the name. "A very powerful demon lord who's been hunting me since I became a mutant. Nikki never knew anything about him because I was able to keep him away, I don't think I can anymore" she said softly. Victor held her protectively, "I'm not letting' some demon come after my mate. I'll tear 'him to shreds if that's what it takes." "Victor, I won't let you fight him. When I became a mutant, I was more cat than wolf and he liked it, he wanted me to be like him, but he said he was the only one that could turn me. He said it was my innocence that would let him turn me, but I was never very innocent. He said he could fight and kill anybody...except a Nightwalker. I think that's demon code for Vampire, but I never wanted anyone else to get in my battles. I didn't want anyone else hurt" she said. "Innocence huh? I think I know why he's coming' Kitten. You ain't innocent any more" he said. "What? Why?" Kitten asked. "You proved yourself a woman, you ran away an' found your mate, no kid could do that. You have 2 weeks left you said, 2 weeks is all he has until you are officially un-innocent" with every piece Victor fit into the puzzle, he growled at the thought of a demon trying to make his mate different, his, not Victor's. Kitten listened to Victor's rumbling growl, gently rubbing his forearm to ease the tension, "I can't turn 18 faster." "But you can be a woman faster" he said, a plan dawning, "Marry me Kitten." "What? How would marring you keep Astroth from-" she began. "You love me Kitten, I love you back, kids don't get married, adults do. He can't touch you if you aren't a kid anymore" Victor smiled. Kitten grinned, "It's 2:30 in the morning, day 1 of our relationship, and you're asking me to marry you." "Yep" he said. "I do" she grinned, "but..." "'but' What?" Victor asked. "How're we supposed to get married when I'm still 17?" she asked. "Kitten, I know people, if it takes a little money to say you're older than that's fine, but I'm not letting' some old-as-dirt demon hurt my girl" he said.  
In the morning, rain poured down, but still, they were preparing for if their plan didn't work. "We're going to Vegas?" Kitten asked, shocked. "When this all ends, we'll have a real wedding Kitten, until then, this is the best plan I got" Victor said. "I still don't care, I'm marrying you Victor, I'm the happiest girl in the world today. Nobody could change that" she said, grinning. In Vegas, nobody in their right mind would ask somebody like Victor with his Kitten their ages, they only had to assume. "So if he still comes?" Kitten asked on the drive home, her hand in Victor's. "I'll kill him" he said simply. "Yeah, you're most decently my husband" she said. "Okay, I'm gonna go talk to Nikki, when she freaks out, go upstairs and wait for me" Kitten said. "I know Nikki, she'd freak out if it were HER kids, but you're her GODKID, you're probably safe" Victor said, kissing Kitten and letting her go in the kitchen. Nikki was sitting with Gorge, talking about not that long ago. "I know I made a choice Nikki, but I can't tell if it's the right one" he said. "It's part of being a hero Gorge, and part of living, sometimes the right choice is the one that hurts the most, other times it's the one that makes you the happiest. I doubt Kim will really follow through with what she said Gorge, give her time, she was angry, she'll probably come looking for you and tell you she made the mistake. I've been in my fair share of romances Gorge, I know that she loves you, she'll come around. After all, you saved the world for her and your kids, she'll see that that was the right choice, I'm sure" Nikki said, rubbing her friend's shoulder, "Kitty, did you want to talk to me?" "Yeah, Mr. Gargan is it okay if I borrow my god mom for a minute?" Kitten asked. "It's okay, thanks Nikki" Gorge said, leaving her and Kitten to talk. "I got married today" Kitten said. "To...?" Nikki asked. "Victor" Kitten said softly. Nikki laughed, "I knew you needed to see you were more than kindred spirits with him. By the way, if Astroth decides to show up, I've got the book that will send him back where he came from, I heard you two last night. Good luck Kitty, if you plan on taming him you'll need it."  
Kitten walked out to Victor, "Didn't I tell you?" he asked, wrapping his arm around her. "Yeah, but I never knew my god mom was so...deep" she said, "It's worse that Lifetime channel chick-flicks." "I heard that!" Nikki called in. "We're not the only ones with ears of a cat Kitten, Nikki might not enjoy her talent later" he growled, pulling her closer and purring in her ear softly. "I married the cutest tomcat I could've wished for" she sighed. "Who you calling a cute tomcat? I'm a Sabretooth tiger baby, don't forget it" he growled. "Well, I married you, I'm not afraid of the big, bad tiger" she said, "and you're still cute." He did his best to growl at her, unable to really be mad at her, "I want ya to think I'm more than cute. I ain't your cat." "Exactly, you're my mate. and by cute I ment sexy" she purred, kissing him deeply, "Now will you let me call you that?" "As long as you keep kissing' me like that you can call me whatever you want" he said, nearly breathless. "You know, we still need a honeymoon since we got married" she purred. He grinned, "And we don't even need to leave home."  
Nikki turned to Logan in the kitchen, both were fighting back giggles. "Cute tomcat?" Logan laughed, "More like-" "Hunny, dare I remind you of wolf cutie?" Nikki grinned, knowing that was something better left buried. "I ain't cute" Logan growled. "To me you are, and I agree, by cute I mean sexy" Nikki said. "Darlin' do me a favor though" he said. "Sure hunny, what?" she said. "Keep the 'wolf cutie' buried, or else..." he said, growling playfully at her. "I'm so scared!" she said dramatically, "Say no more, my love, I'll never say it again, but what I write in my diary's my business." 'I need to get my hands on that diary' Logan thought as he left the room.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Darkness  
The next night, Nikki awoke to the overpowering scent of brimstone, a demon was near. Logan awoke with her, sniffing the air, "He's coming isn't he?" "Get the others up, I'll be down in a moment" she said. Without a word, she slid the dagger and the blade from the closet, she'd sworn a long time ago that it would never come to this, that she wouldn't let it, Astroth wasn't just coming for Kitten, he'd been after Nikki for years too.  
"What do you mean Astroth's coming?" Kitten asked frightened. "All Nikki said was to get you up and that she'd be down in a minute" Logan said. "Why's he coming' after Kitten? She ain't a kid anymore" Victor growled, pulling Kitten close. "It's not just Kitty he's after" Nikki said from the top of the stairs, "He's been after me for years." Logan and every male in the room stared at what Nikki wore, the tight yet broken-in black leather matching pants and top with red trim and the black leather duster flowing down behind her, almost covering the knife sheath on her belt, but not covering the sword sheath slung across her back. "Okay...some way to wake up. A demon's tracking my god sister and my mom's wearing a black leather outfit that should be on the one vampire girl from Underworld, I really need to go back to bed" Josh sighed. "Where did you get that outfit?" Redeemer asked slowly, shocked her teammate was wearing it. Logan growled softly, giving her a once over, "How come I haven't seen that before?" "You are now aren't you?" she asked, smiling dazzlingly. The scent of brimstone intensified, Nikki turning around at the evil chuckle behind her.  
"Beautiful, beautiful young Dracula and the beautiful young wolf. I've been kept waiting too long" a red-faced devil-esque demon snarled, bearing rows of razor-sharp fangs at the women. Logan growled and stepped in front of Nikki, blocking her from Astroth. The demon merely chuckled, stepping with a languid grace that made him appear to be floating over the steps as he approached them. Nikki hissed audibly, a purely inhuman sound, stopping Astroth where he stood. "So you DO possess the powers of a Nightwalker" he growled, flowing close and taking Nikki's face in his hand, "You can't stop me young one." "Then I'll die trying" she growled, unsheathing the dagger, crafted to kill demons like him. She stabbed him deeply, he hissed in pain and threw her across the room, the dagger still in her hand. "Now, will you be the one that comes to me peacefully?" he snarled to Kitten. "Not on your life bub" Victor growled, protecting Kitten behind him. "On yours perhaps then?" Astroth said and Victor cried out in pain. "Victor!" Kitten cried, sinking to her knees beside him. Logan growled and leapt at the demon, Astroth throwing him back with his own power, making him feel the same pain Victor felt. Nikki's eyes turned crimson as she leapt to her feet, "NOBODY THREATENS MY MATE!" She slid behind him, slashing the dagger deeply through his throat, the rage on the edge of her vision. The other stared at her in shock as the demon's head rolled off his body, then evaporated while Nikki stood over him, panting. "Ruby's not the only one of us good in a knife fight" she snarled. She looked back to her teammates and family, her teammates looked shocked, but most of the kids were asleep on the couch.  
"That. Was. TOTALLY WICKED!" Josh shouted, jumping up and hugging his mom, "Where did you learn that? and PLEASE will you teach me?" Nikki's eyes had turned back to their normal silver-green and she laughed, mussing her son's hair, "Maybe. If you think you really will need it." Logan sat panting while Nikki lowered into a crouch beside him, "Thank you for the distraction my love, but if you ever do something that stupid again you will have me to deal with instead of our villain." He chuckled and kissed her deeply, "I know. Now, this outfit isn't exactly helping my control OR my concentration darlin', can we go take it off?" "In a minute, I need to make sure everyone's alright, wait for me upstairs okay?" she said, kissing him deeply again. "Fine" he couldn't argue with that offer. Kitten was rubbing Victor's back, while the others were still sitting in shock.  
"Did you guys ever recover from the outfit or is this the whole I-still-kill-like-a-supervillain thing?" she asked. "I think a little of both" 612 said. "Can Logan wait and let me go first?" Wade asked, staring at her body in the tight leather. "Wade, my face is up here, and no" she said. She took a few of the kids at a time to put them back to bed, then joined her husband in the bedroom. "So, you really like this outfit?" she asked as she put the weapons and the jacket away. "Yeah, why didn't you take this out before? I could use you wearing' this in the battlefield" he growled, kissing her neck. "Please, the last thing you need is me distracting you on the battlefield" she said. "You already do, you always have, now, can we please take this off?" he growled. She giggled, "Of course, we've got all the time in the world."  
The End!

**Vampire's War**

Chapter 1- Family Reunions  
The very night before, Nikki'd spent less than 10 minutes fighting a demon that'd been hunting her since she was young, and the many hours after that with Logan, but the instant the scent hit her, she knew this wasn't over yet. Logan brushed her hair from falling over her face, drawing her back to him, "Who's at the gate?" "My uncle" Nikki almost growled, but Logan kissed her neck, there was no way she could be angry with him distracting her like that. "Which one?" Logan asked, gently kissing her collarbone. "Dracula" she sighed. Logan drew back, looking directly into her eyes, "THE Dracula? As in evil vampire murderer Dracula?" "That was the 1800's love, he's been laying low since Stoker found out about his existence" she said. "Wait, you weren't kidding when you said you were Dracula's niece?" he asked. "No, unfortunately" she sighed, "Not to mention I don't think it ever came up...but have I ever told you my uncle's considered royalty?" "You're a princess?" he asked. "I turned it down" she said softly, "and....my uncle didn't know about....anything before or after I married Zander." Logan chuckled, "So then this should be fun."  
Dracula smiled as his beautiful young niece opened the door and welcomed him to her home. "Uncle Vlad, I need to tell you a few things before everyone gets up" Nikki said. "Like?" Dracula asked, a bit frightened at anything she could have to tell him this fast. "Well, I have kids, and I got married again. But...Josh, my son with Cassius, before Zander, was alive. I have another son from another...'relationship' and Logan and I have children" Nikki said slowly. "Hey uncle Drac" Logan said, grinning. "He's your husband?" Dracula asked. Nikki nodded, biting her lip. "You're one of us" Dracula said to Logan. "Thank my wife, we love each other THAT much" Logan said, grinning. Dracula looked at Nikki, she blushed and looked up to her uncle, "I love him. More then I've ever loved anyone in my life and I'm happy at last. I have to say it uncle Vlad, he completes me, I wasn't anything without him." Logan grinned and kissed his wife deeply, to Dracula's dismay. "The times HAVE changed..." Vlad said softly, "So, do I get to meet the young ones?" "They'll be awake later uncle Vlad, it is only 7:30 AM..." Nikki said, "I'll show you your room if your staying and I'll be going back to bed." Logan took that opportunity to kiss her again, Dracula looked like he'd have a heart attack. "So you're BOTH ferals?" Vlad asked shocked. "Yes" Nikki said, being pulled against her husband. "oh" Vlad said softly, "I suppose I could tell you why I'm here when you awaken for the day. I shouldn't be so surprised, you're the only one in my brother's family I knew would find love from the beginning." "Thank you uncle Vlad" Nikki said. Logan smiled at Vlad, "Glad you think highly of me."  
Logan smiled when he walked in the bedroom with Nikki, "I can't believe how timid you were in there." "Sorry hunny, my uncle is the only person I didn't tell about us the moment it happened. I even told my cousin Eva, even though I haven't talked to her in forever..." she said. "Eva?" he asked. "One of Vlad's daughters" she said, "She's a slayer." "A slayer? You mean she hunts her own kind?" he asked. "She hunts demons, just like I did last night" she said, "I know why my uncle was here." "Why?" he asked. "The war has begun, and I'm the last to be recruited" she said. Logan wrapped his arms around her, "Tell me later, I can tell you need some rest." He purred for her and let her rest against him, falling asleep quickly with him not long after.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Truce  
In the later morning, the team looked to Nikki for some answers on their guest. "Who's he?" Feral asked, sitting down for breakfast. "Victor, this is my uncle Vladimir Dracula, uncle Vlad, these are the X-Warriors, my team and friends" Nikki said. "Dracula's our grand-uncle?!" Josh shouted, "Oh this is so WICKED!" "This must be young Joshua, where are your siblings?" Dracula asked. "Daken sleeps in, so you won't see him for a while, Aron's working on some computer program already and the others are still waking up" Josh said, sitting in his usual spot. The other Howletts that were awake came in, introductions were made and they all sat for breakfast. "So uncle Vlad, when did the war start?" Nikki asked. "About a week ago, your brother was desperate enough to contact me for help" Dracula said. "Spike asked YOU for help?" Nikki asked, "You're kidding." "The war carried to Romania and began heading north, the war has landed in Russia now, we'll need more troops to fight them, I'm considering calling in the imperial army and the Volturi's soldiers" Dracula said. "You have us" Gorge said, his voice still brokenly empty. "Gorge's right, you have us, what do you need us to do?" Nikki asked. "Well, I could use a strike team, I need someone to infiltrate the compound and disable their weapons while the rest fight" Dracula said. "Gorge could do that" Nikki said, "He can teleport. You can let him go in while we fight." "I don't care" Gorge said, "If you need me to I'll do it." "How far did the army get?" Nikki asked. "They came through pretty much all of Europe, England included, they covered most of Asia and have been trying to get from Asia to Australia" Dracula said. "Did they have prisoners?" Nikki asked, her voice wavering. "Some, mostly from the beginning of their travels" Dracula said. Gorge looked directly at Dracula, "A woman, Kim, and two kids, Robert and Marie, were they-?" "Unfortunately yes, do you know them?" Dracula asked. "They have the prisoners inside the compound?" Gorge asked. "Yes, that's what my men have informed me" Dracula said. "I'm going in, they fight" Gorge said. "Gorge, you sure you wanna do this?" Logan asked. "Yeah, just because I choose to be a hero doesn't mean I didn't choose to help my family when they need me" Gorge said. "We'll help, and I can figure you won;t want the Volturi there, they're the ones controlling the other army" Nikki said. "We need more solider's" Vlad said softly. "I have an idea, but I don't think you'll like it" Nikki said.  
"Jake?" the female voice asked over the line in Jacob's hotel room. "Who is this? How do you know me?" Jake asked. "It's Nikki, I need your help" she said. Jake sat and listened to Nikki's plan, "I'm in, should I bring help?" he asked. "Please, we need to out muscle these...leeches, will you help us?" "As I said, I'm in, but Cullen better not be there" Jake growled. "He won't, meet you there" Nikki said, the line going dead,"He's in. It'll work." "Good, we go at dawn" Dracula said. Logan held Nikki in his arms, "You okay with this?" "Kim's my friend Logan, she was one of the only people that trusted me at first, I have to be okay with this, I need to help her" Nikki said. Logan gently rubbed her back, attempting to take away the pain of their friend being in danger, Kim would be alright, wouldn't she?  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Warfare  
Logan and Vlad talked strategy before they left, Nikki was worried. "You okay darlin?" Logan asked, resting her head on his chest. "I'm worried Logan, I think something bad will happen" she said, snuggling closer. Logan knew her 'feelings' were almost always right, "Nothing's gonna happen darlin, I'm not leaving your side." "I love you" she whispered. They saw the burning buildings and heard the explosions as they landed. "Okay, we know the plan, let's move" Dracula shouted over the explosions.  
Time Warrior teleported into the compound, searching for Kimberly and the kids. "Dad!" Robert shouted. Gorge ran to the metal-barred door, teleporting inside and taking the kids from the room. "Where's your mother?" Gorge shouted, and explosion rocking the metal walls. "She's down the hall, dad don't leave us!" Marie said, clinging to Gorge's costume. "I won't" he said, teleporting in. Kim looked up, her tear streaked face still beautiful to him, "Gorge!" "Come on, I'm getting you out of here" he said, pulling her into his arms and teleporting onto the quinjet. "Were there any other prisoners in there?" Gorge asked as he buckled the seatbelts. "No" Kim said softly, "We were the only ones they let live." Gorge wanted to comfort her, but needed to go back to his team, "Kim, I'm sorry you had to see that. I need to go out there, okay?" "Come back" she whispered. "I will" he said, teleporting out. Logan and Nikki were covering the battlefield quickly, their claws taking out vampires left and right. "What'd I miss?" Gorge asked, cutting the vampire in front of him. "The usual, us killing things" Nikki said, in battle with a hulk-sized vampire. "Didn't your mother teach you not to hit girls?!" Gorge shouted, his will to banter back. "There's our Gorge! DEEEADPOOL!" Wade shouted, cutting in with his uzis. "If you tell anybody I said this I'll gut ya alive Gargan, but it's good to have ya back" Victor growled between cutting up vampires. "Good to BE back Feral, now let's show these vampires how we deal with evil dumbs trying to take over the world X-WARRIORS ASSEMBLE!" Gorge shouted. The team made quick work of the vampire army, when the last of them hd been taken out, they looked to one another, "Well, that was fun" Jake said. "Ally with us anytime kid, we could use somebody who can fight like that" Vic said. "Oh, great, mini-vic" Wade sighed, earning a punch from Victor, "We're goin' home stupid, and I gotta ask ya to move out since you been sleepin' on the couch anywase, my wife needs to move in."  
Epilogue- Maybe  
It had been about a week since the world had almost been taken over by vampires, Gorge still wasn't sure if Kim wanted him back yet. "Hey" she said from behind him. "Hey Kim" he said. "I thought by now you would've asked to come home" she said softly, "I'm sorry I made you choose." "Why? Kim, you've always made me choose, I just don't think I choose right this time, but I won't stop doing what I need to do right now, I could but not now, not while the world still needs heroes" he said. "I know, that's why I came to apologize. Nikki told me you hadn't been yourself, and that when we were there you started to be Gorge again. I felt so stupid for making you choose anyway, because I knew what you were going to choose. The world DOES need heroes Gorge, and I missed my hero" she said. "So does that mean you're letting me come home now?" he asked. "Maybe" she said, giving him a smile before she left.  
The End  
**The Beginning, Slasher To Wolverina**

Chapter 1- Forbidden Love  
Not long after Nikki aka Slasher had kissed Wolverine on the battlefield, Chloe Creed aka Lady Sabretooth dragged her back into camp. "What were you thinking!?" Chloe growled, letting go of Nikki's wrist, "Do you want him to kill you?!" "He wasn't fighting me Creed, and I was thinking how sexy he really is in that spandex" Nikki purred, deep in thought. "Oh cripes, Nikki, do you know how he would jump at the opportunity to kill you?" Chole asked. "Creed don't worry about me, you didn't want to be stuck with me anyway" Nikki growled, stalking to her tent. "Chere, what happened back there?" Gambit asked, gently taking her arm. "I'm fine cajun" Nikki growled, "Creed lost her temper again." "It had something' t' do wit Wolverine didn't it?" Gambit asked. "Well I never asked 'bout you an the power-taken girl did I?!" Nikki snapped. "Sorry Chere, thought I could help" he said, turning to leave. "Remy, wait" Nikki said, calming down, "I'm going' out tonight, help me find something' to wear."Remy found her an outfit for her to wear, her beauty highlighted by the color. "Be safe Chere, Remy worries about you" he said, squeezing her gently. "Don't worry Rem, I can take care of myself" she said, heading off to the bar.  
Logan sat at the bar, the party was overall boring, there wasn't even an open pool table. He turned, hearing the sound of wolf-whistles as the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen entered the bar. She looked so much like Slasher, but at the same time, her beauty denied any possibility of her being Slasher. "I'll take the strongest thing you've got" she said, sitting beside him. "Rough day?" he asked, he'd caught her looking at him from the moment she'd walked in. "You can say that. I'm Nikki" she said. "Logan" he said, smiling at her. "You come here often?" Nikki asked. "Not really, haven't had time lately" he said. "Well, aren't you glad you came today?" she asked, turning to him. He gave her a once over, liking what he saw, "Yeah, now I am." They sat for hours, just talking and occasionally getting up for a pool game, "So, you never told me why you're here" he said. "I came for the party, need to unwind sometime you know" she said. He chuckled, they were some of the last people there, "I think I need to go, if I'm not back my friends'll think someone killed me" she said. "I'll see you here again?" he asked. "Tomorrow, 7, don't be late" she said. He leaned in and kissed her, the most deep kiss he'd ever felt, "See you."  
"Where have you been?!" Lady Mastermind shouted, watching Nikki walk back into camp. "I was out, if you talked to anybody here you would've figured that one out" Nikki said. "Hey Nik, you want some company tonight?" Scalphunter asked, snaking his arm around her. "If your so hot jump in a lake to cool off, unless you want me to push you in" Nikki growled, "I'm officially taken." Gambit walked in behind her, "Good for you Chere. I'm glad you finally got someone good for you." "I think I fell in love with him Rem, his name's Logan and he's so perfect" Nikki said. "There's gotta be more than one Logan in dis city then" Remy muttered. "Why? Cause I can't fall for someone you knew?" Nikki asked. "Chere, if dis is the Logan I know, he's gonna be real surprised to know who you are" he said.  
Logan walked into the mansion to a fuming Scott, "Where were you?! You could've been attacked and we never would've known!" "Relax one-eye, I was out" Logan said. "With?!" Scott demanded. "With my woman" Logan said, shutting the door in Scott's face.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Romeo and Juliet  
Nikki was not at all surprised to hear the X-Men had sent Wolverine after her, that only made this hunt more fun. She leapt back up into the trees and watched him look around the trees for her, 'If I wasn't taken I think I could've gotten used to him hunting me. Maybe we could've done a little more than hunt' she thought. When she looked down again, he wasn't there. She caught his scent, turning and leaping over him, onto another branch, her claws meeting his as he turned to face her. He sniffed the air, catching Nikki's scent. "Where's my girl?" he growled, pushing her back. She landed flat on her back, springing back as he leapt down beside her, "Now who would that be?" she asked playfully. Logan was on the verge of a berserk rage, "My Nikki, where is she?!" he growled, pinning her against the tree. "Logan?" Nikki whispered. He pulled her mask back, looking at her beautiful eyes and her crimson hair falling over her leather, "Nikki..." he began, not knowing what to say. She pushed back his mask, gently running her gloved fingertips down his cheek, "You're.... How?" The enemy they'd both hated so bitterly was the true love they'd found. He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was you." "That's kinda the point Logan, you weren't supposed to know who I am otherwise it wouldn't be a secret identity" she said, chuckling softly. He embraced her like that for moments, but for them it felt so long yet so short. "I'll see you again, just like we planned" she whispered.  
Logan and Nikki couldn't stop seeing each other in secret, even tough their teammates began to suspect. "Slasher, Sinister is asking for you personally, pack up, you're heading out. Meet us at the forest's edge" Lady M said. "You now what's going' on Rem?" Nikki asked her friend as she packed. "You're seeing' Logan, I know it" he said softly in case someone could hear. "What? Why would you say that?" she asked softly. "Chere, you're happy, when he fights us he goes easy on you, you're seeing' each other" he whispered. "When you see him next, if I'm gonna have to go, tell him where I am so he can find me" she whispered, hugging Remy. "Chere, I'm worried, Sinister never called any of us out before, be careful" he said. "I will Rem, I got Logan if I need backup" she said, picking up her bag to leave. Sinister was waiting with Lady Sabretooth and Lady Mastermind at the edge of the forest. Lady S started sniffing around her, "She stinks of Wolverine." "Kill her" Sinister said, taking Lady M back to camp. Chloe charged at Nikki, they cut and clawed each other until Chloe had Nikki pinned down, "This is for Victor, my mate for his mate" she growled, clawing Nikki until she could barley hear her heartbeat. "That's for my husband" she growled as she stalked away from Nikki, leaving her to bleed.  
Logan rode toward the mansion on his bike, the sudden scent of blood catching him off guard, it wasn't normal blood, it was her blood. He pulled off, sniffing the air for her scent and racing to her. "Logan?" she gasped, listening as she struggled to breath. "I'm taking' you back to Xavier's, hold on darlin'" he whispered, picking her up and cradling her to his chest. He drove to the mansion as fast as his bike would let him, holding her tightly as he entered the door to a very shocked Scott and Emma. "Logan, that's Slasher" Emma said. "Move" Logan growled, holding Nikki to him gently, as though she would break. "Logan, she can't-" Scott began. "I don't care about the flaming' rules Summers I love her!" Logan growled, taking her to the med bay. Hank took her from Logan's arms gently, "I'll take care of her Logan, don't worry." "It's not you I'm worried about Hank" he said.  
Logan went in the moment Hank said he could, he sat there holding her hand and stroking the back of her knuckles, where her claws came out. Finally, her eyes fluttered open, "Hey" she said, smiling at him. "Hey darlin, how are you?" "Fantastic, now that I'm with you" she said. "I talked to the prof, he says you can stay Wolverina" he said, smiling as he said her new codename. "I like it, it's more proof that I'm yours" she said, squeezing his hand gently, "Logan?" "Yeah darlin?" he asked. "I love you" she said. "I love you too" he said, leaning down and kissing her deeply. Outside, Pixie dabbed away a tear, "They're just like Romeo and Juliet!" "Only Mr. Logan's got it better, Juliet had nothing on this girl" Hellion said. "Dude, she's hot" Rockslide said. "Don't you all have something better to do?!" Logan called out. Nikki chuckled, "Well, they're going to have to get used to this aren't they? Cause I'm planning on being around for a LONG time." They both grinned and Logan kissed her deeply, forgetting their audience.  
The Beginning

**IMing Victoria (OS)**

Nikki looked at the computer screen, this was so much better than visiting in person. herogirl1 has logged in  
herogirl1: Hey aunt Vicki!  
JxV4ever: Nikki! What're you doing online? Relaxing I hope...  
herogirl1: I'm not working right now, how's James? *wink wink*  
JxV4ever: He's still brooding over loosing to Cullen...again  
herogirl1: Do I wanna know?  
JxV4ever: I don't think so...long story  
herogirl1: Okay....  
JxV4ever: LOL, 4get it, he's over shoulder reading again  
herogirl1: So is Logan, Hi James!  
JxV4ever: Hi Nikki, Logan  
herogirl1: Logan says hi  
JxV4ever: V again, when can you come over?  
herogirl1: we sound like teenage girls  
JxV4ever: LOL, kinda  
herogirl1: *sigh* what're you doing now?  
JxV4ever: Trying to write to you, James is distracting me  
herogirl1: I know what you mean...  
JxV4ever: TTYL?  
herogirl1: TTYL, gtg too  
JxV4ever has logged out  
herogirl1 has logged out  
Logan pulled Nikki into his arms, laughing, "What do you think she ment by distracting?" "I think I know, what you were just doing" she said. He chuckled, "You mean you don't like me kissing you anymore?" "I'm not stupid hunny, I think I wanna be distracted too" she purred.  
The End.


	4. Part 4

**A/N- I'm just posting my rough copies from Marvel now, so these will probably have severely obvious spelling errors. Bear with me.**

_Wolves And Roses Don't Mix_

Chapter 1- Suprises  
Sal Angel was the last person in his family now. had graciously offered to take him in, but the thought of staying in the small town troubled him for some reason. A suprise that had changed his life followed not far after, he'd been adopted! "So...I'm not Quiliute?" he asked Dr. Cullen. "You are, on your father's side, but you're Blackfoot on your mother's side, and to clairify, you were'nt legally adopted, they must've found you when your parents weren't around" Dr. Cullen answered. Sal couldn't stay in the town after that, he said goodbye to the pack and left with everything he needed. He pulled up to the mansion, knowing she was there. Nikki caught Sal's scent and went outside, "Hey!" He pulled her into a tight bear-hug, setting her down gently, "Got a minute?" He told her everything Dr. Cullen told him, including who his parents were, and exactly why he was here. "So...you're Silver Fox's son from her first marriage" Nikki said. "Yeah" Sal said. "and you wanted to know about your mother so you came to talk to Logan" Nikki said. "Yeah" Sal said, expecting her to blow up at him. "Go ahead" she said. "huh?" he said, confused. "I realy hate the topic of Logan's previous relationships, but if you want go ahead, I'm not stopping you" she said. "um....Thanks" he said, walking in behind her. "Hey, Logan, got a minute?" he asked. "I heard you talking to Nikki, so I'll save you from having to repeat all that, what do you wanna know?" Logan asked. "Present day question first, why is Nikki acting like a half-stepped-on bug?" Sal asked. Logan gave him a confused look. "Like those bugs you step on them and they sort of limp but they don't die?" Sal asked. "Probably because she thinks everytime I think about one of the women I loved she thinks I compare her to them" Logan said. "Do you?" Sal asked. "No I wouldn't, the truth is some of them can't compare to her" Logan said. Nikki ran in, throwing her arms around Logan, "I couldn't help listening, thanks love." "Anytime darlin" he said, grinning.  
Kitten ran in, snagging Nikki and jogging out. "Nikki, great news!" she squeeled. "What?" Nikki asked. "Okay, you may get a little stamed at Victor for letting this happen but I'm gonna have a baby!" she shouted, hugging Nikki. Nikki looked at her, mouth agape, "Your father is going to murder me and then your mother is going to resurect me just so SHE can murder me" Nikki said softly. "Why?" Kitten asked. "You're turning 18 in 2 days, in 2 days you can tell them and in 2 days my life will be over" Nikki said, "because I let their teenage daughter get married to a guy old enough to possibly start her family's bloodline and get pregnant with his kid. I am so dead." Kitten hugged Nikki, "Victor and Logan will protect you." "I'm keeping Lgoan out of this beacuse Victor's good as dead already, all three of us now have targets painted on us" Nikki said. "Okay, we're dead. I can fix it, I don't have to tell them! I can in about 10-20 years" Kitten said. "Your parent's will still want to rip my head off but as long as we're both LONG gone before you tell them I guess it's okay..." Nikki said. "Does this mean you're letting me be a mom?" Kitten asked. "Yeah, sure, I'm dead anyway. I'll coach you through this 'kay Kitty, and do me a favor, don't let Victor tell the kid what's right and wrong" Nikki said. Kitten laughed, "I won't." "So, Sal's convinced he's MY son even when I can tell he's not, and we're both pretty much dead people walking huh?" Logan asked. "Yeah pretty much" Nikki said.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Vee the Destroyer  
The otherwise peaceful day was interupted as the sound of an explosion rocked the mansion. "I am Vee the Destroyer, and I have come for the hybred child!" Vee shouted. "What hybred?" Feral growled, protecting Kitten. "The one that is half lupus superior and half feline superior" Vee said. Kitten backed away, Victor guiding her behind the others. "There is no such child here" Gorge said calmly, stopping the others from attacking without reason. "Not yet" Redeemer muttered. "It is on my scanner, the child is here, behind you all" Vee said. "There is no child behind us" Gorge said, parting the others and signaling for Kitten to move to the side as they did. It seemed to dawn on Vee at that moment, "The child has not been born yet." "We don't even know of the child you speak of" Gorge said. Suddenly, the air around Vee was clouded with gold sparkly floating things, "These aren't the heroes you're looking for" Nikki said slowly. "These aren't the heroes I'm looking for" Vee repeated. "The scanner is broken, it's been reading the same thing from every feral you come accross" Nikki said. "The scanner is broken, it had read he same thing for every feral I've come accross" Vee repeated. "The child doesn't exist to your knowledge" Nikki said. "The child doesn't exist to my knowledge" Vee repeated. "You never were here, we don't exist to your knowledge" Nikki said, grinning evily at her plan. "I was never here, you don't exist to my knowledge" Vee repeated. Nikki used her magic to lead him back to however he'd gotten there, and sighed as she watched his departure. "...and how did you know to do that?" Feral asked, holding Kitten. "Ever seen Star Wars II?" Nikki asked, "I think it was Obi-Wan Kenobi who did the 'These aren't the droids you're looking for' thing." "You never told me you were a Star Wars geek" Logan said. "Hunny, I'm no geek, I just saw the second movie" Nikki said. "What happens when he comes back?" Feral asked, "I mean, seriously? How was that plan supposed to work?" "I'll show you how my other plan would've worked" Nikki growled, dragging him outside by his collar. The sounds of fighting were heard and then Nikki strode back in, "Yeah, this is fun." "But what if Vee does come back?" Kitten asked. "We'll cross that bride if we come to it" Nikki said.  
The phone rung and Nikki held it up, "Alice-" "Save it, Vee will be back but not really soon. Tell Kitty I have stuff for the baby too" Alice chirped over the line. "Alice says she has stuff for the baby and Vee'll be back someday" Nikki relayed. "Okay..." Kitty said. "Now, what did I tell you about being a pain in the $$ Alice?" Nikki asked. "Not to be" Alice said. "Exactly, I think since you're my sister it comes naturally but-" Nikki said. "I'm not! I just love planning things for people" Alice said. "Yes, the psychic who knows what to plan for now goodbye Alice" Nikki said. She could almost hear Alice pouting, "Bye Nikki." "Don't worry, she can be nuts sometimes but she's a Cullen, they all can be nuts" Sal said, earning a hard smack from Nikki. He doubled over as it caught him in the gut, "OW! Okay, I get it, no insulting the woman with adamantium. I'm just so glad that didn't go lower otherwise I would have to get used to being a woman." Nikki laughed, the musical sound they remembered from a long while ago. "I can tell why you fell in love with her...." Sal said, nearly passing out from his daydream. "Keep doing that and she might end up being the death of you kid" Logan said, "She'd be too much for you." "I'd like a challenge" Sal growled. Nikki laughed, "I'm not your type, I think I'd break you." Sal drooled, literally, as she leaned closer to him to get her point across. "So...beautiful..." he sighed. Nikki backed up, going to Logan's side, "He scares me." "Ya think? How do you think it feels having him panting after my wife?" Logan asked. "The same way it feels to have Jean Grey panting after my husband" Nikki said, glaring at 612. "What? What did I do?" he asked. "Not you, her, in there, I'm glaring at her" Nikki growled. "Well she can't help it, she says she's only a woman" 612 defended her. "I'll give her something to pant after, I'll throw him in for her" Nikki pointed to Sal, who was drooling while staring at her backside. "Sal if you don't quit checking out my wife I will personally turn you into a woman with my claws, and I will make it painful" Logan growled, his arms tightening around Nikki. "Try it, c'mon, I'm open" Sal said. "Baby, can I go kill your best friend?" Logan asked. "I got plently of them, ones that don't pant after me too" Nikki said. "Wait! No! I can explain!" Sal shouted, running away from Logan. "Well that worked" Logan said. "I feel really bad for him" Deadpool said, "He got caught looknig at Nikki's backside, we don't." He elbowed 612 and Feral, chuckling. "Start running" Lgoan growled. "Married man, I don't look at her" Victor said, steping away. "Taken man, I don't either, not that she isn't pretty, well, look at her" 612 said, backing up. "Guys?" Wade asked frightenedly. "I'd start running if I were you Wilson" Victor said, "Runt's gettin' angry." "SWEET JEASUS HELP ME!!!!" Wade shouted, running away with Logan following after him. "Men" Nikki muttered, leaving the room.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Blood Roses  
Sal couldn't help but watch Nikki outside, she sat in the garden with a leatherbound notebook, her flowing red and white sundress billowed in the soft breeze like her crimson hair. "Do you know why I come out here to write?" she asked softly. He sat down on the stone bench beside her, feeling as though he were transported back to a different time, "Why?" "My father always went out to a medow not far from my home" she began, "He would take a sketchbook and a notebook just like this and spend hours in the sun, just writing and drawing, and he'd take books with him and read under the trees. When I was born, he took me out there one day. He told me that the reason he came out there was just to be away from the world, just to loose himself in the scent of the Mayan blood roses he'd planted there himself. I planted the very same blood roses here, so I could have my own meadow to come to when I needed alone time to think." "Logan loves you, he practicly knows what you're thinking, why come out here when you can go to him?" Sal asked. "Because, sometimes I like being alone. There are some things about me that I know Logan shouldn't know, and I need to forget those things even when I need to think about them" Nikki said. "What wouldn't he know about you?" Sal scoffed, "He loves you, he knows you better than he knows himself." "Sal, she doesn't have to answer that" Logan said. "Hey love" Nikki said softly. "Go in kid, I want to talk to her for a minute. Alone" Logan said, "You don't need to keep things from me." "I know" Nikki whispered as Sal walked indoors, "I'm just afraid of what you would think if you knew that." "I would never not love you" he whsipered, kissing her neck. "I know you would never think I was a monster, but if you knew some things I've done you may not think that" she whispered, her voice filled with a pain he'd never heard. "I would never think you're a monster" he whispered. She pushed him back gently, letting her eyes turn bright red, "I doubt that love." She lept off into the trees, Logan following her from the ground. She growled, an inuman sound she'd never let him hear. He looked up into the trees, she was gone.  
She lept down onto him, holding him to the ground, "If I'd lost control you'd be dead. Vampire or not I could've killed you." Logan rolled over, pinning her benith him, "I could kill you too, I love you, so I won't." Logan kissed down her neck, she purred happily, her talons cutting his shirt. "Logan, wait" she gasped, pushing him back. "What?" he asked, gently stroking her hair. Her still red eyes were wide, "Something's watching us." Logan pulled her up, their eyes scanning the horizon. "Can you tell what it is?" he whispered. "It's a vampire, or close, it smells like one" she said. Logan tightly held her, his claws coming down behind her back. "Stay close to me" he whispered. She slid her arms around his shoulders, "I'm not going to leave you." A low growl was heard from beyond the trees, Logan tightened his arms around her. "Come to me" a velvety male voice called, "Come back to me." Nikki turned, buring her face into Logan's chest, "Logan, don't let me go." "Come back to me my love" the voice called. "Nikki, darlin' who is that?" Logan asked her. "His name is Demetri, and he fell in love with me. He's a master vampire like my uncle, I was supposed to marry him before I ran away" Nikki whispered. Logan growled, "You were 12, how was he supposed to marry you?" "It was a different time my love, I had to leave he was obsessed with me, he wanted more than I was ready to give him" she said. Logan growled, tightening his arms around her. "Unhand my bride mongrel dog and perhaps I shall spare your life" A tall man with slicked back black hair and the palest skin Logan had ever seen, even in a vampire stepped forward. Logan pulled her tighter, "Make me pretty boy." "Demitri, leave us alone" Nikki whispered, Logan could smell the fear coming off her in waves. "My love, I will not let him hurt you" Demitri said. "Leave!" She shouted, turning to face him, "I love Logan! Leave me alone!" Demitri's lips pulled back in a snarl, he pulled her from Logan's arms and thew her to the ground, "You shant speak to me with such insolence!" "Touch her again and I'll kill you" Logan growled. "She was my wife before she was born, she is the strongest of her family, I was PROMISED her and I shall have her" Demitri growled. Nikki lay there, the pain and fear showed in her eyes, "Please. Demitri don't hurt him." Logan growled and lept at the elder vampire, his claws slicing through, quick and deadly. Demitri cried out, swiping at Logan. "NO! Logan please don't!" Nikki shouted. Logan was thrown back, Demitri charged at him when another pair of claws ripped through him, landing the killing blow. Nikki ran to Logan's side, "I love you." "You're not a monster" he whispered, holding her. He leaned on her while they went home, her bloodstained hands supporting him while they went inside. "What happened?" Gorge asked when they came in. "Don't ask, you don't want to know" Nikki said.  
Upstairs, Nikki cleaned Logan's wounds gently, "I'm sorry I never told you about him." Logan caught her hand, "I don't care about him, you saved me, how could you still think you're at all a monster?" "Because I am" she whispered, tears flowing down her cheeks to land on her dress. The soft rain now falling outside partally covered the sound of her sobbing, he caught her face and guided it to his, kissing her deeply, "He told you that didn't he?" She nodded, falling against him and sobbing, letting her pain out. He kissed her hair gently and stroked her back while she cried, letting her cry her heart out. "I love you baby, you're not a monster. He was wrong, he never should've thought he could have such an angel for a wife, you don't belong to a demon like him" Logan whispered, rocking her back and forth. She sniffed, "I belong to you, you're my mate love, you know that." He lay back, pulling her onto his chest, letting her rest from the crying she'd done. The others couldn't tell what her pain felt like, but he could, and that was why he was hers and she was his, that was the way the would always be.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Mayan Legends  
Logan awoke with the bright morning sun shining into the bedroom, Nikki was laying against his chest, tired after 'celebrating' their victory last night. He kissed her lips gently, the warmth she radiated felt good against the remaining ache of his wounds. "Morning love" she sighed, her eyes fluttering open. "Mornin' darlin', how'd ya sleep?" he asked, keeping her pressed tightly to him. "Fantastic" she said, snuggling against him, "You know, there was an old legend I think I should tell you in case it's true." "What about?" Logan asked, kissing her lips again. "There was a vampire warrior called Camazotz, he was the fiercest warrior in the Yutican" Nikki began, "He ruled with an iron fist until the people revolted, they entombed him in his coffin, he molded into the gold of the casket, and he was able to break free. The people staked him, trapping him in the casket until 1850, when he was released again. He was trapped in his tomb again, the eye's pieces scattered. The eye of Camazots was an old necklace, with a statue of a bat, and a cresent moon. The eye, once assembled, was the only path to unbridled evil power. The eye was trapped in another level of the tomb when the tomb was sealed again, so Camazotz could never get to it, even in entombment." "Wow" Logan said, looking deeply into her eyes. She smiled, her bright eyes shining, "I think we should get up now." He looked to her and grinned, letting go of her, but not before he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her deeply. Her heart was hammering in her chest, she'd never gotten used to the passion he felt for her, the way he made her heart beat in ways she'd never had it beat before.  
"Morning Nikki, Logan" Gorge said, reading the front page with his coffee just like he used to. "Hey Gorge" Logan said. "So, the legends are true" Maria said, leaning over his shoulder to read the headline. Nikki coughed, nearly spit-taking her coffee, "What legends?" "Some vampire attacked Mexico, there calling him a Dracula copycat" Gorge said. Logan looked to Nikki, "You're kidding." "I hope he is" Nikki said, her eyes widening. "What?" Gorge asked. "Give me the paper" Nikki said. One look at the headline was enough to make her nervous, "Logan, come read this." He leaned over her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her, "You're kidding." "Hunny, he's something of legend, how are we supposed to beat him?" Nikki asked. "We'll figure something out" Logan said, keeping her in a protective hold. "What are you talking about?" 612 asked. "Camazotz, his name is Camazotz and he could kill all of us if he wanted to" Nikki said. Logan looked around the table, looking at each of their friends, this was never going to end was it?  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Bloodlines  
Logan looked to Nikki, her eyes were intense as she studied the artical on the front page. "Do you think what Demitri said ment something?" he asked. "What?" Nikki asked. "When he said you were the most powerful in your family, do you think it ment something?" he asked. "Who the hell is Demitri?" Victor asked. "Don't ask Vic, she doesn't wanna talk about it" Logan said. "It might, wait, you think I can beat him don't you?" she asked. "Maybe" Logan said. "What the hell are you talking about?" Victor asked. "Nikki fighting this thing, maybe she can" Logan said. "I am not fighting the most powerful vampire on the planet, I'd get killed" Nikki said. "You wouldn't get killed darlin', I'd be fighting right beside you" Logan said, talking her hand and stroking the back of her knuckles with his thumb. Victor sighed, "I'm glad Kitten's not in this, otherwise we might be as gushy as you two."  
"So you're thinking you two can beat him?" Gorge asked. "Why not? She's the most powerful and I'm her mate, that makes us powerful enough to beat him" Logan said. "Logan, I'm still not sure we can" Nikki said, her voice unsteady with a hint of fear. "Don't be afraid darlin" he whispered. "I'm afraid of losing you Logan, loosing to Camazotz doesn't mean crap to me as long as I still have you" she whispered back. "Well, maybe you can but I don't think you should go alone. We're going with you, exept Vic and Hez, they stay here with Kitty and the kids" Gorge said. "That's not fair!" Josh shouted from the door, "Daken and I should be able to come, we can hold out own and probably own this freak." "It was his idea, not mine" Daken said. "Thanks" Josh growled. "We need you two to be here, in case they decide to attack here" Logan said. "ALRIGHT!" Josh shouted. "What?" Nikki asked, her eyes widening. "It's okay babe, there's no way that's happening" he whispered. Nikki sighed with relief, "But if anything happens I will personally kick you out of the bedroom for a week for jinxing us." He laughed, "I won't let anything happen darlin, I promise." "Daken! We're gonna be on hideout slayer duty!" Josh shouted, running upstairs. "You know exactly what we're expecting Nikki, tell us what to expect" Gorge said. Nikki told them everything, she held Logan's hand tightly, as though they only had so much time together. After they returned to their rooms, Logan turned to Nikki, "Why are you so scared of this?" "I love you, I don't want you fighting someone with this much power" she whispered. He pulled her into his arms, "I won't leave you. No force in the universe could take me away from you." "That's what I'm afraid of, that if he hurts you and you die...that you won't be able to come back" she said, tears flowing from her eyes. "I will, as I said, not a force in this universe could take me away from you, I wouldn't let it" he whispered. She snuggled into his arms, her tears stopped flowing, "I will never leave you either." He held her as the sun began to set, their hearts beating together, for it might have been the last day they'd spend together, but they wouldn't know until the next day had passed.  
He enjoyed the beginning of the night with her, but then, as he listened to her soft breathing, he knew that no matter what, if someone had to die in this fight, it'd be the other guy, not her, him or any of their teammates.  
TBC  
Chapter 6- The Most Powerful  
The quinjet landed on the barren plain, the X-Warriors decended from it's base. "Alright, no matter what happens today, we stick together" Gorge said. "SNAKE!" Deadpool shouted and ran back on the jet. "'Stick toghether'?" Redeemer asked. "Don't push it" Gorge said. "Wade, get your butt down here! We need all the help we can get today" Nikki said. "I'll come down only if you carry me past the snake" Wade said. "You're kidding" Logan said. "Either she carries me or I don't come out" Wade said. "See ya Wilson" Logan said. "Wade, c'mon, just don't try anything stupid" Nikki said. Deadpool hopped into her arms, "Hi, how ya doin'?" She laughed and carried him away from the snake, then put him down. "Who's laughing now Mr. Fangface?" Wade said, making a face at the snake. Nikki turned around, "uh, Wade?" "What?" Wade asked. "Turn around" Nikki whimpered, scared. Wade turned and a huge guy made out of gold with shinning gold wings stared him down, "MOMMY!!!" Wade shouted as he ran back behind the others. "Holy crap" 612 said, backing up with Wade. "We're supposed to fight that?" Iceman asked, "I'm already melting from heat, why not just feed me to something that's likely to think I'm a blood-sicle." Nikki looked to Logan and they attacked it, their claws cutting through the wings first.  
Camazotz swung a massive taloned hand around, catching Nikki in the side and powerfully knocking her flat. "That really hurt" she sighed, "But now I'm angry." Logan was leaping back from each near-strike, slicing whatever he could manage to hit with his claws. Nikki lept at it, nearly knocking it back and Logan lunged from the side, between the two of them they knocked it over, it's talons digging deeply into their skin. Nikki grabbed Logan's hand and pulled him back, dropping onto the ground while Gorge and the others took over for a moment. "Are you okay darlin'?" Logan asked, pulling Nikki to her feet. "I'll heal, let's kill this thing once and for all" she said, going back into the brawl. Camazotz caught Nikki's claws with his talons, drawing her closer, close enough to smell what she was. He hissed, lifting her effortlessly and throwing her as far as he could. Nikki hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out of her for a moment. She saw Logan lunge at it, she stood and raced back to them despite the ache she felt in her protesting chest. The heat in the air was thick, tiring them nearly instantly but Logan went on, cutting the creature and sprinng back until Nikki could join him. The massive talons cut Logan's chest again, his blood dripping down as he healed again. The creature was weakening but so were they, he didn't know how long he could hold out, no way the others could last very long after even with rest. Nikki attacked from the other side, Logan could tell something was very wrong. She wasn't as quick and fluid with her movements, her breathing was labored, she was in trouble. Nikki was panting hard, the sun hitting her and draining what strength she could gather. She dropped to her knees, the creature above her smiling as she dropped back, fighting for consiousness. Logan struck the vampire, cutting it's head off and letting it roll to the side. "Gorge, can you telepot this thing back to where it belongs?" Logan shouted over. Gorge nodded triedly and came over to get it and trap it forever in it's tomb. Logan knelt beside Nikki, feeling her rapid pulse, "Calm down, you'll be okay." "I..Can't...Breath" she panted. He looked down at her, he noticed the blood flowing from her chest and he cursed silently, "I've got you, we're going to Xaiver's, I'm taking you to Hank." He held her in his arms, fear of her dying clouded his thoughts.  
At Xaiver's, Hank was suprised to see Logan come here with his team, and even more suprised Nikki was still breathing at all with the wounds she recived. Logan sat at her side while Hank took care of her, Camazotz's talons had ripped apart her chest and everything but her bones, thanks to the metal. "She'll heal Logan, I've done all I possibly can and she's healing like she should. She'll be awake soon too" Hank said. "Thank you" Logan said. Hank looked astonished, "What do you mean Logan?" "You saved her the first time I brought her to you, you saved her today and a few times before that, you've done everything for us, thank you, you're the ony person I can really say that to, you alwase beleived she could change and fall for me, thank you" Logan said. Hank smiled, "You're welcome." "Hey" Nikki said softly. "Hey" Logan said, taking her hand in his, "How're you?" "Better, hurts like hell but better. I can breath now" she said. "You can go if you're ready, and you might want to take an asprin for the pain when you get home" Hank said. Nikki smiled, "I might need two, the kids are going to want a war story." Hank chuckled and hugged Nikki gently, "He thanked me you know." "I'm sure, thank you Hank, for everything" she whispered. Logan insisted on carring her until she could lay in bed for the rest of the day, when they got home. "Logan, I'll be mostly healed when we get home" she said. "You were so worried about loosing me you never thought about what could happen to you" he said, "You need to stay in bed. For me okay?" "Okay, but you're making up for that later" Nikki purred, kissing him gently. "Your wish is my command darlin, 'till the end" he said, deepening their kiss as the jet took off for home.  
The End  
**Family Ties!**

Chapter 1- Bloodshed  
Logan lay in bed with his wife as the night wore on, both deeply sleeping. A soft growl-like hiss woke Nikki, her eyes opening at the sound. "Logan, Logan wake up, something's outside" she whispered, nudging him awake. He kissed her gently, "Wait here, I'll be right back." He slid on a pair of jeans and left the room, following the scent of what was outside their window to the door. He listened, waiting to hear a slight sound of movement to give away where it was, but he heard Nikki's scream instead. He raced back upstairs, not making a sound, noone else had heard her, why hadn't anyone else heard her? The figure leaned over the bed, it's face close to her neck. "Get away from her!" he growled, his claws shooting out and he cut it back. The moonlight illuminated it's face, it was Edward! Edward's mouth was covered with blood, his eyes deep crimson, he was different. He turned, racing out the window to be engulfed in flame and shoot into the sky, a literal phoenix. Logan forgot about Edward, going to Nikki's side. Her beautiful face was drained of most color, she looked at him with pain in her eyes, "Logan..." He gently lifted her into his arms, "Darlin', what'd he do to you?" She took his hand in hers, placing it on her neck, he felt the wounds from Edward's teeth. "Wait here, I'm going to take care of you" he whispered. 'Hurry' she said, but her lips hadn't moved. 'You're thinking to me?' he thought. 'Our connection let's us, Logan hurry please' she thought. He knew she could use her magic to stregthen their bond, he could feel her pain, her panic, and his own. He took a wet cloth, pressing it to the wounds and gently washing it, getting the venom from her wound. 'It hurts' she thought. 'I know, I can feel how badly it hurts you, I don't want it to' he thought. He gently kissed her wound, holding her against him, "I won't let him hurt you again." "Logan, it wasn't Edward" she whispered. "Yes, it was I saw him" Logan said. "It wasn't Edward, it was phoenix" she whispered. "I know, we have to stop him" he whispered. "I don't want to kill my brother" Nikki whispered. "We may not have to, but we do have to get the phoenix away from him" he whispered. Logan knew she'd healed mostly, but he didn't let go of her through the night, he didn't want to.  
When Nikki woke up, she remembered the pain, her own brother turning on her, but then she snuggled into Logan's warm chest, loosing her worries in his arms. "Mornin' darlin, are you okay?" Logan asked. "Yeah, do you think I'm worth saving?" she asked. "Why wouldn't I?" he asked, looking into her eyes. "Because you keep having to save me, I don't want you to think you have to" she said, closing her eyes and looking down, biting her quivering lip. "Hey, don't. I love you, why else would I be here? Why else would I have married you?" he asked, gently lifting her chin up to level his face with hers. "I don't want you to think you HAVE to be the knight in shining armor, I love you, I need you, but I don't want to think you HAVE to do anything" she whispered. He kissed her deeply, loving how she layed with him, her arms wrapped tightly around him, keeping him to her. "I love you" he whispered, "I will do anything and everything you need even if you don't want me to." He kissed her gently, letting his lips linger against hers, "I will never EVER stop caring about you, I know you are strong but you still need a knight in shining armor sometimes." She grinned, "I love you too, and maybe the princess can wear the armor sometimes." Logan grinned, "I'm not letting you go. Edward's gonna pay for hurting you, I promise." She kissed him deeply, "I know you will sweetheart, I know." TBC

Chapter 2- Phoenix  
"You have to be kidding me" 612 said, "But Jean's with me, how'd Edward-?" "I don't know, and I'm not sure I want to find out" Nikki said. The sound of a jeep pulling in stopped the conversation, "The others are here" Nikki said. "You've seen him?" Bella asked worriedly when Nikki opened the door. "Yeah, he tried to kill me" Nikki said. Bella was almost in tears, "Where did he go? Alice tell me you can see him." "Sorry Bella, I can't see anything as long as he chooses to follow a wolf, no offence Nikki but the combanation of Lupine and Lycan, that kinda makes you one" Alice said. Emmett ran forward, picking Nikki up in a bear hug, "I missed ya little sis!" "Emmett, she can't breath with you doing that" Rosalie said. Jasper came in last, sniffing the air for any traces of Edward while calming Emmett enough to put Nikki down. "Carlisle and Tanya have gone to Denali, they're trying to find out if he'd been there recently" Jasper said. Embracing his sister, he whispered, "You smell like blood." "I know, thank Edward for that last night" Nikki whispered back. Logan stood protectivly close, "You can find him." "Yeah" Emmett said, "and I might go WWH on him for hurting my little sister." "WWH? Isn't it WWE?" Nikki asked. "He's talking World War Hulk, he reads comics now" Jasper said, nodding like Emmett was insane. "You do too" Nikki said. "Only to follow up on you, I'm not as obsessed as he is" Jasper said. "Oh please, you read like 20-30 titles a month if more, and I know they're not all Nikki" Emmett said. "Can I talk to you over here?" Jasper asked. "Sure..." Emmett said. Nikki could hear Jasper whack Emmett before walking back out. "I should've never trusted you" Emmett said, sounding pained. Rosalie kissed the back of Emmett's head and shot Alice a control-your-husband-before-I-kill-him look. Nikki laughed, this was what she missed about her family, the dynamic of their bantering. Bella stood to the side, she wasn't really a Cullen without Edward. "LEt's make teams, Emmett, Alice and Bella will scout around the house's perimiter, and Rosalie and I will search the woods on wither side and meet up in the woods in front" Jasper said, "Alice, call us if you see anything." Alice nodded, her spiky-ended black hair seemed to bounce with her. "Logan, stay here with Nikki and the others, we'll be back" Jasper said. "Yes Major Jasper sir!" Deadpool shouted. "Kay Jazz, Edward attacks us aain I can't tell ya I'll leave him alive" Logan said.  
Bella left for patrol then, unable to listen to their stratigizing. "Hello Bella my love" Edward's velvety voice said. "Edward!" Bella said, forgetting everything she'd just heard when she saw him. He embraced her, his smile growing wider, "Would you like to go for a walk with me?" "Always" Bella said, letting him lead her. His eyes were glowing orange, like nothing she'd ver seen, "You look different" she said. "I feel different" Edward replied, "I feel stronger than I've ever been. Bella, love, what have I done?" "What do you mean?" she asked. "I know I've attacked, but what did I do? I can't remember, who did I attack?" he asked. "Nikki, and now Logan wants to kill you" she whispered. "That bad?" he asked. "I think so, Jasper said she still smelled like blood" Bella said. "Bella, love I want you not to come after me, I need to control this, but I need you to protect her from me, I don't know what I'll do" Edward said. "Okay" Bella said, "Be careful." He left in a soft breeze, she sighed, how was she going to explain this to them?  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Traitor  
The wind howled outside the Howlett mansion, but Nikki heard the faint scraping of an animal clawing a tree. A flash of bright light startled her, she jumped back as a pael of thunder followed. "Damn, just the storm. He's got me freaking out at the slightest noise" Nikki muttered to herself. "Who has you donig what now?" a velvety voice Nikki recognized at once. "Edward?!" she gasped, turning to face him. "Where is my Bella?" he asked, his voice bordering hysteria. "Bella went out...with the others...baseball" Nikki said. "You're lying!" Edward shouted, crossing the floor with his enhanced speed to hold Nikki's throat, "You killed her didn't you? Because she loved me. You're just like Victoria." "Edward-" Nikki began. "No, don't even try to lie again!" he growled, his grip tightening on her throat, making it harder to breath. "Edward let me go" she gasped. He growled and threw her to the side, grinning as he hatched a plan. "You wouldn't have the guts to kill your own sister, you had him do it for you, well, Victoria was right on one thing, a mate for a mate" he growled. Nikki dodged his grasp, running outside into the pouring rain. A crack of lightning and a loud peal of thunder covered the sound of Edward's laugh, "You think running away to find hm will help you? He left you defenseless, did you ever think maybe he just got tired of protecting you?" "He would never leave me Edawrd, not like you, you left Bella and it nearly killed her, Logan would NEVER leave me" Nikki said. Edward lunged at her, knocking her back and ripping into her neck with his teeth, hearing her scream in pain. "Then where is he now?" Edward asked, drinking the blood from her wound. Edward had her pinned down, his marble-esque skin making him heavy enough to trap her under him. He gowled, almost a purr of satisfaction, and he moved to her chest, until he was directly over her heart. "I'm sorry it came to this" he whispered, biting hard. She heard Logan's voice distantly as she fell into an inky blackness.  
"NIKKI!" Logan shouted. Emmett and Jasper pulled Edward off Nikki, Logan picked her up, gently holding her in his arms. He tried to hear the sound of her soft breathing, her heart beating at all, but he couldn't. Bella held Edward back for Emmett while he went to Logan, "Is she alright?" "Why isn't she healing?" Logan whispered, his voice breaking. "Oh god no" Emmett whispered backing up, "EDWARD WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Logan knew what Emmett had ment by that, but it wasn't possible, she couldn't be gone, she just couldn't be. Logan couldn't gather the stregth to scream that it wasn't possible, he couldn't speak, he couldn't do anything but hold her, his heart breaking for the last time. He gently lifted her to him, kissing her gently, a final kiss. He'd made up his mind, if he couldn't bring her back, he'd die with her. Nikki felt something, tugging at the edge of her consiousness, the feeling of Logan's lips on hers and the pain faded, she knew she had to pull herslf back together, however that worked. Logan didn't want to break away from her still-warm lips, he was crying, something he'd rarely ever done. Now he had a reason to, just as the handful of times before. "Logan" her weak voice was all he needed to hear, he drew back, holding her still and looked as her eyes opened, her heartbeat began again, slowly, but it was there. He resisted he urge to press her to him and hold her tightly, knowing it would make the pain worse. "I'm here" he whispered, "I promie I'm never leaving you alone again." A small smile crossed her face, "I knew you didn't leave me." "I'll take care of you" he whispered, lifting her to kiss her gently as ever. "I'm cold" she whispered. 'She must've been out in the rain a while' he thought, "I'm gonna take you inside and take care of you. This is the last time anyone will ever be able to hurt you, I'm never leaving you alone again." "I wasn't alone, I'm glad the kids didn't get into this" she whispered. "Rest, you need it" he whispered. "Stay with me" she whispered, nearly asleep. "I will" he said softly.  
Edward looked at them, remebering saving Bella from James. "I'm sorry, I never ment to be such a monster" he whispered. "Don't appoligize Edward, we're taking you home and you'll never hurt anyone again" Bella said. "Maybe the Volturi could use a pet freak" Emmett joked, wiping away tears. "Just shut up!" Rosalie sobbed, throwing herself in his arms. Jasper was holding Alice, telling her not to cry while he was the one not following his own advice. "Some macho men" Edward muttered. "That's it, I'm giving you to the zoo, husband or not" Bella said, dragging him along by the ear. "Let her go, we're staying with them right?" Emmett asked. "Yeah, family doesn't walk out on family" Jasper said. "Oh! Now I'm gonna cry again!" Alice said, sobbing into Jasper's shirt. Rosaile wiped away her tears and scoffed, "Family moments can be so overrated."  
TBC  
Chapter 4- New Moon  
Nikki spent most of her day in bed the next day, Logan kept everyone out of the room so she could rest. "Nikki? How are you?" Alice asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm fine Alice, are you okay?" Nikki asked. "Jasper and I are going home soon, Rosalie and Emmett are staying a few more days. Bella called earlier, Edward's under lock and key back home and she's with him no matter what" Alice said. "I'm not asking about them, how are you? You seem upset" Nikki said. "I was just so scared!" Alice said, laying down and hugging Nikki, "I thought I lost my sister. I saw your future dissappear and I got so scared." Alice hugged Nikki tightly, crying into her shirt. "Alice, I'm here, I'm okay. Relax, I'm okay" Nikki whispered soothingly. Jasper came in, sending a wave of calm to Alice, "Alice, we should go." "If you want to stay you can" Nikki said, "I like having you guys around." Emmett slid in, sitting on the bed, "Rose wants to go, we'll go instead. You two can stay here." "Bye Emmett" Nikki said softly, hugging her brother. "Bye Nik, see ya around" he whispered. "I'll get her out of here" Jasper said softly, taking Alice off the bed and carrying her down the hall. "Hey darlin', how're you?" Logan asked, sitting where Jasper had been. "Can I get out of bed now? I want to go downstairs and be with the kids" Nikki said. "Do you want to walk or do you want me to carry you?" Logan asked. Nikki sighed, "Logan, it wasn't that bad. Let me walk." "Not that bad?" he asked, catching her hand and sitting her on the bed, "You died. I have no clue how, but I brought you back and I'm not letting you go again." Nikki smiled, "I know how bad it was Logan, I'm not saying it wasn't bad but I don't think you need to carry me everywhere." "Darlin' you just recovered from death, take baby steps with this okay?" he asked. "Okay, but don't you dare go overboard with this" she said.  
Logan held her to him, being getle but holding her tightly. "Now, please don't get up a lot" he said, kissing her deeply. "Your wish is my command love" she said, stretching out. "Mom, look what I drew for you" Vincent said, curling up on his mom's lap. "Aww! It's beautiful hunny" Nikki said. Laura sat down with Gabby and Shawn, putting them in Nikki's arms. "Thanks Laura" she whispered. The kids gathered around, telling her everything about the last day. "Okay guys, time for bed" Logan said all too soon. "Dad!" they groaned. "Bed. Now. or else" Logan said. Most of the kids went to bed but Vincent, "I'm not afraid of you dad." Logan picked Vincent up and growled softly, "Now?" Vincent laughed, "Night mom, night dad." Logan grinned, "I'll be back in a minute darlin', I gotta put the rugrats to bed." "Who're you calling a rugrat?" Vincent asked. "Sorry, rugboy" Logan joked, picking Vincent up. Nikki smiled, she loved seeing this side of him. "Now, since the rugrats are in bed, you wanna go have some fun?" he purred, kissing her deeply. "Let's" she grinned.  
THE End

**Wolverina Annual**

Video Games DO Corrupt people or Josh vs. The Zombies- (Josh POV)  
Crap, make that mega crap. Mom and Dad got the North and East covered, the X-Warriors got the West, but they both aren't able to fight the zobie army comign up from the South. "Damn zombies, wait here, I'm going in!" I shouted to my siblings, all ordered to stay inside by the big bad grown-ups. I'm 14 for god's sake, I should be out there with the chainsaw, well now I'm gonna be. "I hope this is like zombie golf or I'm screwed" I muttered, racing out into the warzone with the chainsaw in hand. Okay, I am having a good day, there was an abandoned bus in the street, the zomibes couldnt get up that high before they lost their heads. Oh thank you video game god for teaching me this wonderful knowledge! I climbed up the bus, everyone was too preocupied to notice, oh would I be in for it later. I started the chainsaw and revved it expertly, "You mosteres were killed once, don't make me do it again!" The zombies gathered around the bus, and Zobie golf began. One's head flew so far I almost thought I'd get grounded for that too, but when the massacre was done, I revved the chainsaw and gave a wolf call to the now arising moon.  
"JOSH! If you want to see your friends you better get up!" my mom called from downstairs. "Aww dammit, that was the best dream I ever had and she had to wake me up from it?!" I said out loud. "Jessica Alba or Kristen Stewart?" Aron asked me. "Zombie golf in 3D" I sighed. "Video games have ocrrupted you man, live life differently" he said. "But I don't want to live differently I want to kill once dead freaks!" I shouted after him, but he pretended not to hear me.

Shopping With Alice, a Nikki story- (Nikki's POV)  
"You have to be kidding me" I sighed. 2 hours. 2 hours of pure torture shopping with Alice. "No, now come on, there's got to be something in here you'll like" Alice said, tugging me along. How did I get myself into this? "Alice, I already shopped, can we please go home now?" I asked, adding the 'please' for good measure. "1 more store okay?" she said. "Fine, but I'm sitting down" I said, "You weren't the one that died recently." I can go up against werewolves, sure no problem, I don't break a sweat against ninjas and now I have my sister trailing me around a mall and I'm ready to collapse? I must not be in my element.  
Another 2 hours later-  
'Will someone please kill me?' I thought tiredly. Not one more store, it was one more level, almost another whole mall! "What do you think of this one?" Alice asked. I couldn't remeber what I'd said the past two hours, the sleep depravation was getting to me. "Please Alice, can we go now?" I said. God I sound miserable. "Okay okay, fine. But you didn't get any new clothes" she said. "Alice, I got CDs, that was why I came. I didn't expect you to pull me though the mall with your stuff" I said. She opened the back of her Porche for me so I could load the bags in. "Next time I'll bring Jasper and we can have some fun" Alice said. I groaned openly, there can't be a next time!  
The End!  
**Half Moon**

Chapter 1- Memories  
The sky was darkened with storm clouds, the cracks of lightning and peals of thunder broke the sound of the constantly pouring rain and the day was bleak from the beginning. It was a perfect day to stay in bed, although there seemed to be no way that was happening. A loud boom of thunder woke Nikki, her eyes wide with alarm. She checked the clock, 10 AM, nothing big. "You okay?" Logan asked, gently kissing her neck. "Yeah, I'm fine" Nikki sighed. A soft rattling sound made Nikki look up, "Logan, what was that?" He let his own fangs slip down, "Maybe it was something else that wanted to drink your blood." She shivered, "Logan, don't. This is creepy enough as it is." "Afraid of the dark?" Logan joked, keeping his arms wrapped around her. "Just what hides in it" Nikki said. Logan let her slide out of bed, watching for a moment as she got ready. "I'll be in the shower, okay hunny?" she said. "'Kay, I'll be here" he said, gently kissing her again. "Dad?" Vincent asked, looking in the room. "Yeah Vince?" Logan asked. "There was something outside my room" Vincent said. "Let me look" Logan said.  
The dark shadow stalked the treeline, its dark amber eyes scanning the horizon. Logan knew that scent anywhere, but it was different, it smelled faintly of brimstone and death. "Vincent, go wait in my room for your maother alright?" Logan said. "Dad, what's wrong?" Vincent asked. "Nothing, just go wait for your mom okay?" Logan said. "Okay dad" Vincent said. Logan knocked on Victor's door, waiting angrily. "What?" Victor growled. "Wake you up sleeping beauty?" Logan growled, "There's another one of you, apparently your dark side, and it just stalked my son. If you can find it, kill it and leave my son out of it." Victor looked shocked, "Runt, Vincent's my flesh-and-blood son. I don't want anything to happen to him either. I have my daughter in this very house and another kid on the way, I'm not letting the only family I got die on me." "Great, then you're helping me hunt this thing down. We kill it and our families are safe" Logan said. "Logan?" Nikki asked, she was holding Vincent's hand, her wet hair fell over the shoulders of her bathrobe. "You go talk to your wife, and I'll break this to mine" Victor said. "Logan what's going on?" Nikki asked. "Vincent, go wake up your siblings okay?" Logan said. "Okay" Vincent said, jogging off. "Logan, tell me what's going on" Nikki said. "Sabretooth, not Victor, is back. Victor, the good side, is still here, but Sabretooth, the dark side, is here. It's following Vincent. Victor and I are going after it, just please, PLEASE, be safe when we go" Logan said, gently caressing her cheek. "Logan, I don't want you doing this" Nikki pleaded. "Darlin, I love you, I'm not gonna get hurt. I have you to come back to" he whispered. She smiled, "I can't let you go alone." "I won't be, I got tomcat in there to back me up" he said. She sighed and leaned on him, if anything, she knew he'd have fun taking down Sabretooth again.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Attack  
Sabretooth wandered the grounds of the mansion late that night, his dark amber eyes glowing with rage. He couldn't rememeber why he was here, he couldn't remember anything, not even how to speak, but it didn't matter, he remembered Wolverine, Logan, and Nikki. Romulus told him to take care of the last birthday he'd missed while he was dead once he'd been brought back, he was going to take care of that AFTER he finished off all of them. He climbed the tree outside runt's room, smelling Logan and Nikki. Nikki awoke suddenly, the scent of Sabretooth and brimstone waking her. She looked outside, seeing Sabretooth's glowing eyes in the darkness. "Logan" she whispered. "hmmm?" he asked, half asleep. "He's here" she whispered. Logan's eyes opened, he pushed her back a little, "Be quiet and stay down, act like you're asleep and whatever you do, don't move." He slid out of bed, half-watching her and half-watching the window. Sabretooth moved for the latch and Logan turned with the speed he'd aquired from the turning, and lept out to tackle Sabretooth. Nikki jumped up, fear and adrenaline racing through her veins. Logan was locked in an all out brawl with Sabretooth, Nikki pulled on her robe and raced to Victor's room. "Victor, Victor please open up" Nikki said, whimpering. "Nikki, what's wrong?" Victor asked, catching her arms when the door opened. She stared, he was only wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and the memorys rushing back from the fight weren't helping her fear, "Victor, Logan's fighting Sabretooth. Help him please." Victor let go of her arms, "Wait here with Kitten, stay in the hallway, we'll come get you when everything's safe." Nikki nodded weakly, her fear increasing.  
Victor raced outside, Logan was good in a fight but only he could fight himself and win every time. Logan was winning, but Sabretooth wasn't giving up any. Victor lept at him, his claws sinking into him. "Vic, don't" Logan growled, fighting for control of the rage. Victor was shocked, Logan had rarely lost control of the rage since Nikki was around. Logan growled, leaping at Sabretooth. Victor went back, Logan was tearing at Sabretooth with him. Sabretooth was almost gone, Victor was getting tired but it seemed that with every passing moment Logan lost more humanity. "Logan! Victor!" Nikki shouted, racing out. "Nikki I told ya to stay with Kitten, she could need your help!" Victor shouted. "Here, the blade, use it on Sabretooth" she said, giving him the blade. Victor finished off Sabretooth, Logan was still growling, wanting another bloody fight. "Logan?" Nikki whispered, her eyes widening with shock, "Logan, it's me. Please, calm down, please." He growled, "Nikki...what did I do? Damn, I lost it. Did I hurt you?" He pulled her into his arms, keeping her close, "I'm sorry." "Don't be" she whispered, "You didn't do anything. You just helped Victor win." Logan smiled at Victor, "Thanks." "Don't thank me Logan, I didn't want you hurtin' her either. That would've been unfair" Victor said. Logan sent down his middle claw behind Nikki's back, "Logan, he was kidding, he knows I'd kill him if he came anywhere near you" she said. Logan growled softly, unable to be angry at her, "Can I have any fun?" "Sure, let's go have some fun" she purred. Victor turned away, it was better to leave these two alone. "Victor!" Kitten said, wrapping her arms around him, "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" He smiled, her concern was sweet, "I'm fine, how're you and the cub?" "We're fine, just worried about you" she said. "Don't be" Logan said, "Vic was holding his own out there." "Don't you have something to go do with your wife?" Victor asked impatently. "Just thought we'd help if you needed it" Logan said. The door closed to Logan and Nikki's room and Victor and Kitten didn't need to guess what was going to happen next. Grinning, Victor shut the door to his room behind Kitten and him, ready to enjoy the rest of the night.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Plans  
Romulus paced back and forth. "This is unacceptable" he growled to Wild Child, "You were suposed to keep this from happening! Imagine if they'd managed to turn him good like his other half, or Daken, than what would we have done?!" "I'm not sure master, but we would've gotten him back" Wild Child said. "I doubt it, still, failing to obey orders results in punishment, you know this Kyle" Romulus said, walking away.  
At the Howlett mansion, Logan was thinking while the night wore on. "Logan? Hunny what's wrong?" Nikki asked, kissing his neck from behind. "I could've hurt you earlier" he said, guilt in his voice. "I could've brought you out of that anyway hunny" she whispered, "Come back to bed, we both need rest tonight." He slid back into bed, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her deeply, "I want you to know, if I ever hurt you, don't hesetate to fight back." "You wouldn't hurt me, you alwase say it so believe it yourself" she said, laying against him. "If I did hurt you, just promise me you'd tell me I did, then you'd never have to deal with me again" he said. "What?" she said, "I don't-" "If I ever hurt an angel like you, I'd want to be put down like a dog for it" he said. She pulled out of his arms, turning over and curling up, "How could you say that?" He turned to her, "You can't honestly say you'd still want me after that." "Yes I would!" she said, turning to him, "There is nothing in this god given world that could stop me from, loving you. If you left, I would die Logan. If you died, than I wouldn't plan on outliving you." "I will not let you kill yourself" he said, taking her face in his hands. "If you died, I would die too. I don't care about the rest of the world, you are the one thing in this world that means the most to me. The kids could take care of eachother if needed, so I would be with you" she said. "Nikki, darlin' look at me. I will never do anything that would hurt you, but if I did, I don't want you doing that" he whispered. She pulled away, "Dammit Logan I LOVE you, I will die if you do and there isn't anything on this earth or beyond it that could stop me." She turned back to him, laying against his chest while he layed back down with her, stroking her hair. "I'm sorry, we shouldn't be even thinking of this, nothing's going to happen" she whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you, just like you won't let anything happen to me" he whispered, "Get some sleep darlin', we have a lot to take care of tomorrow."  
The End- For Now. Next story- Alice sees a vision of the Maruders...and Nikki's rejoined them! Alice will do anything to stop that vision from happening, but what happens when what she's tried to stop from happening, she really causes? and how did it happen?

**Former Self (OS)**

Alice watched the latest vision, her jaw dropping with what she saw. Nikki, standing with the Maruders, in her old Slasher oufit. There was nothing she could see for Logan and the others and her fear grew. "Alice, time to get on the other plane" Jasper said, "What did you see?" "We need to go back" she gasped. "Why? What's going to-?" Jasper began. "We have no time, something is going to happen and e have to stop it" Alice said, rushing away.  
Nikki was not having a good day. Her old 'friends', the Maruders, were attacking not far from Laughlin and now she, Logan, and the X-Warriors were fighting them. Scalphunter and Feral were locked in a power war, Redeemer and Lady Mastermind were hitting eachother with everything they've got, and Nikki was up against Lady Sabretooth. "I'm suprised you're still with them, ever think of gettin' a life?" Nikki growled, fliping over LS. Scalphunter turned to watch Nikki flip over Chloe's head, landing on the lightpole, "Damn, she looks hotter and hotter every day doesn't she?" "You get used to it" Victor growled, knocking Scalphunter out. "He hits on my wife again I kill him" Logan growled, cutting through the last few. Nikki landed behind Chloe, her claws ripping through the other feral. Chloe roared in anger and pain, throwing Nikki into a wall. Logan pulled Nikki up, "You okay darlin?" "You?" she asked, kissing his cheek. He smiled, "I'm in one piece." "I am never fighting a pretty girl again" Deadpool said, dropping to the ground. "What'd she do to him?" Nikki asked. "She sent a wave his way and he threw up" Victor said, almost simpatheticly. "That's what happens the first time you fight Vertigo" Nikki said. "ohhh, Does it always feel like a hangover?" Wade asked, curling up. "Usually" Nikki said. Nikki helped Wade onto the jet, then sitting beside Logan. "I had a nightmare last night" she said. "Of?" Logan asked. "I was who I used to be and it scared me. I never honestly thought I was that evil" she said, snuggling against him. "You've changed darlin, that isn't you anymore" he said. "I know, but it felt...good" she said. "Don't feel guilty, it wasn't your fault. That was you before not now" he said. "Care to share the feel good moment?" Victor asked. "Vic, do you ever think about who you used to be?" Nikki asked. "Yeah, I hate myself for it, why?" Victor asked. "Welcome to the club" Nikki said. "Can't believe I'm saying this but I need a beer" Victor said. "So do I" Nikki said. "You two used to be drinking buddies huh?" Logan asked. "Yeah" they both said.  
The jet landed at the house and Alice hugged Nikki tightly the moment she got off, "Don't rejoin the Maruders!" "What?" Nikki said, "OH crap don't tell me you saw that!" "You were?!" Alice said. "No, I had a nightmare about it stupid, why would I do something that stupid?" "Oh, well duh! That's why I couldn't see anything about anybody else" Alice said, "Man am I stupid!" "You're not stupid Alice, you just spend WAY too much time with the pack" Nikki said, "They're all overzelious and overthink things." "They think?" Alice said. Nikki laughed, "Yes, they do, that's like asking if I think." "Do you?" Alice asked. Nikki growled while Deadpool and Victor laughed.  
The End  
**The Feral's Cubs**

Chapter 1- Suprise!  
The sun flowed through the curtians, awakening the sleeping couple. "Morning darlin" Logan said softly, kissing his wife deeply. "Morning sweetheart" Nikki said, getting up out of bed and sliding on her robe. She slid into their bathroom and Logan took a minute, laying back and wondering how he'd gotten so lucky. Nikki walked out and kissed him deeply, smiling when he looked at her. "What's going on?" he asked. "Okay, I know it's only been 7 months since Shawn was born, but we're gonna have another baby" she said, grinning happily. He kissed her again, grinning with as much joy as his wife, "Now I KNOW I'm the luckiest man in this universe." "Today is also Kitty's birthday" Nikki said, "She's 18 and today's the day we break it to Sam and Emily that their daughter's married and a week preganant. We are really dead." Logan smiled, "Not if we can get your friends to help us tag team them." Nikki laughed, "Sam's not a bad guy and Emily wants the world for Kitty, they'll understand." "I hope so cause helping Vic skip country again isn't one of my strong points" Logan said. "Again? Do I wanna know?" she asked. "I don't think so" he said.  
Nikki went downstairs with Logan, ready to break the news to her friends and family. Victor's head perked up as they walked in, "You're pregnant." His eyes opened as though he were suprised and the conversation stopped altogether. "Thanks Vic, I was getting to that" Nikki said, "Happy birthday Kitty." "Thanks Nikki" Kitten said. Deadpool looked scared and shocked, "3 pregnant women in the same house, am I the only one here that finds it frightening to be stuck with them." "Stuck? You didn't marry us Wade and I'm glad you didn't!" Kitten shouted, her mood changing. "Okay, that's what I mean, I'm scared" Wade said, backing up until he hit the counter with his back. Kitten looked scared as she picked up the phone, "Do you want to do it or should I?" Nikki shook her head, "You're 18, use that against them now." Kitten listened to the rings, waiting for someone to pick up, "Hello?" Emily finally said. "Hi Mom!" Kitten said. Victor looked scared, her moods were something he'd never delt with. "Well, Mom, I just wnated to let you know since I'm offically 18 and you and dad can't do anything to stop me, I'm married and...well...I never got around to how I was gonna explain this but you're gonan be a grandma!" Kitten said over the line. Nikki heard the faint 'yeep!' and the phone being passed over to Sam with the message relayed. "HOW DID YOU GET MARRIED AT 17?!" Sam shouted. "So being a grandfather doesn't sway you?" Kitten asked innocently. Sam gave a roar then that made Kitten hold the phone away from her ears, "Jeasus dad! Be happy for me at least I have something else in my life than the pack and you guys" she said. "KODA ULEY COME HOME NOW!!!" "You can't make me you don't run my life anymore!" Kitten shouted and slamed the phone onto the reciver. "That went pretty well" Victor said, "Considering they don't know anything else about the whole thing." Nikki looked to Logan, "He took that pretty well. Trust me I know Sam, that was pretty well." Deadpool looked scared, confused and nervous all at once, "If we die it's because of them." He pointed to Kitten and Victor. "We didn't do crap bigmouth, if you die it's your own problem" Victor said. Logan looked away from the oncoming scrap, "9 more months of Kitty acting like that, just please tell me you won't back her up on it." Nikki laughed, "I won't, this time I think I've got it covered."  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Parenting  
8 months later-  
Nikki couldn't believe it, she was a grandma! It still felt incredibly strange to say it, but she was happy. Kitten was gushing over the baby, her grandson, after 112 years she could say that but she'd never expected it to be like this! He had blue eyes like his father and his grandfather, just a tiny bit of red hair like his mother and Nikki grinned at the little bundle that was happily staring up at her. "Oh he's so cute!" Kitten gushed. Rachel laughed, "He must take after his father." "Kitty, relax, you'll be a mom on your own in 3 weeks. Breath, Kitty breath" Nikki said. Logan was standing behind his son, "So how's it feel to be a father on your own?" "God I hope it doesn't act like me" Daken said. "He" Rachel said. "Well don't we need to give him a name?" Kitten asked, nearly jumping for joy. "Kitty, relax. They'll get around to it" Nikki said, sitting Kitten beside her. Rachel took the little bundle in her arms, grinning happily, "Ben. His name is Benjamin. Benjamin Daniel Howlett." Nikki put her hand on Kitten's arm before she could jump up, "Relax." Logan crossed the room to his wife, sitting beside her and wrapping his arms around her, "So what do you think for our baby?" "Well, I am almost 100% sure it's a girl, so I think we're going to name her Tayla" Nikki said. "Are you sure it's a girl?" Logan asked. "I'm almost compleatly sure hunny" Nikki said. Kitten stood, "Let's leave them alone for a while."  
Kitten headed to the kitchen to find Victor, she grinned happily, her eyes running over him from behind. "I can't wait for the baby" she said, leaning against him. Victor laughed and grinned, "You really are happy about this." "Of course I am! It's my firstborn!" Kitten said. "'It?' Give her or him a name don't call her or him 'it'" Victor said. "Her or him? Isn't that just a long way of saying 'it'?" Kitten said. "How about Victor jr.?" Victor asked, grinning. "I'm not naming my kid Victor jr. if it's a boy. Victoria if it's a girl, happy?" Kitten said, "and thanks for the ice cream, we needed it." Victor sighed, "No problem Kitten." "Don't you just love this?" Wade asked, "She get's so freakin' moody I can't tell if she'll laugh or cry at my jokes." Victor growled, "Don't blame my woman if you're not funny." Kitten laughed, returning to the room with the empty bowl, "Thanks Vic." She kissed his cheek and left for the other room. Logan walked in, "Kitten's starting to scare me. Nikki's used to this but I'm not, I'm happy to say I have no clue what goes on in the mind of a pregnant woman." "Neither do we" Wade said. "You have no clue anyway!" Victor growled, exasperated. "Parenthood taking it's toll?" Wade asked. "Wade, you'll have no clue how to be a parent until you have to change diapers, watch the kid grow up and deal with teenage drama, Vic, I feel terrible for you since I've already delt with one, we got miss teenage drama up in her room. Again" Logan said. "I'll drink to that" Victor said. The two clanked their beers, hoping the next month would pass uneventfully.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Names  
3 weeks later-  
The past 3 weeks had passed uneventfully with barely any missions they needed to attend to either. Maria rushed in, "Kitty just had a little boy!" Nikki laughed, she'd never seen Maria act like that but she wasn't about to bring it up. Logan kissed her cheek gently, rubbing her stomach, "1 more week." Nikki grinned, "Her name is going to be Tayla Raven Howlett and I know it's a girl." "Tayla Raven?" Logan asked. "I like it" Nikki said, pouting at her husband. "Tayla Raven it is" Logan said, kissing her gently. "God, I'm sickened" Wade said. "What?" Nikki asked, "Did you just attempt to sound SMART?" "I am smart, I just don't show it. After all, I do like blowing things up don't I?" Wade said. "So do my sons" Nikki said. Victor walked out, "She named him Darren." He couldn't have looked happier if he started dancing, which, knowing Victor, wasn't likley to happen anytime soon. Nikki grinned, "You'll be a good father Vic, just don't screw up the kid." "I won't, I'm not takin' them with me on jobs and I'm lettin' their mother teach 'em morals and crap like that" Victor said. Logan shook his head, "Morals ain't crap Vic, the kid's gonna need 'em growing up with you." "Both of you, stop it. What is this a freaking time warp?" Nikki said. Logan snuggled Nikki's neck, "Sorry darlin'." "I forgive you" she sighed, laying back into his arms. "Could this BE any more sickening?!" Wade shouted, standing up. "If I didn't know him I'd swear he was a chick with his moodswings" Nikki sighed. "I think he might be" Logan said, making Nikki giggle. 612 walked in through the path Deadpool had just left from, "What's wrong with him?" "Moodswings" Nikki said. "He hangs out with moody women too much" Logan said. Nikki turned to glare at him, "I better not be in that catagory." "You aren't, I can think of someone that is though" Logan said.  
Laura picked up the phone, her eyes wide. "Jared, I need to talk to you" she whispered, making sure noone else could hear. "Laura? What's wrong?" he asked. "Jared, we have a problem" she whispered. "What? Did your paretns find out-?" he asked. "No, not that. Jared, this really isn't a good time for this to happen but I think..." she said, she had no clue how she was going to say this. "What? Laura, what's going on?" he asked. She took a deep breath, calming herself before whispering, "I think I'm pregnant." She heard the phone drop and then it being picked up, "But you can't be! If your parents find out we're both dead and you know it!" "I know Jared, that's why I called you, there is no way anyody can find out about this. Please, PLEASE don't tell anyone" she whispered. "Laura, I'm just...I'm shocked. We're both 16 for god's sake! We don't know how to handle kids!" he said softly. "I'm not killing it and I'm not giving it up either" Laura said, "Jared, I know there is no way we can keep this up for a full 9 months but I am NOT getting rid of it." "I don't want you to either, but how are we supposed to take care of a baby?!" he said. "Okay, there are two plans I have right now and they both can wait a few months, but I still don't want to go through with either of them" she said softly. "My brothers are coming, I'll call you later" Jared said, hanging up. Laura sighed, "Damn, why does everything happen to me?!" "Boyfriend break up with you yet?" Josh asked from the doorway. "No dumb$$ now leave me alone!" she shouted, slamming the door in her brother's face. "Wow, women are moody" Josh said, walking back to his room.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Trails  
1 week later-  
Nikki was incredibly tired, she was half-asleep with Tayla in her arms when Logan gently nudged her awake. "C'mon, I'll take you upstairs" he said softly, carful not to wake the sleeping newborn in her arms. Nikki smiled, her eyes closing as she fell asleep in his arms. Laura was waiting at the top of the stairs to see her new baby sister. "Dad, can I take Tayla for you?" she whispered. "Sure, just until your mother gets up okay?" Logan whispered back. "Sure" Laura whispered, taking the little girl in her arms. She looked down at the baby's face, the little girl snuggled into her blanket and she couldn't help melting at the sweet little bundle. "You know, in a few months you're going to be an auntie already" she whispered, careful for her dad not to hear, "Won't it be great?" Tayla opened her silver-blue eyes, cooing at Laura as if to answer her. "So, that's what you've been hiding" Josh said from behind her. "What?" Laura asked. "You're gonna have a kid, dad won't have a cow liek he did when you showed up with your boyfriend at the beach house, he'll have the whole barn and you'll be so busted fot it!" Josh said, grinning evily. "What do I have to do to pay you off?" Laura asked, "Just for a few months." "Tell dad yourself" Josh said. "No" Laura said, careful to keep her voice down for the baby's ears. "Well, one way or another he'll find out and the chickens will sleep in YOUR room" Josh said, walking off. "What kind of a stupid statment is that?" Laura asked after him. "Your dad will find out you know" a voice said, startling her. "Rachel! You heard that?" Laura asked. "Yeah, listen, I'll help you here. This happens to other girls every day, you're no different. I'll tell them for you later, just try to keep your cover until then" Rachel said, smiling. Tayla cooed, her bright eyes looking over to Rachel's baby. Rachel laughed softly, "I'll leave you girls alone, but remember, try to keep Josh from talking until then."  
Nikki awoke rested and happy with Laura in the room with Tayla in her arms. "Laura, this is nice, you rarely come out of your room" Nikki said, smiling. "Here's Tayla" Laura said timidly. "What's wrong?" Nikki asked. "Can I tell you something? and if I do can you keep dad from freaking out?" Laura asked. Nikki listened intently, a baby. Her 16-year-old daughter having a baby. "I think you can" Nikki said. "Really?" Laura said. "This could be good for you, and I'll keep Logan from killing Jared, or you. Go on, tell Rachel, Josh and Jared you're in the clear" Nikki said, smiling. "Thanks mom!" Laura said. Tayla looked up to Nikki, "Yeah I know, this is a big step for all of us" Nikki said, gently rocking Tayla to sleep.  
"A BABY?!" Logan nearly shouted, pacing the room. "Logan, relax please" Nikki said softly, letting him wrap his arms around her to calm down. "I can't believe it. This was different when it was Kitty, she's older and more responsible, Laura is still adjusting to being considered a person, how is she going to deal with it when people look at her as a young mother?" "Logan, times have changed, there are more and more girls like this everyday. She's finally happy Logan, I can see it. She smiles, she's more...human than she used to be. This is good for her, I can tell" Nikki said, gently straying his hair. He smiled, calm and content, "Fine, but if she needs help, would you mind? I don't think I can deal with being a grandfather anymore." Nikki chuckled, kissing him deeply, "We may be grandparents but we are in no way old, they just had kids young." Tayla cooed in Nikki's arms and Logan leaned down to kiss the baby's forehead, "I love you too Tayla." Nikki smiled, "You're a good father, I think you're Tayla's favorite person already." Logan took Tayla in his arms, smiling proudly, "Our daughter." Nikki smiled and sighed, "Our Tayla."  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Powers  
Logan held Tayla while Nikki took care of the other kids, Tayla slept contentedly against him. "Hey hunny, how's Tay-Tay?" Nikki asked, gently kissing his neck from behind. "She's asleep, how cute is she?" he said softly. "She might get jealous of me later on for stealing you" she said. "Why? I love her as much as I love all of them and I can't deny how much I love you" Logan said. A soft growl was heard and Logan jumped a little, "She has claws." Nikki took Tayla in her arms, "Tayla! Don't use your claws like that!" "Darlin', she's just a kid, she doesn't know any better" Logan said. "I know, but she should learn how while she's young" Nikki said. Tayla's claws were coming down from her knuckles, she looked at her parents sadly. Logan took Tayla in his arms, gently kissing her forehead. Her claws went back in and she giggled, clapping happily. Nikki's eyes widened, "How did you do that?" Tayla laughed and Logan grinned happily, "I think I'm her favorite." Nikki grinned, "You ARE, that's why she loves you so much." Logan lifted Tayla, spinning her a little. She giggled and Nikki went back in the kitchen. "You're jealous" Josh said, grinning smugly. "I am not jealous of my own daughter" Nikki said. "Oh c'mon! I can see it! You're just as territorial as he is" Josh said. "Okay so maybe I'm a little territorial" Nikki admitted. Logan stood in the door, "You don't have to be jealous of us, I love you differently than them." "So you DO love her more than us!" Josh said. "Josh" Logan said, gently shoving his son's shoulder with his free hand. "I'll take Tayla" Nikki said, holding the baby in her arms. Nikki walked with Tayla, holding her tightly, "I have to admit, I'm territorial when it comes to Logan but I'm glad he gives you a lot of attention." Logan walked out behind her, "Darlin', I'll alwase give the kids attention but I'm really spreading myslef thin aren't I?" "A little" Nikki admitted, "I want to spend more time with you too, not just out on missions." He kissed her gently, taking Tayla back into his arms, "I'm gonna put her to bed, I'll be right back to show you how much I love you." She grinned, going up to the bedroom to wait for him and getting dressed for him. "So, you wanted me?" Nikki asked, she slid the robe open to her undergarments. Logan purred happily, "Darlin', you know just what I want." He pulled her against him, kissing her deeply. "Logan" she gasped, pulling back from his kiss, "Wait." "Why?" he asked, kissing down her neck. "Wait. I smelled something" she said softly. "What?" Logan asked. He smelled something too, Nikki collapsed against him. He growled, he knew what he was smelling now. He shook her gently, "Get dressed quickly and don't stop moving, it'll hold off the fatigue. Get the kids and get out of here, now!" She did as he told her, Laura helping take the little ones outside. "Hide in here, up in the loft. I'll come back and get you when they've left" Nikki whispered. "Mom, who's here?" Josh said. "Weapon X" Nikki said. She placed Tayla in Josh's arms, "Take care of them okay?" She raced back in to help Logan, most of the soldiers had been taken down. "Hunny, what happened?" she asked, watching as he took out the last soldier. "Darlin', are the kids okay?" Logan asked. "They're fine, what happened?" she asked. "Weapon X came back for us, and they'll be back again" he said. He nearly passed out then, Victor caught him, "Bring them back in Nikki, he'll be fine." "Sit him down Victor" 612 said. Nikki took the kids back in, sitting down beside Logan, "What did they want?" "They wanted us, not them thank god. If they come back we'll fight again but I doubt they will for a while, we pretty much massacred them" he said. "The kids are in bed, let's go have some fun shall we?" she purred. Logan picked her up, carrying her to the bedroom and resuming where they'd left off.  
TBC  
Chapter 6- Aftermath  
Logan smiled, watching Nikki sleep against him. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled, kissing his neck and resting her head on his chest. He chuckled, letting her know he was awake, "Mornin' sleeping beauty." She blushed, "Morning sweetheart." He grinned, kissing her deeply, "Don't blush, I like seeing you this relaxed." "I thought you liked it when I blushed" she said, grinning coyly. "Sometimes the Avengers made you blush so red, it was so...cute" he said. "Logan I am in no way 'cute' like that, that was embaressing!" she said. He kissed her gently, "Whatever you say darlin." She slid out of bed, putting on her robe to go wake the kids, "When I get back you better be up and ready or else you're cooking breakfast." "Is that a challenge?" Logan asked. "You bet it is" Nikki said, grinning mischiviously. Nikki was able to get all of the kids up and ready, and the other 2 little ones fed by the time Logan reached the kitchen, "You never came back, I win." Nikki grinned, "I wasn't planning on coming back anyway, I have these guys to take care of." She placed Shawn and Gabrielle in the playpen and went to go get Tayla.  
"Tayla, mornign sunshine!" Nikki said, gently lifting the baby into her arms. Tayla cooed happily at being lifted, Nikki taking her downstairs for her bottle. Logan smiled, watching Nikki make breakfast for him and the rest of the X-Warriors. "Logan you still got it bad for her" Wade said. "Yeah, but I can't think of a woman anymore beautiful and perfect as she is" Logan said. "Eva Longoria" Wade said. "Electra" 612 said. "Kitten" Victor said. "I know you got your oppinions and I got mine deal with it, and Eva Longoria is married Wade ya dumb$$" Logan said. "How would you know that?" Wade asked. "Nikki watches TMZ" Logan said, resuming watching his wife. "Isn't that celebrety gossip?" 612 asked. "Yeah so?" Nikki asked, walking over with breakfast. "I never figured you the time to watch that" 612 said. "Well we're mentioned occasionally, spoofy stuff but we're mentoned" Nikki said. Logan smiled, "Are you going to get dressed or are you going to make me want to go back to bed all day?" "I'll be right back, but I don't think my clothes will help that much love" Nikki said, kissing him before she left to get dressed with Tayla in her arms. The team whistled after her comment, Logan shooting them a look that could kill on it's own. Wade dramaticly pretended to die when the death glare landed on him, Logan even had to laugh. "Alright everybody, chill and let the poor moron breath" Nikki said, helping Wade up with her free hand. "Thanks you Nikki" Wade said, looking around at the team. "If you're grammer's worse than your fashion sense we're all screwed" Victor joked, making the team laugh again. Nikki knocked on the table, drawing their attention. "Who's there?" Wade asked. The team started laughing exept for Logan, "His jokes get dumber and dumber by the day." Nikki sighed, "I wouldn't be suprised if he needed comedy camp." Logan smiled, this was most defently what a happy ending felt like.  
The End!  
**The 100 Page Special**

Wolverina: Return To Weapon X- Crash On The Universes

Nikki runs past the building, claws extended. It was 3 hours since the mansion was attacked. They were looking for Nikki. They were agents. Not legal agents, baddy agents. Right on campus. Nikki was running fast. Logan was running too, kids were behind him, Warren was carrying kids.

Then an explosion. Nikki was knocked out.

LATER...

Nikki woke up. She was inside an isolated room, metal covered.

"Don't worry." Said someone. Nikki fixed her eyes. There was Nicholas Fury, smiling. "It's alright. Ae you Logan's?"

"Yeah. Is he okay?" Asks Nikki. Nick seemed to be okay since he didn't stink bad. That satisfied Nikki.

"Yes." Says Fury. "He was knocked out worse than yourself. He's with Cap."

"Cap?" Nikki didn't know who that was.

"Captain America." Says Fury, laughing.

"Oh yeah I watch that show." Says Nikki. "The movie was rubbish, though."

"Uhhh... I meant the real one." Says Fury, smile fading.

"Oh!" Says Nikki with an embarassed smile on her face. "Where is he?"

"Two doors down." Fury says. "See ya later, toots."

Nikki runs out the door and barges through the room where Logan is. She practically knocked him over.

"Hey babe." He says. "I was talking to Steve here about you."

Steve Rogers stood there with a shield strapped on hid back. He was smiling. He was tall. He kissed Nikki on the hand.

"It's a pleasure." He says. "I've always been wondering who you were."

"Same to you." Says Nikki. "Logan, are the other students-"

"Yeah." Says Logan. "They made it back to the mansion. Now c'mon, I want you to meet the Avengers.

TBC  
Nikki met all the Avengers, and Logan took her back to the mansion, where Emma helped Nikki find the agents with cerebra, because she knew they were mutants.

"There." Said Emma, taking the helmet off and pointing to a small dot in the middle of the screen. "In Canada. It's Weapon X.

"Oh &*$%#." Nikki growled. She ran out of the room and into Scott's office.

"I need the jet." She said to him. "I know who attacked the school. I need to kill them."

"No, it's too dangerous." Said Scott. "We send in X-men."

"No!" Yelled Nikki, who had just extended her claws. "I can do this alone. Just give me the jet."

"Fine. But if your not back by midnight, we're goin'." Said Scott.

Nikki told Logan, who was worried like hell. He finally let her go after Nikki gave him the look.

She hopped in the jet and flew off.

CANADA, RUINED WEAPON X COMPLEX

Nikki looked around. There were people here not too long ago. And now they were back. right below Nikki. She put on her mask.

Wolverina clawed the ground and leaped downward.

Weapon X peoples were surrounding her. They had claws.

TBC sry it's short.  
Nikki lept up onto one of the rafters, causing the soldiers who'd lunged to run eachother through with the claw rigs strapped to their forearms. Nikki growled inhumanly, leaping down to take out the others. She raced to the lab, catching a scent she knew all too well. In the lab, the remaining Weapon X operative stared at the moniters watching Nikki kill her way through to the lab. The copies of all records, tapes, the works had been sent to their master, the others burned along with their loose ends. Nikki entered the lab, watching for the source of the scent. "You've done exeptionally well Lady X" he said, "Romulus sent me to make sure you don't become one of our...loose ends." "That ain't my name Wild Child" she growled. "Of course not. Wolverina. You're nothing like him you know, he has more...moral" Wild Child said, approaching her. "Why'd they attack the school Kyle?" she growled, ready for a fight. "They weren't ordered to, you see, they wanted to be the ones to kill the mighty Wolverine and Wolverina. I can't say I blame them, it would be an incredible honor to be the one to get you out of the picture" he said. He lunged at her then, his claws barely grazing her neck. "You need to do better than that Kyle" she growled, kicking him back. He lept, his claws barely missing her again. Nikki cut him, unfortunatly getting close enough for him to cut her. He knocked her back, nearly ready to kill her when he shouted in pain, turning around to face who'd cut him. "You don't touch my woman Gibney, not as long as I'm still livin'" Logan growled, the X-Men behind him.  
TBC

Logan stood there, looking mad Then, they were gone. Bad guys= poof! Gone.

The team was at the school! How did that happen?

Logan: "Aw, crap."

Nikki: "Loagn, baby, this is weapon x. They couldn't have gone far."

Logan: "That's exactly what Mav said."

Nikki: "Who?"

Logan: "Maverick. He was an agent with me. He held back Weapon X and told me to run. I didn't. He came back when Red got me. First time I saw Red in ages. Maverick said about weapon x people, and later, Agent 0 killed him. Once we were looking for agents, said they hadn't gone far."

Nikki: "Oh, Logan, I had no idea--"

Cyclops: "What happened?!"

Nikki: "I thought the X-Men were here."

Logan: "Nah, just a few buddies. Elf, Pete,fur ball, wings, half pint, ya know, those guys."

Cyclops: "Was that the same people who attacked the school?!"

Logan: "Yup."

Nikki: "Yup."

Cyclops: "Why wasn't I informed?!"

Logan: "This was our buisness, four-eyes."

Cyclops: "I am headmaster of this school and leader of the X-men! I have the right to know!"

Nikki: "A bunch of Weapon X got me, we fought, X-men come, we fought again. We were telaported to the school, and then we like, freaked out, and now you come ##*$#$ us for no reason."

Cyclops: "That's it. Nikki, X-Warriors is finished. Logan, X-force is no longer together. And the both of you are off the X-men until you can act like a real member once in a while goddammit!"

Logan: "Aw, shucks, how do we get 'em next time?"

Nikki: "I know."

TBC  
Logan and Nikki scouted the forests around the mansion, Logan was visably angry at Scott. "Stupid redeyes thinks he controls us, the X-Warriors aren't goin' down without a fight, wait 'till we get home Creed and I'll go after Cyke-" Logan muttered, letting Nikki hear. "Logan, please, let's just end this okay?" she whispered, gently putting her hand on his shoulder. "Dammit Nikki I want to kill him and end that too!" he shouted, his claws shooting down to slice a tree. "Feel better?" she asked, letting him cool down. "No, I want to find these Weapon X morons and cut 'em up so I've got something to kill" he growled, stalking off ahead of her. The Weapon X soldiers hadn't gotten far when Lgoan and Nikki found them, Logan lept into battle without missing a step, Nikki following to protect him in case he needed it. Their claws were slicing through the remaining soldiers, Logan in a full out rage, his claws cutting everything he touched. Nikki stepped back and let him handle it, she'd never seen him this angry before. He turned to her after slaughtering every last soldier, "Sorry" he said softly, retracting his claws. "Warn me before you blow up next time okay?" she said. "Darlin', it wasn't your fault" he said, pulling her against him and stroking her hair, "Cyke's a jack$$ and he's really starting to get on my nerves. If I ever blow up at you, at all, promise me you'll hit me. Really hard." She giggled, "I'm pretty sure I'd loose that fight hunny." He kissed her deeply and roughly, his arms locking around her back, "It's not funny. You would either run or hit me really hard and then run because I would never want to hurt you." She panted breathlessly and nodded, her heart racing from his kiss. He let go of her, starting back to the mansion with her at his side. "You're right, Scott can't tell us what to do since the X-Warriors aren't his team. They're ours and he can't stop us" she said. He stopped, letting her catch up with him, "I'm sick of Scott thinkin' he runs the world, well he doesn't and he won't, cause starting real soon, he's gonna get what's coming to him." Nikki slid her arms around him, letting him do the same, "I know hunny, but Emma saved him back in the Savage Land, do you think we could actualy win now?" "Maybe" Logan said, "There's a better chance now, we'd be stupid not to take it." "Then will we?" she asked, he knew how afraid she was, the last two times hadn't worked but now he was making sure third time's the charm. "Yeah, we're gonna and this time, we're gonna win" he said, kissing her gently.  
TBC  
EPILOGUE:

March 25, 2008  
"Mom, mom guess what?" Lana said gasping and panting for breath. "What is it love?" asked Lana's mother Christine. "Well", Lana started, " I'm suppose to ask u a series of questions for my report about my life." "ok" said Christine. "But lock the doors, ur father should be coming in in his usual drunken rage any minute." Lana did as she was asked, her father would come home from work drunk every day at about the same time. "mom i have something important to ask u before i start." Lana said. "What's that?" asked christine. "Who is................. who is............................ who is Logan?" Christine's eyes widened. "I-I don't know who ur talking about my love" she gasped. "Then how come last night when u were asleep i heard u screaming for someone named Logan?" Lana asked.  
It was quiet for a few minutes. "he's my brohter" Christine said quickly. "Now what questions do u actually need to ask?"  
Lana knew her mother was lying about who Logan was, and she wasn't about to give up trying to find out who he was. She went on the internet at the library at her school and googled all men in the area by the name of Logan no one' s profile looked suspicious. She picked up her back pack and headed off to lunch. when suddenly "Lana!" called the office secretary, "ur mom called and said she wants u to go home early, she said it's an emergency" Lana ran home as fast as she could only to find her mother and father in the kitchen fighting. "Mom!" she interrupted, but no one heard what she said. "She isn't mine is she?" Her father said. "Neither of us look anything like her the only person i've EVER met who looks like her is that MONSTER u used to love!" "Maybe I still do love him!" said Christine. "Maybe I nver loved YOU!! maybe the only reason why i came to u that night is because i was drunk and my husband tried to kill me." Lana's heart raced. She didn't know what to think, her father had always abused and neglected her. SHe never loved him and he never loved her. Now she realized why.  
Lana's dad was astonished and said "oh yah? How do u know i won't try and kill ya' babe?" "U wouldn't!" Said Christine. Lana's dad looked at Christine with a sheepish grinn on his face and slowly began to inch towards her. He picke up a knife and held it above her head. Lana didn't know what to do. Her heart was sprinting out of her chest, she thought she was going to either puke or faint and she was sweating all over. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" She screamed. As she did this she felt her whole body forcing itself at her father. Her knuckles were on fire and she could feel hot tears trickling down her face. Her father dropped the knife, but before it could even touch the ground she hit him with all the force in her body. He gulped fro breathe and lay panting on the floor. She looked at her hands which were now in terrible pain only to see three identicle bone claws coming from each one. She blinked to see if it was just a dream but it wasn't, she felt herself crying uncontrolably. She looked at her mother who was also crying, but not for the same reason. "Y-You MONSTER!" said Christine. "You're JUST LIKE YOUR Father! You murdered the man i LOVE!!" "U can't mean that mom!" Lana cried. "QUIET!! i am not ur mother!" Christine said. Her mother picked up the knife, Lana was so scared, she plunged her claws deep into her mother's chest and pulled them out. She bent down screaming and staring at her claws until something cought her attention. In her mother's hand there was a crumpled up picture of a man who looked very much like herself. And on the back it said "My Lover, Logan 1992


	5. Part 5

**Secrets From The Past**

Chapter 1- Blood Ties  
"Perfect, just perfect" Lana muttered as the door to the San Fransisco mansion shut behind her, "How do they expect me to get to Canada on my own?!" Lana picked up her bag, looked back at the mansion, and looked at the adress written on the scrap of paper before walking out the gate.  
Canada, hours later-  
The plane had taken forever it seemed to land in the city. She'd had to walk to the adress, thankfully it hadn't been far. She looked through the large wrought-iron gate to the mansion on the hill. The man from the picture, Logan, was outside with a woman and a few children, "Hello" Lana called in, "I'm looking for Logan!" The woman walked to the gate, "Come in, you are...?" "Lana, my mother knew Logan 16 years ago and I need to talk to him" Lana said. "Logan, hunny this is Lana, you knew her mother 16 years ago, Lana I'm Nikki, come find me if you need anything" Nikki said, scooping up the little kids and going inside. Lana handed Logan the picture and he smiled, "You're Christine's daughter?" Lana nodded, "I think you're my father" she said softly. Logan looked from her to the picture, "I think you're right..." Lana looked up to him with suprise, "You're sure?" "You have claws" he said, handing the picture back to her. "How would you know?" she asked. "I do too, so do most of our family" he said, "Come in, we'll talk inside." Lana walked inside, there were several other kids sitting around on the couch. "Who's she?" Josh asked. "Your sister" Logan said. Daken went bug-eyed, "You're kidding. First I'm stuck with Laura now her?!" Lana couldn't believe it, she had siblings?! Logan walked into the kitchen, kissing Nikki's cheek as he took a beer from the freezer. She thought she heard him say something to Nikki, but she knew she heard Nikki say, "How did you not know you have a daughter?" "Okay, first, I'm not going to guilt trip you into wanting me here, second, if you're anything like my stepfather then I'm leaving now and third, If you don't want me here I'll go" Lana said. "Lana, of course we want you here!" Nikki said, hugging her, "I think I know exactly what you mean and Logan is a good person, he won't hurt you so don't be afraid. We do want you here, but we have to let you know something, we're all mutants like you. We're heroes, Logan and I, our team the X-Warriors stay here with us. I'll give you a room here now okay?" Lana nodded, smiling, and followed Nikki.  
Logan sat in the kitchen, Christine had been a good woman, Lana was a good kid, how had all of this happen? "She's moving in, are you alright hunny?" Nikki asked. "Yeah, I'm fine, I can't believe Christine's dead" he whispered. Nikki looked away, "Did you still love her?" Logan stood, pulling her against him, "She was a good woman, I knew she deserved better than me but I guess she ended up with worse. I DID love her darlin', but I have never, nor ever will love any woman like I love you." She smiled, "Lana's happy here, she needed someone to go to in all this, it seems like we have a lot to catch up on with her." "uh Nikki?" 612 said, "Vic brought his brother back here and...um...my son is outside."  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Rivals  
Nikki looked to 612, "You're kidding me? Victor has a brother?" "um Nikki, bigger problem, my son and I aren't exatly...close" 612 said. "Oh who doesn't have a story like that lately?" she sighed. The mansion shook and 612 seemed to pale a little, "That would be him." Lana raced downstairs, "What's happening?" "Go upstairs and stay with the others" Daken said. "I can help" Lana said. "Just go,don't be stupid!" Daken growled. Lana raced outside, seeing who was causing the quakes, a huge jet was sitting outside with someone climbing down from it. "Get out here and fight me like you say you can!" he shouted. "They don't have to fight you!" Lana said. "I'm talking to my father girl, who're you anyway?" he said. "Lana, I'm Logan's daughter" she said, "and you want someone to fight you, I will!" She sent her claws down and lept at him, he grinned and pulled out his knives, fighting back. "Name's Fearless, I'm suprised, one of the Howletts has enough guts to fight me" he said. Lana twisted her claws around, trapping his knives in her claws, "Thank you, I've been known to be daring." He smiled, "I could get used to fighting you." "Well, I DO fight pretty well for a girl" she said. "For anybody" he pulled his knives back, letting her step back, "I've been stuck in the minor leagues for a while, I'm suprised Wolverine let his own daughter fight someone like me." Lana retracted her claws, "You flirting with me?" "No, I alwase complement the girls I fight" he said sarcasticly. Lana smiled, "Fearless, you might wanna get outta here unless you want my dad to carve you up like a turkey." "My name serves a purpose, I am fearless and my name's-" he began. "Fearless, I know. You must be fearless since you're still here, I'd suggest running. Fast. He's coming and you really don't want to see my dad when he's angry" Lana said. Fearless grinned, he leaned in and kissed her cheek gently, "I'm going to see you again, plus I still have unfinished business I need to take care of. 'Bye Lana Howlett." "'Bye Fearless" Lana sighed, she smiled with delight as he saluted to her from the jet, flying away.  
"LANA!" Logan roared, "Where'd he go?!" "He got away" she said, trying to sound angry at it herself. Logan either didn't care, or didn't notice she was lying but Nikki did, "Hunny, relax, I'm going to talk to Lana, you go tell 612 he doesn't need to worry for now." Lana turned to her stepmother once Logan was out of earshot, "You could tell I was lying couldn't you?" "Yeah, what happened with him?" Nikki asked. "I think he likes me...and I think I like him back" Lana said, blushing slightly. Nikki laughed, "The same thing happened with Daken and Rachel, he wasn't exactly a good guy and she was one of the good guys, it became opposites attract. It might work out for you too, you never know." "Don't tell dad!" Lana said. "We all have our secrets, I'm not going to say a word" Nikki said, walking off to find Logan.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Feraltooth  
Victor was sitting in his usual spot on the couch, the game turned on when Nikki, Logan and a blushing Lana walked in. "So, kid let him get away?" Victor asked. Lana looked down, scurrying off to her room. "What's that about?" Logan asked, turning to his wife. "She's still getting used to us hunny, give her a little time" Nikki said, kissing him gently. "The rest of them got used to me just fine, what's up with her?" Logan asked. "Hunny, you were never a teenage girl, you wouldn't understand, and Laura was exactly like Lana when she first met you. Emma told me" Nikki said. "So all teenage girls are like this or is it just the ones that're related to me?" Logan asked. "All, I was one of them once too hunny, I could be like that at times" Nikki said. "Do you think we'll ever understand women?" Josh asked. "You'll only be able to understand your soulmate, every other woman you'll have the same problem with" Logan said. John Creed sat beside his brother, watching the family interact with eachother, "Gets sickening doesn't it?" Victor asked. "No, not really" John said. "You must be Victor's brother, it's a change to see a mild-manored Creed, I'm Nikki" Nikki said, smiling. Victor laughed, "If ya wanted mild-manored why'd ya marry runt?" "How're you related to him? Really?" Nikki asked, "I don't honestly believe you're his brother." "I am" John said, "I can't believe it either." Victor laughed, "I learn sumthin' new everyday." "I'm suprised, I didn't think you could for a while there" Redeemer said from her chair.  
Upstairs, Lana, with nothing else to do, brushed her long black hair absentmindedly. 'They're nothing like my old parents I can tell that much' she thought. "So, getting used to it here?" Laura asked. "A little" Lana said. Laura laughed, "You shouldn't be so shy, they won't bite you know." "Can I ask you something? In the picture, dad, Logan, wasn't so pale, what happened?" Lana asked softly. "Well..." Laura began, "See, Nikki's part vampire and dad wanted to be with her forever so...I think you get it." "A vampire?" Lana asked, her eyes widening. "Not just, Nikki's part werewolf and wiccan too, along with her powers and the vampire. Trust me, she won't hurt you. In a few years I might ask her to change me too" Laura said. "You? What about...?" Lana asked. "Well, if you wanted too you could, and then there's Daken too. The 3 of us are really the closest to human in the family, we'll probably all get our chance in a few years or so" Laura said. "You WANT to be a monster?" Lana asked. "That's it, they aren't monsters, not all of them anyway. They're just misunderstood, like us. Do me a favor and just think about how much easier your life would be if you could run to San Fransisco in 20 minutes flat" Laura said. Lana sunk back in her chair, this was nuts! First mutant powers now this! She sighed and hoped one day she'd get used to the suprises.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- The Demon Pack  
Nikki was laying on the bed, reading whatever book she was into now when Logan came in. "Hey darlin'" he said, sitting down beside her. "Somethings wrong" she said softly, sitting up. Logan sniffed the air, his claws sliding down, "Stay here." She followed him, her senses on high alert with the smell of brimstone strong downstairs. "I thought I told you to stay upstairs" he whispered so only she could hear. "I can take care of myself hunny, what's there?" she whispered back. Logan looked outside, holding Nikki back. There were three seemingly normal looking people outside, the only give away of their demonic force was the scent of brimstone and their deepset black eyes. Nikki gasped softly, "Logan don't go." He held her back, "I'll be back." She stayed where she stood, he knew she was afraid, but he would protect her until he died. The three had their backs to him and he lept, his claws taking out two at once. The third slammed him back with a telekenetic blast, knocking him into a tree and nearly toppling it. "LOGAN!" Nikki cried, gasping as the demon's features reverted to it's real form. "Hello Nightwalker" Astroth said, ready to approach her. Logan lept, growling and cut the demon deeply. Astroth threw Logan back near Nikki, she rushed forward to Logan's side. Logan held her back, going forward again and letting the rage overcome him that time. "Logan!" Nikki cried, falling back as a blast rocked the ground. Astroth was blasting wild, trying to hit Wolverine with every force he had but Logan was having none of it. Logan cut him deeply, slashing through a few times. Nikki watched the battle in horror, praying Logan would be the one to win and finish Astroth forever. Logan was striking hard, Astroth was loosing strength with every strike Logan inflicted. Astroth turned, in a final attempt to win the battle and use Logan's weakness against him. Nikki gasped, the sudden pain tearing through her and she cried out in agony. Logan turned, the rage suddenly dying as he pulled his claws from Astroth. Nikki was writhing in pain, Logan knew Astroth's power could kill her. Logan stabbed Astroth through, knowing he was close to killing the demon. Astroth didn't have enough power to kill either of them and barely enough to keep himself alive. Logan twisted his claws and the fight was over, Astroth was dead. He stood, panting from exertion for a moment, and went to Nikki's side. "Darlin, I'm here" he whispered, he stroked her face gently. "He's dead?" she whispered shakily. He noticed her blood and gently pressed his hand to her wound, "Yeah, I'm going to take care of you. Just rest." She nodded and smiled, "Thank you." He was careful bandaging her wound and carring her upstairs, watching her sleep. "Logan?" she said softly, her eyes fluttering open. "Rest" he whispered, kissing her gently. "You saved me again, I'm really starting to feel like the damsel in distress" she said. He grinned and chuckled softly, "Get some rest, when you wake up again we're gonna have some fun." Nikki smiled, letting her eyes close as she fell asleep again while he held her in his arms.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Ghosts Of The Howlett Mansion  
The storm raged outside the mansion and it was starting to creep Lana out more than she though it would. A soft creek and thump behind her made her turn and scream in horror at what she saw. In a room were 2 people, all dead and the sound of an inhuman scream made Lana take off running down the stairs. Laura saw Lana run to her room and walked the way Lana came through, listening to the creeking of the floorboards under her own feet. Laura saw the 2 figures fade and another appeared, dissapearing as quickly as she appeared. Laura wasn't afraid, but with none there she deceded to head back. "Why is this place haunted?" she asked as she walked in the kitchen. "We have ghosts? Awsome!" Josh shouted. Logan looked to Laura, "What the hell are you talking about ghosts?" "Ghosts. Plain and simple, a man and a woman and a girl, they're HAUNTING this place" Laura said. Logan remembered his life in the mansion before, "The girl, a redhaired kid right? and the woman, thin, short brown hair?" "Yeah, and the guy looked like you, an older version of you but you looked like him" Laura said. "Damn" Logan muttered. "Hunny, they're your parents aren't they?" Nikki asked. "Then who was the girl?" Josh asked. "Her name was Rose, she was my adopted sister in a way" Logan said. Nikki kissed Logan's cheek, she knew all about what happened to his parents and all about Rose.  
The thunder cracked outside as Nikki and Logan climbed the stairs to the room where Laura and Lana had seen the ghosts. Nikki jumped as the loudest peal of thunder shook the windows. Logan let her hide in his arms, he liked her holding onto him. "Logan look" she whispered, looking in the room. Nikki gasped as one spirit's eyes opened, awakening it from death. Logan let her hide behind him, he had to face his demons, she didn't have to. "Stay back" he whispered. The spirit raised it's gun and Logan stood his ground, ready to run it though again. Nikki whimpered, "Horror movies really aren't my thing hunny." "Then run if you want, I'm facing this" he said. The woman rose and shouted, "No!" The spirit's gun fired and Nikki screamed, covering her eyes. "Nikki, darlin' open your eyes" he whispered, gently holding her. "Logan, what-?" "They're gone, for good I hope, now we gotta find Rose" he whispered. "If you EVER do that again-" she said shakily. "Darlin', if I was gonna try to scare you I'd have done it already" he said. "James?" a voice asked. Nikki REALLY didn't want to look now, she clung to Logan without letting go. "Hey Rose" Logan said. "James, I've been looking for you" Rose said, walking forward. Nikki felt cold, Logan pulled her closer, "Rose, you need to crossover with them, I'm happy with her." "I know, I just wanted to protect you from them. I'll be going James, we'll meet again" Rose said, fading. "You can let go now darlin'" Logan said, gently running his fingers through Nikki's hair. "I'm not letting go" she whispered. He gently uncurled her fingers from his shirt, kissing her and holding her hands in his, "Relax, I'm not letting you become one of them." "Don't you dare laugh, growing up with vampires scarred me for life" she said. He chuckled, "If I was gonna be laughing at you I'd wear armor first." Nikki sighed, "Sorry." "About?" he asked. "Being such a wuss, I can't help it, I've never been good with horror movies" she said. He laughed and led her downstairs, "I'm **surprised** you were that brave anyway." Nikki growled softly, smiling at him, "Well excuse me for wanting to be close to you." Logan growled and pulled her against him, "I owe you some fun don't I?" "Let's not rush sweetheart, we've got all the time in the world" she purred as he pulled the door to the bedroom shut behind them.  
The End  
**Vengeance**

Chapter 1- Rebellion  
The X-Warriors were in the midst of an incredible battle, explosions rocked the gorund and machine gun fire pierced the veil of smoke that was covering the escaped convicts path. Nikki ran through the smoke, picking up the scents of the men. She turned, claws down and tried to see though the smoke to her targets. A few of the scents surrounded her, another blast rocked the ground under her. One of them swung a crowbar at her, hitting her hard. Another lifted her up by her arm, "This is why women souldn't be superheroes." The smoke began to clear and the one that held her up twisted her around, pressing a knife to her throat. "X-Warriors! Don't come after me or the girl dies" the guy said, pressing the knife harder against her throat. Logan growled and Nikki grinned, "You know you shouldn't assume I'M the one who needs protecting." She let her fangs down, turning and sinking them into the man's neck. The shouts of terror from the others only made the bloodlust worse, she turned, letting the body drop and lunged at the others. Logan laughed before going into the fight himself, "That's my wife." In a few moments the men were dead and the couple drew back, bloodlusts sated. Nikki gently slid her gloved finger along Logan's lips, wiping the blood from them to drink herself. He growled softly, pulling her into a deep kiss. The sound of a jet landing broke the cheers of their teammates, they looked up to see the X-jet landing. "Great, Cyke's here" Logan growled. Nikki kissed him gently, "I'm right behind you love."  
"Logan! I thought I told you the X-Warriors were done for!" Cyclops shouted. "Woah" Armor said, her eyes widening at the body count. "The X-Warriors aren't under your control Summers, you can't tell us to stop being heroes" Logan said. "They ARE my problem Logan, the last thing I need is you renegade vigilanties trapesing around the city!" Scott said. "Do you have any clue what you just said?" Nikki said. "Yes I do actually, I'm not as stupid as you all seem to think I am" Scott said. "Well ya could've fooled us" Logan said. "The X-Warriors are no more Logan, stop being a hero and focus on being a father maybe" Scott said. "You sayin' there's something wrong with my family?" Logan growled. "Your kids are hellions Logan, as if you hadn't known that" Scott said. "Insult our family one more time Summers and he won't be the one who's claws are shoved through your-" Nikki growled. "OKAY! OKAY! ENOUGH!" Emma shouted, "Scott, Gorge founded the team and you have no say in it, Logan, the X-Warriors need to stay out of San Fransisco, okay?" "Sure Em" Logan said. "See, it's not so bad playing nice is it?" Emma asked Scott. "This isn't over Summers" Logan growled, turning to the quinjet. "No, it's far from over Logan" Scott said, leading his team back to their jet.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Free Time  
Logan growled as he paced the room, plotting ways to get back at Scott. "Logan, love please relax" Nikki said. He sat down beside her on the bed, "I can't darlin', I've gotta-" "You don't have to do anything right now" she said, "Just relax, we'll think of something." She made him lay back while she gently ran her fingers through his hair, making him relax at his wife's touch. "You could get a starving lion to lay down for a nap, know that?" he joked, closing his eyes. She smiled, gently kissing his cheek, "I can get you to relax, that means I can do the impossible." He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her back, it had been an incredibly long day already and it was only afternoon. "You're tired" she whispered. "I don't need to take a nap darlin" he said, sitting up. "Lay back down, you save the world all the time, you're a full time father and husband, you need some rest. I'll take care of everything this afternoon and I'll wake you up for dinner" she whispered, gently kisssing his cheek again. "Stay" he said softly. She lay with him until she knew he'd fallen asleep, gently slipping out of his arms, she caressed his cheek and quietly left the room so he could rest.  
"So, what's Logan got in mind for payback?" Victor asked, sitting at the table while Nikki made dinner. "I'm not sure yet, I made him relax. He works too hard Victor, he needs a day off" she said. "He's a hero Nikki, he isn't getting a day off" Victor said. "What'cha talkin' about?" Deadpool asked, sitting down at the table. "Logan works too much, don't you think Wade" Nikki said. "Well he's not working so much anymore, I ean the X-Men kicked him off and the NA is laying low for a while so he's only dealing with us" Wade said. "Plus the kids and me, he doesn't have enough time to relax" Nikki said. "With you I'm sure he relaxes plenty" Victor said. Nikki shot Victor a deathglare and returned to her cooking. "Boys, leave" Maria said. "We don't have to" Wade said. "Fine, but I have something to ask Nikki and it's girl talk" Maria said. "I'm outta here" Wade said. "Me too" Victor agreed. "So, you wanted to ask me something?" Nikki asked, trying not to laugh at the boys' escape. Maria leaned in and whispered her question which earned a laugh from Nikki, "Why would you want to know?" "Becuase there have been...roumors" Maria said. "It's a helluva lot better than they clame" Nikki said, grinning. "...and?" Maria asked. "and they weren't joking" Nikki said. "Damn!" Maria said. Logan walked in and Maria gazed at him in shock for a momant before running out herself. "What was that about?" he asked. "Girl talk, you would not believe what came up" Nikki said, grinning and whispered the exact conversation to him. He grinned, "So...then what's for dinner?" She smiled, "You don't mind?" "Not at all, I brag about you all the time" he said, kissing her neck. "Dinner's almost ready, you might want to avoid sitting close to Maria after that" she said, giggling a little at the thought. He smacked her bum gently, "She knows I belong to you, she wouldn't dare." "and I belong to you, I'd personally cut her hand off if she tried" she said, grinning as she kissed him again.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Payback time!  
The moment Logan awoke, he had a plan to get back at Scott once and for all. "Either you have a plan or you've gone evil on me" Nikki said, kissing his neck. "Cyke's gonna pay today darlin', my plan's foolproof" he said, picking up the phone, "and I'm letting Gorge in on it so the fool can't %#^* it up." "Which one, Wade or Victor?" she asked, climbing out of bed behind him. He grinned, "Wade." "Logan?" Gorge asked over the line, he sounded tired. "When you can, get over here so we can get this anti-cyke plan off the round 'kay?" "Okay" Gorge said, "and Logan, we really need to kill him this time." Nikki giggled, Gorge had a point. Logan hung up and crossed the room to her, "You wanna get involved in this?" "Sure, the bloodier the better" she grinned evily, a grin that would send chills down Feral's spine.  
Later with Gorge present, the team ran over Logan's plan. Each presise detail would make the plan even more foolproof, with Wade staying on the sidelines as planned. "So, you ready to kick $$?" Gorge asked Logan as they started the quinjet. "I was born ready bub" Logan said, lowering his mask and readying for takeoff. The quinjet coarsed through the air and the plan began phase 1. Nikki sent the radio broadcast to the X-Men's jet as the quinjet landed not far from the X-Men's base. Feral grinned, sharp canines showing, "Let's go kick Cyke's $$." The team split into 2 groups, Feral, Wolverine, Wolverina, and 612 were the first team, Hepzibah, Time Warrior, Redeemer and Deadpool were the other. Since Iceman had decied to stay with the X-Men, it was the 8 of them and so far it had made for a pretty good team. The first team infiltrated the base, radioing the second team the clear. Logan led the first team through the corridoors, Nikki right behind him. "Kinda feels like Jason Bourne doesn't it?" she whispered. "Don't'cha mean James Bond?" Feral whispered in reply. "No, Bond was a wuss compared to Bourne, Bourne snapped necks, Bond slept with women" she whispered back. "Focus" Logan whispered to both of them, "Time Warrior, you in?" "Yeah, we're covering the south hallway, coast is clear ahead. Proceeding to vantage point, how's you end?" Gorge said through the radio. "Our end's good, proceeding to vantage point also. Cover us and if anything goes wrong meet back at randivous point" Logan said into the radio. 612 looked uneasy, "What does he mean by that?" "It means he wants us to duck and run if Cyke has outside forces, you duck and run, we have healing factors, we'll stay and fight" Nikki whispered. "If I tell you to run you go, no arguing" Logan whispered. "I'm not going to leave you in the middle of a battle, no way in hell" she whispered back. "I'd love to hear how much you two love eachother and want to protect eachother but I'd like to go kill Cyclops now" Feral said. Gorge and the others were already there, "No guards were in place. Ready?" Gorge asked. Logan looked back to his team, over to the others and sighed, "Ready."  
The first team went in, Cyclops had been expecting them and was ready and firing before the other team managed to get into the room. Logan and Nikki were dodging blasts, Feral trying to distract from either of them and 612 covering the other team so Redeemer could possibly get a shot in. Redeemer loaded her guns, aimed and fired. Cyclops looked down, the bullet had missed it's target by inches but that hadn't ment it hadn't hit something else important. Logan stepped back, letting Gorge step forward, sword in hand. "You may think you control everything, you don't. You think you own us, you don't. We are compleatly different than the X-Men because X-Men don't kill, we do if we have to. I can tell you now that you should be killed for everything you've done, but I won't. As long as you know we'll always be here, always watching and waiting for you to do something again and we'll be here, finishing this. We are the X-Warriors, we are heroes and we're here to stay whether you like it or not Summers" Gorge said and resheathed his sword, motioning for his team to walk away. The others left without a glance, but Logan and Nikki lingered a moment for Gorge, "You coming or what?" Logan finally asked. "Yeah, I'm coming" Gorge said, walking out behind them.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Finality  
Logan slid out of the copilot's seat to let Gorge be alone for a while, obviously, he'd really wanted to finish Summers as bad as they all wanted to but he hadn't. Gorge was a good guy and didn't believe in killing unless it was the only option left. Nikki smiled as he slid into the space beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist, "Have fun?" She chuckled, "I think Gorge did a good thing sweetheart, Scott's gonna think twice before #^*%ing with us again." Deadpool looked to Victor, who didn't look so awsome, "Vic? Are you gonna throw up cause I'll move-?" "Shut. Up." Victor said, "I don't do well with planes." "Hey anybody know if this thing's got a bathroom Vic looks like he's gonna throw up?!" Wade shouted, causing everyone to inch back a bit exept Nikki. "Back there" she said, motioning for Wade to open the door, "You okay Victor?" "Not at all" Vic said, getting up and admitting defeat to his stomach. Wade, ever the moronic, goodhearted buddy, went in with him. "The mighty ex-Sabretooth, weak stomached. This is a historic day" Redeemer said. "If you were any more sarcastic you might be funny" 612 said, looking away before she smacked him. Hez looked around the plane, "I don't get it."  
The quinjet landed and the team headed inside, all exept for Nikki. "Darlin', you okay?" Logan asked, gently holding her close. She sighed, "There are days when I think Gorge is right and there are days like today, I think there's something bigger on the horizon, somthing coming that we just can't see yet." "Like?" he asked, trying to soothe the anxiousness he knew she felt. "Like this isn't over yet, I'm starting to think it never will be" she said. "Cyke stil thinks he can threaten us and he'll be on the other end of my claws. Darlin' just let me take care of everything, I promise there won't be anything he can do to stop us now" he said. She looked up, pushing his mask back and gently running her gloved fingertips along his face, tracing his features, "I know. I want you to let me take care of you too. I didn't marry you so I could hide behind you when things got rough, I love you so I'm always going to be there. At your side. No matter what." He smiled, pushing her glove back so he could kiss her wrist, "I love you too. There isn't a force existing that could stop that." She lay her head against his shoulder, letting him slip off her mask, "This isn't just about love anymore, it's about being together and that something we do, just not enough lately. "We'll take some time off, stay here, just be a family, okay?" he said, leading her inside. "Okay, that'd be nice" she said.  
Outside, hiding in the trees, Wild Child sat alone and wondered, was it possible that Daken had made a good choice leaving Romulus? Kyle knew he once belonged with them, but he didn't now. Or did he still? He sat in the trees until sunset turned to twilight and he jumped down, ready to make is decision.  
The End.  
**Taking Chances**

Chapter 1- Lesser Evil  
Kyle had alwase been a good kid, it had been a suprise to both Wolverine and Sabretooth when he'd gone to Romulus's side, but he was having second thoughts. 'All I seem to be is one of the help, I'm not given an mossions exept spying and not interfering, well I got to do more when I was a good guy. That's it, I'm going back' Kyle thought, swinging down from his perch on a tree branch, 'I'm going to be a good guy again. Hell I don't think I ever really stopped.' Romulus ws busy, as usual, everybody and everything was more important than him lately, 'No wonder Daken left' Kyle thought bitterly, packing his things together, 'Where am I supposed to go anyway? Who'd take in someone like me? My parents didn't even want me who else would?' Kyle slung his bag over his shoulder, leaving unnoticed. He hiked for a few miles though the trees until he knew where he'd wandered, he'd come back the way to Wolverine's place. That was a start, if Logan would take him in for even a while that would be...that wasn't going to happen. There was no way it was going to happen. Kyle sat in the tree he'd been in earlier, watching the house.  
When the scent of lunch being made came out of the open window, Kyle knew how hungry he really was. He also knew how much he missed life as a hero, and life before that, with his family. "Are you coming down or do you want to stay up there forever?" a female voice asked. Wolverina, as she was called, stood under the branch, looking up at Kyle, "I know you're a mutant, I also knw who you are and I don't care, you're still young and you're obvoiusly hungry since you've been hiding up there since before dinner yesterday. Come inside, you wouldn't be out here with your stuff unless you'd left Romulus and wanted to stay here but didn't think we would take you in. Logan's been debating wether or not he should come out here and talk to you all day, now, come inside" she said. "Does he even want me here?" Kyle asked softly, a bit intimadated by her even though he'd never admit it. "He doesn't want you out in the woods on your own or back with them, I don't think he'll care much if you stay here as long as you're on our side" she said. Kyle hopped down, holding his bag over one shoulder and walked in behind her. "Make yourself at home, this might become your home if you don't want to go somewhere else" she said, there was a certian motherly warmth in her voice that made him relax. He sat and watched her move around the kitchen, making sandwitches and setting one before him. "Go ahead, you must be hungry" she said, smiling at him. He looked down and ate, Nikki smiled, he was still the shy kid Logan talked about. "Hey Kyle" Logan said, unsuprised by his wife's good nature to everybody. Nikki smiled, "He's on our side again hun." Kyle looked up, she had just inviited him in on her own will? "You joining us Kyle or you just stopping by?" Logan asked, opening his drink. "Do you mind if I stay?" Kyle asked, regretting asking the moment Logan looked to his wife. "No, go ahead. Nikki'll show you where you're sleeping and stay the hell away from my daughters, other than that you're good" Logan said. Nikki laughed softly as Logan left, "Relax, he's just overprotective of them. Come with me." Kyle liked Nikki the moment he stood to walk with her, maybe getting back into the hero thing wasn't so bad after all.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Allies and Enemies  
Lana walked down the hall into the kitchen, "Josh quit hogging all the food, other poeple live here you know." Kyle looked up, suprised to hear her behind him, "I'm not your brother, I'm Kyle and I'm trying to make a sandwitch so back off." "Oh! Sorry!" she said, stepping back in suprise, "I'm Lana, I'm Logan's daughter. You are...?" "Kyle. Your parents are letting me stay here since...well I really don't have anywhere lese to go" he said. "Did your parents kick you out? I mean not becasue of the earrings because you're a mutant, you ARE a mutant right?" she asked. "Talkitive little spitfire aren't you? and yes, I am a mutant and I really need to get an image inducer or rip these things out or something" he said, starting to make something from the foods scattered across the table. "Why? They're cool" she said, touching one of them. He caught her hand, "Quit acting like you're all brave, I can smell your fear, you're just as afraid of me as everone else." Lana pulled her hand out of his, "I'm not afraid of you, just if I touched your ear the wrong way I might hurt you." He growled, she didn't jump, "You wouldn't hurt me. Nobody can hurt me anymore" he said, taking the food and putting it away. "Kyle I'm just worring about you, I can't help caring about you or anybody else here" she said. He looked back to her, "You're pretty deep for a 13-year old." "Well how old are you?" she asked. "None of your bussiness kid" he said. Lana walked forward, "I'm not a kid." "Oh yeah?" Kyle said. "Yeah, could a kid do this?" she asked, taking his sandwitch out of his hands and starting to walk off. He caught her by her belt and pulled her back, "No, but nobody steals my sandwitch." She turned, holding it out, "If you want it back you've got to take it from me." He pulled the plate from her hand, and picked her up, still holdng her belt, "How's that for taking it back?" He put her down and walked away.  
Logan walked into the kitchen and saw Lana standing there, "What're you doing?" Lana blushed and walked out, passing Nikki. "Do you have ANY clue what that was about?" he asked. "Not one, must be another teenager thing" she said, kissing his cheek. Logan sighed, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her deeply. Daken walked in, "What is Kyle doing here?!" "He's staying here Daken, he has nowhere else to go" Nikki said. "What do you mean he's staying?! He can't be staying!" Daken growled. "He's a good kid, he has nowhere else to go" Nikki said, "He's staying here." The ground shook outside, and Kyle looked outside, "Dammit." "What's happening?" Lana asked from the couch. "Send Wildchild out now!" one of the soldiers shouted. "That happened" Kyle said. Lana looked outside and looked back to Kyle, this wasn't good.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Battle  
"Sure, NOW he pays attention to my existance" Kyle muttered, storming out of the room. "Kyle wait!" Lana said. "What?" he growled, turning to face her so she nearly ran into him. "I'm coming with you" she said. "No, your not. You're staying here, deal with it" he said, walking outside. The gunfire started and Lana ran to see what was happening, Kyle was tearing through the soldiers without a moment's hesitation. Lana raced to the door, she was going to help him anyway. "Kyle look out!" she shouted, one of them managed to get behind him and fire the gun. Kyle moved in time, the bullet clipping his shoulder as he turned and gutted the gunman. "Kyle!" Lana shouted, fear and adrenaline racing though her veins for her friend. Kyle was covered in blood, mostly the soldiers, as he turned to her, his black eyes showing a bit of their true color as one of the last soldiers raised his gun. "KYLE!" Lana shouted, her blood running cold as his eyes turned back to normal and he fell to the ground. They started to pull him up, but the rage she barely knew she had came over her, the world turning red as she raced forward and took out the last few soldiers. Kyle groaned, turning over, "I thought I told you to stay inside." Lana grinned, dropping to her knees and hugging him tightly. "Ow, let go" he said, prying her arms off him.

"Kyle! Lana!" Nikki shouted, running out, "What happened? Are you alright?" "I'm fine, Kyle got shot. People were sent after him, we took care of it" Lana said, helping Kyle to his feet. "Word of advice, you might not want to hug people who just got shot in the back" he said. Lana blushed, pulling her hands away. "You alright?" Logan asked. "I'm fine" Lana said, walking past and going to her room to change out of the bloody, tattered clothes. Kyle laughed, "Other than getting shot I'm fine, Lana's insane though." "How so?" Nikki asked. "She ran out after me, she kicked their $$es and then she was thinking out loud, saying I was her friend and she should've helped sooner, stuff like that" Kyle said. "Friend?" Logan asked. Nikki gently nudged him, "Yeah" Kyle said, "Friend. What about it?" Kyle went upstairs too and Logan looked to Nikki, "Kyle is Lana's friend, how the hell did that happen?" "I have no idea, I stay with the littler ones all day" she said, kissing him gently, "What do you think Romulus is going to do when he finds out Kyle is with us now?" "Don't know darlin', but I know it's not gonna be good" he said.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Romulus's Plans  
The female feral soundlessly jumped up to Kyle's window, tapping lightly on the glass with her clawed fingernail. Kyle pulled up the window, "Amanda what are you doing here?" "Romulus is furious, his plans aren't going right. Keep doing what you're doing, stay here. He won't be able to keep this up much longer then" she said. "What about you? I don't want you going back there" he asked, letting her smell his fear. "Kyle, I'm going to be fine. I'll be in town, at a hotel, come find me if you want" she said, "Just be safe for me." He smiled, but it was bittersweet. Amanda Creed had started out his friend, an ally like the others, but she'd become something much more over the time they'd spent together. Feral was going to have a field day with this but Kyle didn't care anymore, he climbed out, sitting beside her and kissed her deeply, letting her know exaclty how much he worried about her. "Don't worry so much Kyle, you'll die young. I'll be fine, I'm not going back either. Come find me soon, we'll go out, have some fun. That seems like what you need now anyway" she said, snuggling into his arms for a moment before standing again and smiling to him. He sat and smiled back, the moonlight making her blond hair shine golden. To him, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. She smiled with her fangs and lept into the neighboring tree, signaling him to go inside. He went inside, keeping the window open so she could come in if she wanted and he watched her go with a parting glance, her amber eyes like champaign diamonds in the darkness. Amanda went back to the hotel, packing her things and going back. When she arrived, Kyle was asleep but she jumped in anyway. She set her bag down and sat on the window seat, pulling the window down and bedding down there.  
Lana couldn't sleep, she woke and couldn't get back to sleep. She wandered down the hall for a walk, hearing everyone's soft, sleeping breaths with her senses. She heard Kyle's voice, hushed and another woman's voice. Lana walked up to Kyle's door, seeing him sitting in bed with the covers pulled back. She knew he'd just woken up too, and he saw the woman sitting beside him, having an animated conversation with him. They both looked so...happy together. Kyle wrapped his arms around her, saying something to her only she could hear and she said something back. Kyle pulled her hand, leading back to sitting beside him. Lana stood up, relizing she'd been spying on him, it was none of her business if Kyle had a girlfriend. 'Or more' she thought bitterly. Lana walked back to her room, sliding back under the covers and sleeping dreamlessly. "Kyle get some rest" Amanda whispered, stroking his hair. "No, I want to stay awake with you" he said tiredly. She sighed and climbed into bed beside him, "That better?" "Stay" he said, nearly asleep. "I will, I promise" she said, settling into a spot beside him and hummed her wordless lullaby.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Broken  
Romulus had a plan. He'd been able to find a telepath to help him, and now he'd put his plan into action. The darkness of pre-dawn cloaked the mansion's grounds, and Nikki awoke, something was wrong. Something...but seemingly nothing. "What? What's goin' on?" Logan asked tiredly, holding her arm. "I don't know" she whispered. His eyes opened, "I'll go check it out, stay here darlin'." He kissed her gently, but she deepened it, something terrible was going to happen, she could feel it. There was no danger out in the hall, or anywhere else by what Logan could tell. The sudden pychic blast made him drop to his knees, the feeling of being controled on the edge of his mind. "Logan" she said, she wrapped her arms around him. "Nikki...stay back" he gasped, feeling the telepath's control on him strengthen. "No, I'm not leaving you" she whispered. The telepath let loose the rage he'd fought so hard to contain and he growled in consentration, trying to hold it back. She pulled him up, sitting him on the bed and waiting. She hated waiting, it made her feel so...helpless. Logan's eyes turned red, he couldn't control it. Nikki lept back as his claws shot out, he lept at her, rage controling every movement. "Logan!" she gasped, his claws nearly missing her as hse fell back onto the floor. He coudln't hear her over the rage, and he'd mistaken her for a threat, he sunk his claws into her. She gasped, his claws stayed where they were as he fought the rage. His claws went back and his eyes went back to their blue, "Nikki...?" His eyes widened, "Did I-?" "Logan" she whispered, gently caressing his face, "I was so afraid you wouldn't come back." He pressed his hands to her wounds, trying to stop her bleeding, "I'm sorry." She smiled weakly, "Don't be, you couldn't control it." He carried her, being extreamly gentle as he tended to her wounds. He knew what had happened, somehow Romulus had someone get into his head. Romulus had made him hurt her and now he was getting some payback.  
Kyle and Amanda woke to Lana's knocking, "Kyle, Kyle's girlfriend, you need to get up." Kyle opened the door, "What?" "Dad is furious, he's going after Romulus to END this, you can't let him do that! If I loose my father you loose your head got it?" Lana growled, putting her fist at the side of his neck. "Pop those claws and you loose a hand" Amanda threatened. "Stay here Amanda, I'm gonna go help Wolverine" Kyle said, grinning as he said the last part. Logan was at the jet by the time Kyle got there, "Logan! Wait!" "What?!" Logan asked, turning so Kyle nearly ran into him. "Don't. Lana's upset, she doesn't want you to go" KYle said. Logan relaxed a little, "Romulus HAS to pay for what he's done, do you get that?" "Yeah, I know what happened, Lana told me, just stay okay? We'll get an army and go after him, we'll win this Spartan style" Kyle said, nudging Logan with his elbow. Logan sighed, "Spartan style?" "You know, like Meet The Spartans? The Epic Movie spinoff?" Kyle asked. Logan walked back the way they'd come without saying a word. This might wait for today, but it wasn't waiting forever. Romulus was gonna pay, and Logan was planning.  
The End  
**What If- Wolverina vs The Native? (OS)**

"Native!" Logan shouted. Sabretooth turned, Logan attacked, sinking his claws into Sabretooth's chest directly to kill him. "C'mon, he'll heal, let's go!" Logan said, pulling Native to her feet and running with her. Miles later, Native was tired but Logan kept urging her on, "Gorge!" he called, "Gargan! Get over here!" Native went inside with him, letting him lead the way to a place where she could finally rest.  
3 years later-  
'Oh my god' Slasher thought, nearly falling out of the tree. Spying on Wolverine was one of her favorite pastimes, and watching him outside, playing with his little girl made her want to be the lucky woman she'd seen fighting at his side in every battle. The little girl, Diana raced over to where she sat, "Hello." Nikki smiled, leaning down to the little girl, "Did you want your ball back?" "Diana!" Logan called. Nikki pushed her bag over her shoulder and jumped down, walking into the yard with Diana, "She's okay, she's a cute kid." "Thanks, I'm Logan" he said, grinning and taking her hand. "Nikki, I heard this place was a mutant haven" she said. "Nikki's pretty" Diana said. "So are you" Nikki said, ruffling the little girl's hair. "Logan?" Native asked, walking out to his side. She didn't talk much, even though she'd learned how to again. They'd given her a name, Artimis, after the goddess of the hunt. "Artimis, this is Nikki, Nikki this is Artimis, known as the Native on the battlefield. Nikki, this little cutie is our daughter, Diana" Logan said, he looked inwardly torn. Nikki smiled, seeing the other woman's obvious discomfort at how close she was to Logan and Diana. Logan led her in and showed her to her room, across the hall from his. "So I'll see you later?" "Sure" Nikki said, grinning at him as he went in his room.  
Later, Diana had gone to bed and the professor had Native running a New Mutants danger room session, Logan was alone in the rec room when Nikki walked in, "Hey." "Hey" he said, smiling at her. "So, you're married?" she asked. "No, I take care of them. Native didn't want to be here and all of a sudden she did, so Diana's being raised here." "So you're not technicly with anyone?" she asked. "No, I guess not. Then again I have no clue what she says behind my back" he said and chuckled. "She stays in your room though?" she asked. "No, she has her own room, right acroos from Diana's. Are you offering to be my girlfriend or something?" he asked. "Would you accept my offer?" she purred, sliding closer to him. "Yeah, I would" he said, taking her into his arms and kissing her deeply. Native opened the door to Nikki's room, no bags. Either she'd gotten re-assigned or she'd left, something Native wanted. She walked past Logan's door and heard Nikki's voice inside, and Logan's. Native stormed into her room, furious and shut the door behind her.  
The next morning, Logan awoke to Nikki's smiling face. He'd never admit it, but it was nice to have someone to wake up to after all this time. "Morning" she said softly, kissing his cheek. He sighed, it had been roughly 2 years since Native had kissed him, or even let him go out without her. He liked having Nikki around, she was beautiful, sweet and everything he needed, everything he wanted and loved. "I think I fell in love with you" he said softly. "I did a while ago Logan, I've know you longer than you think" she said, laying on his chest. "I do love her but not the same way I love you. She's...a friend in a way. It used to be like this, but she just..stopped. It's nice to know I'm still wanted" he said. "Well, I don't want you Logan, I NEED you. I did fall in love with you and nothing in this world will stop me now" she whispered. Native waited outside Logan's door, she couldn't wait to give Nikki a piece of her mind. When Nikki slid out, Native stood in her way, "Stay away from my Logan." "Your Logan? Sorry girl, Logan's MINE now" Nikki said, striding down the hall and out of sight.  
The End!  
**Wolverina- Unforgettable Past**

Chapter 1- Inner Demons  
Nikki raced through the woods at vampire speed, the scent of soldiers close by. She smiled a fanged grin and lept up into the trees above them, 'Weapon X again, do those people ever give up?' she thought, 'At least this time I'm getting lunch outta them.' She smiled inwardly at the inside joke, her eyes nearly black. She jumped down, pulling one at a time back into the trees until one was left. "Unlucky for you, your friends made good enough of a hunt for a few weeks" she said, coming out to face the unlucky soldier. He marveled at her beauty, like many others had done before their death. For some reason, she wanted to let this one go, "Your name soldier?" "Cadet Matthew Sparrow" he said softly. "Oh! You're Jack's son!" she said, suprised. "Yeah...how'd you know?" he asked. "Do yourself a favor and go home, and tell your dad you almost ran into Connor's old friend" she said. "Almost?" he asked, scared. "Do you really want to run into someone like me? Get outta here kid" she said, and raced back through the woods. She slowed down close to a mile from the mansion, her eyes still bright crimson from hunting.  
"So, go hunting without me?" Logan asked, coming up behind her and taking her by suprise. "Don't do that! You scared the hell outta me!" she said, letting him laugh at that. "So, Weapon X again? They're really getting dumber by the day" he said, sitting down in the grass and motioning her to join him. She sighed and sat down, "Connor's nephew was out there." "Connor? Oh, THAT Connor" he said, laying back, "What was it you saw in him anyway?" "It was over 80 years ago Logan, I was young and he was like you, a goodhearted badboy, I always had this taste in men you know" she said, laying back on his arm. "It's nice just to get away from eerything isn't it?" he asked, looking over to her. She looked up at the sky and then to the trees around them in the small clearing, "Yeah, it is nice." He turned over to her, "Something's wrong." "No, why?" she said. "You're never this quiet, you're thinking about him aren't you?" he asked. "I just wonder what happened, he was presumed dead but I can just tell he wasn't. Something happened and I want to know what" she said. Logan looked deeply into her eyes, her emotions plain as day to him, "I'll go back." "No, stay" she whispered, sitting up with him. "I think we should go back" he said, walking ahead. "Okay" she said, following him. "I'm sorry, it's just....you got to think of Connor, I was thinking of Silver Fox. We used to lay and the grass together like that, I can't help thinking about it darlin'" he said, the hint of regret in his voice. "You loved her, I know you can't help that. If it helps, we could do somethings like that more often" she said, stopping on the path. He turned to her and smiled, his eyes bright. That was all he needed to do, she went forward and kissed him deeply, letting him have his way with her.  
Feral went back to that spot from god knows how many years ago, the spot where he'd first seen Wolverine and Silver Fox. "Damn does he do this every century?" Creed cursed under his breath, walking back away from that spot and what he'd seen. "You have got to be %^#*ing kidding me, every frickin' time!" Nikki giggled, hearing Victor not even a mile away, "You've done this before?" "Once or twice yeah, but not like this and I can see where Vic would be jealous, he doesn't have a woman like you" Logan purred, kissing her again. She sighed as he kissed her neck, "God I love nature."  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Blood Ties  
Logan stood near the window, watching the storm rage outside. He let Nikki sleep and wondered about life before then, back to Silver Fox. He thought of the day he'd known Sabretooth was there, he hadn't cared back then. He hadn't thought Creed would've acted on it. He knew that was the reason Silver Fox had been hurt that badly, not killed but close enough. He'd lost her for years after that, and then she'd died. He felt Nikki's hands run along his shoulders, "It's late, don't you want to go back to bed?" she said, kissing the back of his neck. He turned, taking both of her hands and gently kissing her wrists, "I love you." She smiled, "I love you too, what about it?" "I don't think I tell you that enough, if I ever loose you I want you to know that" he whispered between kisses along her neck. She sighed and eased him back, "You're never going to loose me. We're probably going to be millions of years old and still be together. That's what eternity means my love." He held her against him, "I know, but a day will come when we die and when we do I want you to know that I love you." "I'll always know you love me, as long as you stay with me. The only way I could ever doubt that was if you'd left me" she whispered, snuggling into his arms. "and I never will leave you, I'd have to die first" he whispered, "Sleep darlin' we'll probably have work in the morning." He hummed a wordless tune to her until she slept and remembered it to hum to her later, calling it her lullaby.  
In the morning, Gorge was waiting downstairs with something for Nikki from Hank at the X-Men's mansion. Her eyes widened for a moment and she turned to Logan, holding the letter out for him to read. It wasn't possible, was it? "What's it say?" Gorge asked, curiosity peaking. "It says the Native was my sister and my neice is still alive" she said, shock overcoming suprise. Logan looked shocked, but not the same shock as Nikki. He smiled and sighed with relief, he had a daughter and she was alive! "Darlin' this is good! We have to bring her into the family" Logan said, grinning. Nikki smiled, "Okay, we'll go get her soon. C'mon, we've got to get breakfast and get ready, okay?" He grinned, kissing her deeply, "Thanks darlin'." The kiss left her both speachless and breathless, as usual and she went to start breakfast.  
They took the quinjet to San Fransisco, the X-Mansion was REALLY hard to miss now. The huge white building stood out among the San Fransisco buildings like a mutant itself, it's giant structure basicly advertising the school. Logan stopped Nikki from running off the jet, her happiness extending to everyone she was around like sunshine. Taking the little girl in her arms, Nikki nearly bounced up and down with joy, Logan thanked Hank and this time HE was driving. Nikki cradled the little girl's sleeping form, the girl wasn't a full 4 years old yet and probably wouldn't remember this in the long run but it was worth it now. Nikki smiled, brushing back the little girl's long russet brown hair. Just like Native's. Logan looked over to her and the sleeping girl, smiling as the little one turned in her sleep. "She needs a name" Nikki said, "She looks like a Leah to me." "Leah it is, just make sure she isn't like your friend okay?" he joked, grinning as Nikki playfully nudged him. The jet touched down back at thier mansion, Leah was home.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Home  
Leah awoke on a couch with two other girls, neither looked alike in any way. "Hi Leah! I'm Aleasha and this is Erica, you're our new sister!" the one girl with long reddish-brown hair said. The blond girl with amber eyes was Erica, Leah guessed, she was quiet, sitting on the floor beside Aleasha with her arms around her knees. "We're in a way half-sisters" Aleasha said. Leah had been around hikers before, so she knew a few words, "Where am I?" Aleasha squeeled loudly, "You talked! You're in your dad's house, you're our cousin/step-sister isn't that cool?" Leah looked around the room, "Where is he?" "C'mon, we'll show you!" Aleasha said, jumping up and running down the hall. Erica stood and held out her hand, "She can be a little hyper sometimes." Leah got up and walked beside Erica down the hall. They entered the kitchen and sitting there was a boy who looked like Erica, "Mom! Dad! Leah talks! and pretty well fr a 3 year old too!" Aleasha said, jumping up and tugging on her mother's shirt. "Hello Leah. This is Vincent, your brother. Sort of." Nikki said, "Your room is upstairs, and speaking of rooms why don't you two go clean yours?" Erica giggled, "I always keep my side clean, she's the slob in question." Leah slid into a chair, not knowing how to ask for some lunch. "Are you hungry?" Nikki asked, Leah nodded. Logan looked at Leah, she looked a lot like her mother. She even had her mother's cat-like yellow eyes. Leah looked up, "What?" "Nothing, you just look like your mother" Logan said, sitting down near her. "Dad?" Leah asked. Logan smiled, "Yeah." Leah was short, just above 3 feet so she had to look up to see his face with the 2 foot advatage he had over her. Logan looked to the other kids, "Want to go give Leah a tour and introduce her to everybody?" Leah looked up, her eyes bright topaz as she stared at him. "She's probably hungry hunny, also we need to teach her more words, she's been feral for all of her life" Nikki said, setting a plate of food in front of Leah. Leah watched Logan while she ate, apparently she'd never seen someone like him before. After she finished eating, she slid off the chair and looked at Logan. He got up and walked over to her, he understood feral better than most people and he picked her up, letting her get a better look at him. She touched the spikes of his hair and he smiled, she echoed the smile with her own and let him put her down. Leah went over to Nikki next, touching the blue streak in awe. Nikki set her down and she went over to her siblings, seeming to memorize them one by one while she walked with them.  
Leah met everyone, and walked everywhere with them, then when she thought there was noone else to meet, her brother walked in the room. "What did I miss?" Daken asked, sitting down to whatever was on TV at the moment. "Leah, that's your brother. Daken, this is Leah, Dr. McCoy found her and Mom and Dad went to pick her up. She already met everybody else" Aleasha said. Leah stared at her brother with admaration, memorizing every detail from afar. "I think you're her favorite" Erica said, laughing. Daken scooped Leah up and set her down on his lap, "Leah right?" Leah nodded, stunned. "You might not want me to be your favorite, I've done things I'm not proud of" he said. Leahjust stared in awe, she didn't know how to ask him how he wasn't proud of being himself. He let her sit on his lap, she curled up and fell asleep on him as the afternoon wore on. He scooped her up and took her upstairs to the room she was going to be sharing with Vincent and set her down, tucking her in like a good big brother. Logan stood in the hallway, grinning, "Love your little sister huh?" "Yeah, don't tell anyone I said this but I really do love all of them. Thanks dad, I remember everything but you gave me a second chance, I can't hate you for that. I know Romulus was wrong, I've seen how good you are with them, how much you care about people otherwise you'd never risk your life to save them, you're differnt than what he says. I know that now" Daken said, shoving his hands in his pockets. Logan hugged his son, a sweet, tender family moment. Both caught the scents of Weapon X not far away, "Damn do they ever give up?" Daken said, redying for the battle they knew was coming.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Weapon XY  
Daken was bolting through the hail of gunfire outside, taking out soldiers as fast as possible. "Target the mutant, find Weapon XY!" the soldier's leader shouted. Daken killed almost all of them, a few of them dropped their guns and backed off, "What the hell is Weapon XY?" "A-a girl! Weapon XY is the daughter of Wolverine and te Native! That's all I know, I only have orders to bring her back!" the man said, cowering in fear. "Orders from who?" Daken growled, his claws centimeters from the man's throat. "Romulus! We got orders from the top! He wants her brought back to them, she was feral and we had her for a time, she escaped and must've found her way here. D-don't kill me I'm only following orders!" the man said, literally shaking. The few men backed up, waiting to see what Daken would do. "You 4, run. and pray to god I don't catch up with you" Daken growled. The other 4 men bolted, leaving their leader in Daken's grip, "I wouldn't count on staying alive if I were you." Daken hunted down 3 of the 4 men, letting the last one go to Romulus and face possible death there. Romulus needed to get the picture, Daken was a good guy now and he was getting revenge for every lie Romulus had ever told him, no way was his family getting involved in that.  
Logan was waiting in the kitchen for Daken when he walked in, "You okay?" "Yeah, perfect" Daken grumbled. "Hey, don't leave me out here. What happened out there?" Logan asked. "They were targeting Leah, she was one of Romulus's experements once, she broke out just like you and Nikki did. I let one go to Romulus to tell him that the others were dead and we were going to hunt him down like the dog he is" Daken said, taking one of his father's beers from the freezer. "Don't blame yourself, you didn't do anything. You may have believed him once but you don't now and that's what matters. I know how you feel, I know you wish you had your mom here but Nikki's the closest thing you've got. Not to mention, she really cares about you and everybody else in the family and the team. I'm not great with the emotional stuff, but she is. If you ever need to talk to her you can too. I'll admit I was never the best father but I did pretty good once I really got things together. I'm here if you need a guy to talk to, I can be your father and I can be your friend at the same time. Same with Nikki, she can be your mom and she can be your friend, just don't expect the friend to change the mom part any" Logan said, chuckling. Daken looked over to his father, "Leah's just a kid. She's younger than I was when Romulus took me in. She's not even a kid yet, she had a good year and a alf before she becomes a kid! I don't know what I'm supposed to do here, I know she's been though pretty much the same thing but I don't want her to be like me. She's too young, she's...different. You can see the good in her dad, with me you really have to dig to find it." Logan sat down and so did Daken, "I wish things were as simple as good and evil anymore. There's black and white but then there's shades of grey most people can't see. There's human and mutant, race, male and female, rich and poor, that's how the world sees things, only the people who've been on both sides of something really understand that there's something else in the middle there. Something different" Logan said. "Dad did you just go all fortune cookie on me?" Daken asked, smiling. "Yeah I guess I did" Logan said. "You boys having fun?" Nikki asked, striding in and sitting down between them. "Yeah, nice to know everybody's willing to talk to me every once and a while. I was starting to think you guys were holding a grudge" Daken joked, taking a long drink. "This is one of those guys-in-a-bar-conversation things I'll never understand isn't it?" Nikki asked. "Yeah, pretty much" Daken said. "I'll tell you later" Logan whispered, kissing her cheek. "Now, if you'll excuse me boys, the laundry isn't going to do itself. I would love it if it did" Nikki said, getting up and walking out. Logan watched her backside as she walked out, "I love the laundry anyway. She has to walk by again and that never gets old." Daken laughed, taking another drink and enjoying the bonding moment while it lasted.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Night After  
Logan walked into the bedroom as Nikki was putting their clothes away, he gently held her hips and kissed her neck, relaxing her. "I really can't focus on anything when you're distracting me like that" she said, her voice barely sounding convinsing. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked, pressing another gentle kiss to her neck. She sighed, giving in and leaning back against him, "No." He turned her to face him, his lips decending to her, her arms slipped around his neck and he was content to hold her like that all night. He could feel her heart hammering against his chest and he kissed her more roughly, breaking away suddenly to calm her heart that threatened to pound out of her chest. She panted hard and clung to him, "How do you do that to me?" He grinned, "I just know how to make you happy." She giggled, her heart still fluttering from his kiss. He made her sit down on the bed, doing her work for her. "There's something incredibly sexy about a man doing house work for his wife" she said, streaching out on the bed and getting his attenton. He finished putting their clothes away and went over to the bed, laying down with her and kissing her deeply. "Logan" she moaned, kissing him back. He pulled back, caressing her cheek. "I still can't believe after all this time you still do that to me" she whispered, kissing along his jaw. He grinned, "Well, there are a few things I'd like to do right now..." She grinned back, knowing exactly what he had in mind.  
A few hours later, Nikki laid under him and kissed his neck, gently caressing his back. "Darlin' please" Logan moaned, catching her hand and kissing her wrist. She grinned, "and I still do that to you." He kissed along her collarbone, caressing her anywhere he could touch. She sighed and stroked his hair. "Darlin..." he whispered, coming back to eye level with her. "I think we should get up" she said, pushing him back so she could get out of bed. He sighed and sat up, watching her get dressed, "As soon as you get the kids to bed come back here darlin', I still have enough energy to 'play' for a while longer." She giggled, playfully nipping his ear. It only took a few minutes for her to get back in the bedroom and back into his arms, ready to enjoy the night as much as they could before they fell asleep.  
The End!  
**Figures In The Darkness**

Chapter 1- Bella's baby  
Bella clung to Edward as he raced through the woods, Emmett and the other Cullens were holding off the Volturi as best they could but she didn't expect them to hold them back much longer. Edward broke into the clearing where the Howlett mansion stood, getnly setting her down at the door. Edward pounded hard on the door, looking back to the trees and shielding Bella in front of him. "Edward" she whispered, turning in his direction. "Bella you're staying here, just keep the baby safe" he whispered, pressing his hand to the bulge in her stomach as he gently kissed her, like a soldier going to war. Nikki pulled open the door, suprised to see Edward after all this time, "Keep her safe at all costs, please" he said softly, pushing Bella gently to get her to walk in. "Edward please, don't go" Bella pled, clinging to his sleeve. Nikki gently tugged Bella back, "The Volturi are after her aren't they?" "Not just her, the baby too" Edward said softly, "I'll be back as soon as the coast's clear." Nikki nodded, holding Bella back as Edward ran off with the door shutting behind him.  
"Are you alright Bella?" Nikki asked. "I think so" Bella said, still holding her stomach. "Wait here okay?" Nikki said, leading Bella up the stairs and having her wait outside a room. "Here, I have this room ready for you, it's next to mine so if anything happens I'm close enough to know" Nikki said, wrapping a blanket around Bella's shoulders. "Thank you" Bella said softly, the wear of the day setting in. Bella laid down in the bed, pulling the covers up around her and falling deeply into sleep. Nikki went back to her room, Logan waiting for her. "What's going on?" he asked, letting her slip into his arms back under the covers. "Bella's going to have a baby, the Volturi are after it and Edward brought her here to keep her safe" she said, "If the Volturi are after Bella's baby, I can only wonder if they're after our children." He rubbed her back, calming her nerves, "If they are, we're not going to let them win. You know that." She laid her head against his shoulder, snuggling against him, "I know, but we need to keep them safe anyway." He stroked her hair, softly humming her lullaby so she would relax and sleep. Her eyes drooped and she fell into a peaceful sleep, he slept lightly, waiting for the fist possiblity of attack but all the while, resting with her.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Renesmee  
Bella was exausted, the little baby girl in her arms listening to the outside. "Renesmee" Bella whispered, clutching the baby to her chest. "What?" Nikki asked. "Ruh-nez-may, R-e-n-e-s-m-e-e, that's her name" Bella said tiredly. Renesmee looked up to Bella with the same tired expresion, touching her face. Bella gasped, Renesmee had replayed the first few moments of her life to Bella from just touching her. "Bella?" Nikki asked. "Take her, get her blood she drinks that. Call Edward-" Bella said, sleep starting to overcome her when they both heard the pounding on the door. Jacob, Seth and Leah waited outside, Nikki opened the door with her magic and guided them to where Bella was, locking it once they were inside. "Bella!" Jacob said, rushing in. He stopped suddenly, his eyes locked on the baby. "Jake?" Seth asked, fear obvious in his tone. "I...I think I just imprinted" Jacob whispered, the words directed to his part of the pack.  
"On Renesmee?" Nikki asked, a half-vampire and a werewolf had never imprinted before, there'd been very few half-vampires to begin with. "Bella what happened back there?" Leah asked, sitting at Bella's side. Jacob lifted Renesmee from Bella's weak arms, "She'll tell you once she gets some sleep Leah, go outside with Seth and patrol, the others will be here soon." Bella fell into a deep and peaceful sleep, Jacob rocking Renesmee as if she were the most delicate little thing in the world. "Where are the others?" Nikki asked, watching Renesmee fall asleep in Jacob's arms. "They're getting closer, the Volturi are starting to fall back, they won't be around much longer" he said, looking up to Nikki, "Isn't she beautiful?" Nikki smiled, brushing back one of her niece's little bronze curls, "Of course, all kids are. People say it's their innocence." Renesmee was bigger then she should be, but heathy nonetheless, her soft bronze curls falling over her little face, her cheeks rosy pink and her skin pale like Edward's, her eyes were the same chocolate brown her mother's had been. "The pack wanted to side with the Volturi but I didn't let them. Seth, Leah and I split off in our own pack. The others migh join us, they might not, I don't know" Jacob said, drawing Nikki's attention from the baby's beautiful face. "What about Sal?" she asked, her eyes darkening with worry. "He's outside, he joined up with us before we left. The others are siding with us now against the Volturi but I'm not sure if it'll last" Jacob said. "Thanks Jake" Nikki whispered. He jumped, making a squeeking sound and holding his hand, "She bit me!" Renesmee laughed, a beautiful wind chime sound. "Oh, so that's funny to you?" Jacob asked, laughing himself, "Nessie, you're a real crack up." "Nessie?" Nikki asked. "Y'know, short for Renesmee, Nessie?" Jacob said. Nikki sighed, "She's hungry, give her here." Jake handed Nessie over grudgingly and followed Nikki down to the kitchen, watching while she made a bottle full of bagged blood and warmed it in the microwave for Nessie. "She'll actually drink that suff?" Jake asked, sitting down and watching Nikki feed Nessie. "I guess, that's what Bella said" she said. "Edward's lucky, he has all this and I hope it really ticks him off when he finds out I imprinted on Nessie" Jake said, brushing Nessie's curls back from her little face.  
A loud squeek was heard from behind them, "OH she's adorible!" Lana said, rushing in. "Lana, stay back, she's hungry and you really don't want her to bite you" Nikki said, holding the baby closer. "She's not venomous, otherwise I wouldn't be alive right now" Jake said. "What?" Nikki asked, concern touching her eyes which swirled a darker green with worry. "I'm fine, I guess vampire venom kills us most of the time, Sal's the only exeption I know of" Jake said. "Sal, what happened to Sal?" Nikki asked, her eyes turning a shade of emerald-black with the silver compleatly gone, replaced by green to the more promanant black. "He was bit by Laurent not long ago, he survived it though. He's a hybred, one of them and one of the pack at the same time, kinda like you" Jake said. Edward kocked at the back door, the pack and the other Cullens behind him. "Edward, meet your daughter" Nikki said, grinning as the others rushed in after Jake opened the door, locking it behind them. "Where's Bella?" Edward asked. "Upstairs, she's sleeping" Nikki said, rocking Renesmee to sleep as Nessie finshed off her bottle. Edward kissed Nessie's head and rushed upstairs to Bella. Rose was the first to flock over, 'aww'ing over Nessie with the others not far behind her. Jake took Nessie in his arms while Jasper gathered the pack and the present Cullens at the table to discuss stratigy for the oncoming fight over Nessie. Logan walked in and wrapped his arm around Nikki's waist, listening to their plans while Nikki rocked Nessie gently to soothe her while she slept.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Volturi  
There were several vampires with the other Cullens, the Amazon coven; Kachiri, Senna and Zafrina, three sisters, the Denali coven; Eleazar and Carmen, Kate, Tanya, Irina and Laurent, the Egyptian coven; Amun and Kebi along with Tia and Benjamin, the Irish coven; Maggie, Siobhan and Liam, the Romanian coven; Stefan and Vladimir, two former rulers who the Vloturi had opposed over a mellenium and a half ago, the American nomads; Garrett (who was very taken with Kate), James and Victoria, Mary, Peter and Charlotte, and Randall and the European nomads; Alistair, Charles and Makenna plus the Cullens and the pack, the mansion's grounds had become a war zone. Irina was near death from her wounds, Laurent holding her tightly and whispering to her in french while her sisters, Tanya and Kate stayed by her side. The Romanians plotted against the Volturi on their own while Carlisle tended to the wounded. "Did mom stay out of this?" Nikki asked, rocking Nessie gently. "Yeah, we made her stay home, Carlisle couldn't stand loosing her like he did Esme" Emmett said, looking down to avoid the pain in his siblings' eyes. James turned to Nikki, "Are you fighting with us?" "We are, this is the fight I'm actually letting the older children in. They deserve to fight for not only Nessie, but freedom too. We've been under Volturi rule too long, it's time we fight back, make these immortal's blood run cold instead of ours" Nikki replied, Logan tightening his arms around her. Victoria nodded, "What about the little ones?" "We'll have them hide with Nessie, Jake and someone else can stay here with them" Logan said. "I'll do it" Mary said, "I can't fight with my arm broken like this anyway." "We'll get everyone that's staying out of this fight together and hide them, the rest of us can start drawing up battle plans" Nikki said, taking charge over the disorganized rebellion.  
The dark mood everyone seemed to be in as the children were hidden and the soldiers in formation seemed to get worse. The dark shadows that was the Volturi began to flow forward to the waiting troops. "The redcoats are coming, the redcoats are coming" Garrett said sarcasticly, dropping into a crouch, ready to spring. James growled through his clenched teeth, Aro walking forward, "Where is the immortal child?" "You'll never get her and she's not all immortal, she's human too" Victoria snarled, crouching beside her mate. "Show me" Aro demanded. James blocked Victoria from Aro, a low feral growl rising in his chest. Logan growled in unison with James, there was no way Aro or any of the others were going to get close to the children. "Brother don't waste your time. Kill them" Caius ordered and the hordes of the guard sprung forward as if launched at the others. Suddenly, Bella's mental shield was around all of them, alowing James to go for Alec and Victoria to go for Jane, taking out the offence. The others ran at the defence, tearing them apart and pileing the limbs together to burn. Benjamin summoned fire and began several fires, a scent like insense choking the air while other linbs and such were thrown into the growing pyro. Soon Aro, Marcus, and Caius stood with only two of the guard and their wives, Marcus being the exeption to the latter. Carlisle insisted the others step back, taking a moment to breath. Marcus walked forward and bowed to the ground before James, "Most ruthless warrior, give me a quick and merciful death." James didn't smile as the other vampire was decapitated and thrown into the pyre but Stefan and Vladimir grinned. Caius and his wife lunged, easily being taken out by Garrett, Kate and Tanya. Laurent lunged at Aro, a feral roar of pain and rage tearing from his deepest core, Aro had been the cause of Irina's death and e would pay for it. Aro killed Laurent mercilessly, the others staring at peaceful Aro with shock. James, Victoria, Logan, Nikki and the younger Howletts stormed Aron themselves, letting the others deal with Aro's bride and the last of the guard.  
Once that had ended, there was loud cheering, thunderous laugher and joy. There had been only two deaths on the winning side, the Spartian Patriots as Emmett and Garrett called themselves now, and the decision had to be made, who was going to rule in power now? The others turned to Nikki, "What?" she asked. "You come from the royal bloodline, choose someone" Emmett said. "I'm not going to choose a king like I choose a pair of shoes, Emmett. We need someone strong, fair, who knows what the people need and will help them at any cost to get it" she said, pacing in thought, "I think I have an idea." The former ruler had been Dracula for a few years after her father had been out of power, before the Volturi and both had done exeptionally in the throne. Dracula was going back to the throne with her family on stand-by just in case. The covens said their goodbyes and parted, promising to see each other again. Logan lay on the couch with Nikki, the kids had been returned to their rooms and Nessie had gone home along with the others while the older of the Howlett kids napped, tried from the fight. "I'm incredibly proud of them, they've been in their first war and look how well they handled it" Nikki said, beaming with pride. Logan lay her back against him, letting her drift off as the others did and he smiled, this was his family, his life, and no matter what he would fight for it.  
The End  
**Horror Movies And Thunderstorms Don't Mix (OS)**

Whatever blood-and-gore horror movie Logan had turned on when they'd gotten home wasn't helping Nikki's nerves, nor were the thunderstorms raging outside. Logan kept his arms wrapped tightly around her, she kept her face mostly buried in his shirt while the screams echoed from the TV. Josh chuckled evily, "Wanna play a prank on mom?" Aron looked to his brother like he was crazy, "You want mom to kill you?" Josh laughed, "Mom wouldn't kill me, besides, you know how great an oppertunaty is for us." Daken shut his book, looking up at the two, "If we're doing this, I'm in." Josh grinned evily, "Excellent." Daken was the only one that could pull this off, and there was no way they were passing it up. Daken chuckled, pulling the hockey mask down over his face and picking up the chainsaw, grinning behind the mask, "Later brothers." Scentless, he crept up behind the couch and revved the chiansaw, laughing evily. Nikki jumped up, screaming at the top of her lungs and instintivly hiding behind Logan. "Daken take the ^%#*in' mask off" Logan growled, stroking Nikki's arm. Daken was full blown laughing, "Sorry, they needed me to pull this one off. Josh said he'd pay me for it, he said nothing about ratting him out." Daken walked off, laughing while Nikki's eyes turned red, then black, then back to green, "JOSHUAH TOMAS HOWLETT!!!" Aron ran away after Daken, laughing at his brother's pale expression, "Y-yeah mom?" Josh called in. "Here. Now!" Nikki ordered, Josh scrambed in, fright plain in his eyes. "What the hell did you think you were getting away with young man?! You are grounded, you know this isn't one of my better moments after that...war earlier! Two weeks and hope I let you off early for good behavior. No allowance, no TV, no video games for that full two weeks and even if I do let you off early, there is no getting away from the allowance thing" Nikki said, sighing and turning to Logan, "Do you want to add anything?" "No, you pretty much covered it" Logan said, "Go to your room for a while okay?" Josh ran off and Nikki sat down, her eyes unhappy, "I didn't mean to blow up that much." "Darlin' don't worry, you can always retract the TV and video game thing, the allowance I wouldn't cave on" Logan said, kissing her gently. The movie was forgotten as Logan pulled her against him, hitching her leg around his waist and kissing her until her heartbeat pounded so hard he could feel it against his own chest. He drew back, tenderly caressing her cheek, "Feel better?" She panted, nodding, "I'm going to go talk to Josh before I loose my consentration again." He laughed at her hasty retreat, she came back moments later smiling and lay back against him, "Wanna finish the movie or go have some fun?" He grinned, laying her back against the couch and kissing her deeply, "We can do both."  
The End  
**Twi-Hard: The Fandom**

Chapter 1- Discovery  
The battle being fought in downtown LA was nothing close to easy. The X-Warriors were winning by a few hits and the gathering croud wasn't helping much. Whisperes and shouts of exitement filled the croud, and thuderous applause erupted when the X-Warriors won. Deadpool bowed cheesily, "Thank you! Thank you! I appreciate your supposrt my growing fanbase!" People were shouting happily, calling the X-Warriors by codename and screaming, rushing out for autographs. People crouded around Nikki and Logan, some asked questions and few nearly fainted, having to be pulled back by their equally stunned friends. The coud dissapated, probably gathering more, when one girl asked Nikki, "So what's it like to be Edward Cullen's sister?" Nikki paused, "You know of my brother?" "Yeah, Edward Cullen is the best! I'm such a huge Twilight fan and when I read about you in the epilogue I was so shocked, I mean I never would've gueesed Esme would've been killed off like that" the girl said, "Can I have Edward's phone number? Me and my friends would love to talk to him!" Nikki laughed, so that's what that was all about. She scribbled the number on the bottom and handed the girl the paper, in which the girl ran off shrieking to a few of her friends. "What's up about Edward?" Wade asked, "He's a machoistic pain, why is HE so popular?" "Because, he's hot and you're not" Maria said, earning looks from the team, "What? Edward's hotter than a Mexico summer day." Nikki sighed, "Not you too! I swear, it's Edward this and Edward that and I'm glad I'm getting a cut of the credit, most of it goes to his already super-sized ego." Logan laughed, kissing her deeply, "What about me?" "You have a bigger fanbase than my brother and your's is loyal, I'm sure if someone hotter than girls say Edward is came along he'd steal the spotlight instead..." Nikki said, an idea forming. She grinned and rushed onto the jet, pulling out her laptop to start the best idea she'd had in a LONG time.  
Hours later, in the mansion, Nikki hit enter, the biggest worldwide fansite was complete. "Logan, hunny come look at this" she called, knowing he'd hear her. "What?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind and looking over her shoulder. "I told you someone would steal the spotlight, you did" she said, turning to kiss him. He grinned, "I did? I have a feeling Edward's not gonna like that." "Forget him, that doesn't matter anymore, what matters is that my husband is finally getting the credit he deserves" she said, grinning and kissing his cheek. He blushed slightly, she had that effect on people. "Now, the fandom begins, and we wait for soon, my master plan will be complete" she grinned, laughing evily. He grinned with her, "You'd make a really sexy suervillianess." "I've been down that road lover, I'm not going back" she said, a sly smile forming with the master plan.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Jealousy  
Edward couldn't belive it, this had to be his sisters doing. Edward nearly broke the phone dialing his sister's house, the answering machine picked up. Edward slammed the phone down, growling incoherently. Emmett chuckled, "Good ol' Nikki, always *^#%ing off Edward." Edward pulled Emmett up by the collar, "I. Am. NOT. Happy. Right. Now." "Well duh, your ego has deflated fast because Logan's more popular than you now" Emmett said, turning the last few words into a song. Edward threw Emmet through a window, growling and stoming up to his room.  
Logan kissed Nikki deeply, stroking her cheek gently. She sighed, kissing him back, "Aren't you tired yet?" He chuckled, keeping his arms around her, "Yeah, but I can't help it if I'm addicted to you." She smiled, "Be addicted to me later okay, I can't help being tired right now. This must be the newly turned energy you have, I'm already worn out." He smiled, letting her fall asleep on his chest and he stroked her back, inhaling her scent. She sighed in her sleep, snuggling closer to him while he fell asleep with her.  
The phone ringing many hours later woke Logan, Nikki still curled up against him. "Yeah?" he asked tiredly into the phone. "What the hell do you think you're doing stealing MY fans?" Edward asked, his voice dark. "Edward, get over yourself and go back to bed it's flamin' 8 in the morning" Logan said, hanging up the phone. Nikki woke, looking up to his face, "Edward? What the hell did he want?" "He's just being his dumb$$ self" Logan said, gently rubbing her back, "Why don't you get some more sleep?" "I'm awake now, so do you want to tell me why my brother's such a ^#%#?" Logan chuckled, sitting up and pulling her against him, "Well, Edward wanted to know how and why I stole his fanbase, once again I really don't think anyone cares." She laughed, her musical voice soothing the anger that had been building up. He kissed her cheek gently, being careful of her so the rage couldn't surface. She knew his rage needed soothing so she stroked his hair, whispering sweetly to him. He sighed, laying back and closing his eyes, giving her his permission to do anything to him. She gently kissed him, her soft touches and kisses soothed him nearly to sleep. "Darlin' I'm fine" he whispered, stroking her hand. She smiled, "Don't let Edward get to you, he's just jealous since you deserve this more."  
Edward's rage wasn't going down any, he raced out, streaking through the forest and racing out to the train yards. There were people there, holding a couple at gunpoint. Edward lept forward, screw his track record, he was thirsty and angry, a lethal combanation. He sunk his teeth into the first man, two shots were fired, both bouncing off Edward's chest but ripping through his shirt. He lept at the other 3, killing one after the other. The woman screamed, her boyfriend must've been stupid to seem to try to protect her from Edward. Edward turned, his mouth covered in blood, "Run." The couple bolted, Edward racing back twoard the house. The anger had clouded his thoughts before, now he regretted killing those people. Bad as they were, they could've had wives like Bella, children like Renesmee. Edward collapsed in the underbrush, sobbing tearless sobs and holding his face in his hands. Bella was at his side in a moment, "Renesmee is in the kitchen, come back inside." "Bella, love, I'm a KILLER, I can't go back" Edward said, a tearless sob ripping from his chest. Bella scoffed, "You're no killer Edward. They deserved it, I saw you do that. You are no killer, there's not one bad bone in your body. Come home when you figure out you ARE a good man."  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Wade gets his $$ kicked  
Logan looked over to the kitchen door, tapping his foot impatiently. "Logan, chill she'll come out soon enough" Victor said. Wade ran out cheering and ran up to his room, Nikki stood in the doorway, bug-eyed. "What happened?" Victor asked. "He just...kissed me" Nikki said slowly. Logan was gone in a flash,and Wade screamed upstairs. "20 bucks runt kills Wilson" Victor said to 612. Nikki raced upstairs after Logan, Wade's screams getting louder. Logan was beating up Wade badly when Nikki walked in, pulling him back, "Logan let go of him!" Logan growled, roughly pushing her back and jumping at Wade. Wade screamed and covered his face, ducking to the ground. Logan tried to tone the rage down, clawing at Wade. Wade threw his hands up, "I surrender! Please don't kill me I surrender!" Logan put his claws at Wade's throat, "Don't EVER touch my woman again or you'll be seeing the inside of a casket." "Okay" Wade said, nearly wetting his pants. Logan drew back, retracting his claws and stood.  
Nikki was looking at him, her eyes wide, "Logan?" He knelt at her side, "I'm sorry darlin', the rage got outta hand." She smiled, pulling him close, "Relax my love, I'm alright." "No, darlin' I know I hurt you, you don't have to-" Logan began. She cut him off with a kiss, pressing herslef to him so he couldn't let go of her. He carreid her out of the room, taking her into their room and laying her down and stepping back. "James Logan Howlett don't you dare start with me, you are staying with me no matter what" she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pullng him tightly to her. "Darlin, why do you put up with me?" he asked. She kissed along his jaw, sighing softly, "I don't put up with you, I love you." He groaned, shifting his weight off of her and turning his head, capturing her lips into a kiss. Finally he pulled back, panting hard and she grinned, "Still think I have to put up with you? I love you, doesn't that show it?" He kissed her more gently, caressing her through her clothes. She pressed against him, kissing him back and letting him do whatever he wanted with her. He chuckled, drawing back, "Does that prove that I love you too?" "That proves so much more beyond that" she panted, dropping back onto the bed. He grinned, pulling her against his chest and laying there, rubbing her back. She sighed, snuggling closer, "That feels good." He chuckled, "I could lay here with you all day if you wanted me to." "Well, laying here all day won't do much, I want to do something" she said, kissing him gently. He grinned, "Like?" She pulled him up, "Wanna go play pool?" He grinned, "As long as I can go first."  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Imprint  
Sal was unusually gloomy as he drove up to see his best friend, Leah hadn't really imprinted on him. She ended up imprinting on some vampire dude named Andrew, Nikki's cousin to top it off. Sal drove in, being greeted by a warm hug from his best friend. "Hey! What're you doing here?" she said, grinning as he let her go. "Leah imprinted on your cousin, great huh?" he said, the hopless depression creeping into his voice. "You'll find someone, I know that" she said, hugging him again. He laughed, "I feel like such a kid around you, I don't look a day over 18 and look at you, rowr!, you look at least 7 years older than me, still young and beautiful but WAY outta my league. If I wasn't here, I wouldn't believe you were my best friend." "So I look the 25 to your 18, you don't give yourself enough credit then" she said. Sal laughed again and walked in with her, smiling as he saw her family spread out around the room. Nikki lifted Tayla into her arms and Sal felt somthing suddenly, everything inside him came undone, the strings of his loves and loyalties being cut and floating away. A new string held him where he was, not one but a million, not strings but steel cables tying him to one thing, the center of his universe, the baby in Nikki's arms. Tayla's bright silver-blue eyes stared into Sal's deep chocolate brown as if she could see his very soul, the core of his being, her soft waves of black hair fell to her little shoulders and the sudden feeling of being compleate for the first time ever was something that could never end as long as he was there, with her.

"Can I?" he asked softly, holding out his arms for Tayla. Nikki smiled, letting Tayla wrap her arms around Sal's neck and be incased in his arms. The utter compleation became even more intense as he felt the warmth of her skin, the powers she would get would be extraordanary compared to his but he'd be just fine with them. He didn't even relize Nikki was nudging him, or that Tayla had been staring back to his eyes as though she'd found something magnificent. "I have to get Tayla lunch too Sal, you might need to give her to me now" Nikki said, he could tell she was holding back laughter, "You act like you've never seen a baby before." "Not one like her" Sal said softly, letting Nikki hear it. "What about her?" Nikki asked, taking Tayla in her arms. "I need to talk to you after she gets some food in her, okay?" he said, quickly glancing to Nikki before returning his gaze to Tayla, her eyes meeting his again. "Okay" Nikki said, walking into the kitchen. She came out a moment later, "Tayla's eating as we speak, Logan's in there with her, now what was so important?" "I think I just imprinted...on Tayla" Sal said. Nikki looked shocked, enraged and happy one after the other, she held her breath and slowly let it out. Taking another deep breath to calm her temper, she asked, "You imprinted on my baby?" Sal nodded, "I don't want to rush anything either, I'm going to be here though. I'll stay with her. I'll be anything she needs. Big brother, protector, best friend, when she's old enough and if she even wants to choose me, husband." Nikki took another deep breath, "Fine. But if you do one thing-" "I won't" Sal said, cutting her off, "I wouldn't, I promise. I would let her tell me what to do, I'd be her freakin' doormat if that would make her happy. Nikki, I'd do anything for Tayla already, can't you see that? I would NEVER do anything she wouldn't want me to, and if you think I would ever hurt her, it's not even a possiblity. I couldn't. There isn't a part of me that would survive that." Nikki seemed to relax at that, smiling and going to get Tayla. When Tayla came in she smiled, a big grin that made Sal's heart melt, and clung to him, refusing to let go. "Great, she loves you already. Be prepared to sleep in the rocking chair in the nursery because I have a feeling she isn't going to let you out of her sight" Nikki said, smiling at Tayla, who was clinging to Sal's neck. Sal chuckled, making Tayla laugh a soft, wind chime like giggle and squeeze him tightly. "She's a hugger huh?" Sal said, grinning. "A cute little hugger" Nikki agreed, tickling Tayla and making her giggle again. If this was how life would be for a while, so be it, he had forever and he could wait for her to grow up. Just as long as she kept giggling.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- The Protector Takes His Role  
The sun was out from the clouds after lunch, Nikki let Sal take Tayla outside to play. Sal lifted Tayla onto his back, running around the yard with her. She laughed, "Slow down!" He did, lifting her off his back and swinging her around, kissing her cheek gently and dropping to the ground with her in his arms, letting her cuddle up to him under the warm sun. He grinned, looking up to the sky and feeling whole still. Tayla looked up to him, he knew she only knew a few words, after all she wasn't that old, "Like me?" "I LOVE you Tay-tay, I always will" he said, grinning. She smiled, "Love you." He picked her up, swinging her around and holding onto her, his smile seeming to grow if that was possible. The feeling of being watched came over Sal, he tucked Tayla under his arm and kissed her head, "If anything happens, go inside okay?" Tayla nodded, clutching his arm.  
"Nice to see you again Sal, how're things doing?" a voice asked. Sal turned, clutching Tayla against him, "What are you doing here?" "I'm only here because I heard about what happened to your siblings, I wanted to make sure you were okay. I went to La Push but you weren't there, I know how hard it's been without your mother-" the voice said. "SHUT UP!" Sal roared, clutching Tayla tighter, "You have NO clue about ANYTHING! You never stayed around, it took two out of three of us dieing to bring you out from under whatever rock you'd crawled under but nothing else!" "You need a home, I'm here to take you to one" the voice said. "NO! La Push is where my pack is but this is my home!" Sal growled. "Sal, son-" the voice said. "YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER! Logan could do better than you, he has! He LOVED my mother and he cares about ME, you never did!" Sal shouted, stepping in front of Tayla. Sal's father stepped out of the woods, long onyx black hair tied back in a braid, his russet skin creased with age, the leathers worn and pouches lined his belt, "You need to find a differnt home." "Why, becuase you were supposed to be dead? I'm staying with Logan, maybe one day I will consider him my father" Sal said, picking up Tayla and holding her close as he started to the door. "Then who is?" Sal's father asked. "I have no father" Sal growled, walking to the door. "Sal, look out!" Tayla gasped, holding his shirt in an iron grip to turn him. His hands morphed talon claws, catching the knife his father wielded between them. Tayla screamed, clutching onto him. "Leave her alone!" Sal growled, swinging his clawed hand to catch his father across the chest, knocking him back. He morphed them back, kissing Tayla's head tenderly, "It's alright. You're safe now." She looked up, batting her eyelashes, "My hero." He laughed, kissing her forehead and grinning, "Your mother taught you that one huh?" She nodded, smiling and making Sal laugh again. "Sal..." his father said. "I'd apoligize now, but they've been family when I needed them, you didn't. I'm sorry you were such a b$^*%" Sal said. He carried Tayla back home, letting her snuggle close and relax with him.  
TBC  
Chapter 6- Love  
Nikki smiled, Sal and Tayla were laying on the couch, fast asleep. She lifted Tayla from Sal's arms, taking her upstairs to bed. Sal was in the doorway as Nikki put Tayla to bed, "Can I sleep on the floor in here or something?" he asked. Nikki chuckled, "Sure, I hope you brought a sleeping bag." She put the kids to bed and walked into the living room, Logan was waiting for her as usual. "Hey sweetheart" she said, curling up beside him. "Hey darlin', kids asleep?" he said, kissing her gently. "Yep, Sal's sleeping in the nursery in case Tayla needs him, isn't it cute?" she said, laying aganst him. He smiled, laying back and holding her, "Yeah, adorible. Shouldn't you be worried about this? He's older than her darlin', when she gets older-" "You worry too much love, he's going to wait for her. He may be older than her but he loves her enough to wait for her. You're older than me by 4 years and a few months, you waited for me once we were together. Trust that he can be like you." He grinned, "Maybe. He's still only a guy sweetheart, we can't help it most of the time. Like every time I look at you, aside from the love and happiness and the how-the-hell-do-I-deserve-this-woman-thoughts, I think of what we do every night and I know my life wouldn't be anywhere near as good if I didn't have someone like you." She smiled, kissing him deeply, "I love you too." He picked her up effortlessly and carried her upstairs, ready to enjoy their night.  
Sal awoke in the middle of the night, suprised at his own awakening. Tayla wimpered in her sleep, Sal stood and gently nudged her awake, "Tay-tay, what's wrong?" She clutched onto his shirt, crying, "Don't let the monsters get me." "What monsters?" he asked, sitting down on the sleeping bag and rocking her back and forth. "The monsters that come when I sleep every night, they're bad monsters. Sometimes this good monster, I call him fuzzy 'cause I don't know his name, he makes the bad monsters go away but fuzzy didn't come tonight and they almost got me" Tayla cried, holding onto him tightly. "I'm here Tayla, I'm not going to let any monsters hurt you" he whispered, kissing her hair. "Turn on the lights, they're getting closer!" she said, clutching him tighter. He got up and flicked the switch on, the other two babies weren't disturbed by the sudden light and continued to sleep peacfully. Tayla let out her breath and hugged Sal, "They went back in the closet." "Stay here, I'll get the monsters out of the closet and kick their butts" he said, putting her back in her crib. She looked through the sides and wimpered fearfully, clutching her little teddy bear. Sal opened the closet, suprised to see a pair of bright red eyes staring out at him. He took both pairs and opened a window, dangeling the shadow-like shapes from one hand and threw them out, the shapes taking form in the outside air and hitting the ground as more human shapes. Tayla looked relived, "That was them." Sal lifted her from her crib after he shut the window and checked the closet throughly, cradeling her in his arms, "You don't need to be afraid with me here." "My hero" she said tiredly. "How did you see them?" he asked, laying her down. "I just could, mom and dad can do the same thing" she said, falling asleep. "Nightvision" he muttered as he tucked her in and shut off the lights, laying down himself. "Thank you, I was almost too late" a voice said. Sal looked up, a fuzzy white thing was standing at the foot of Tayla's crib, "She has great power the little one." "You're fuzzy?" Sal asked, confused. "To her yes, I'll be watching out for her even though you are here. Take care of her, I'll be watching" Fuzzy said, dissappearing. Tayla sighed in her sleep, "Fuzzy..." Sal kissed Tayla's head and went back to sleep.  
The End. (for now)  
**X-Warriors vs Cyclops and Emma Frost**

Chapter 1- Traitorious old friends  
Nikki hated her the minute she saw her, the girl with white blond hair and ice blue eyes who could, no suprise, control ice. The girl looked like she could be a supermodel, another thing Nikki hated about her, even though Logan wasn't interested in her. Thank god for her faithful husband, but the girl was interested in him. Nikki slid closer to Logan, his arm wrapped around her and he kissed her deeply, ignoring the cheers of their teammates. "Okay! People please!" Gorge said, calming the team, "This is Claire, she's one of the new X-Men and Summers sent her over for a few days." Deadpool whistled and looked her over, "I'm Wade Wilson, but the world knows me as Deadpool, Merc with a mouth, superhero extraordanare." Claire inched away as Wade put his arm around her, Nikki inwardly laughed at her discomfort. "I'll handle things with Claire, you all can go back to your business" Gorge said. Logan kissed Nikki deeply again, "I'll be right back, I'm gonna grab a snack so we can watch something together." She smiled, content with having her mate so close. He walked into the kitchen and she leaned back on the couch, stretching out and relaxing.  
She got up after a few moments, walking into the kitchen sliently, hoping to suprise him. Claire was impossibly close to Logan and as Nikki walked in Claire kissed him, he backed away as step before she deepened her kiss. Nikki growled loudly, scaring Claire away from him. Claire backed up, Nikki walking forward and gripping the collar of Claire's shirt, "Even look at my husband again and I will personally tear your throat out with my claws, got it?" Claire gasped softly, probably a reflex, "Got it." Nikki let her go and clung to Logan's shirt, pulling herself to him protectivly. He put his hand on the small of her back, drawing her attention to him, "I'm sorry darlin'." "You don't have to apoligize, I saw that she kissed you" Nikki whispered as Claire rushed out of the room. He gently rubbed her back, kissing her deeply. "If she even thinks I'm going to give you up-" she said, letting him silence her with another kiss. Claire walked down the hall and out of earshot to Logan and Nikki, but not Laura, "Emma, Logan didn't buy it. His wife walked in on us and broke it up, he loves her. He didn't want me, he wants her. Yes I'm sure he didn't take to it otherwise I'd be in his bed right now! Oh sure you could do better, his wife would kill you, she already threatened to kill me and I'm sure she would. Em, I'm out of here at dawn. No, this is your problem now, I'm not getting into this. Can't you break the X-Warriors up some other way 'cause otherwise all of you are gonna die trying to break them up. Whatever Em" Claire said, hanging up her cell phone and walking away. Laura looked out the door, making sure Claire was gone and she rushed down the stairs to warn them.  
"You're kidding" Nikki said, her eyes were blazing with pure fury. "Darlin, relax, like Emma would've done that after a while anyway" Logan said, rubbing her crossed arms, trying to relax her. "It's true, I heard her say every word" Laura said. Nikki's eyes blazed and she hit the door, the strong metal denting a bit. She dented in back in, fixing the metal. Claire watched, transfixed as Nikki turned back, glaring in her direction, "You might want to go before dawn." Claire stepped back, running down the hall to get her bag to leave.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Heartache  
That night, Nikki had come down for a few minutes after putting the kids to bed, returning to the upper level after only a bit. Logan headed upstairs, following her scent to the roof. She was perched there, tears falling from her eyes, she knew he was there but didn't lift her head up from where she layed it on her folded arms, her legs folded up to support them. He climbed up near her, wrapping his arm around her curled-up form, kissing her neck gently, "What's wrong darlin?" She lifted her head, looking directly in his eyes, "You enjoyed that earlier." "What? Claire? Nikki, darlin, I love you" he said softly, gently caressing her cheek. She leaned her cheek into his hand, tears flowing onto his fingers, "I know you love me, but you're still a man. You liked having her kiss you, I could smell the change in your scent." He pulled her aginst him, kissing her deeply. She gasped in suprise, pulling him closer to her. He pulled back, "The only woman I want is you. Belive me now?" She panted softly, still clinging to him, "Don't you dare think you're getting out of our room for a while." He grinned, pulling her against him and kissing her roughly. He lifted her into his arms, holding their kiss and climbed back into their room. He pulled the window shut and took her to the bed, laying her down and kissing her everywhere he could.  
Down the hall, Victor and Kitten could hear the sounds from the other room very faintly. Victor looked over to his wife, she was bouncing Darren. Darren Taris Creed, his son and hopefully the only one of his kids that wouldn't be trying to kill him in the near future. "Kitten, take a break. I'll take Darren" he said, taking the little boy from his wife's arms. "Thanks tomcat" she said tiredly, between Victor and Darren she was constantly awake doing something. "Sleep okay Kitten, you need it" Victor said, sitting beside her on the bed and purring to relax her. Her soft breathing signaled her sleep, and Darren's. Victor chuckled softly, placing the baby in his crib and going back to his chair. "Hey" Vincent said, walking in. "Hey, what're you doing up this late kid?" Victor said. "Nothin', can't sleep" Vincent said, "What'cha watchin'?" "Nothin' great. How's everything goin'?" Victor asked, he was clueless around the kid. "Good" Vincent said, nodding. Erica walked in, "I can't sleep either, why aren't you and Kitty taking care of me daddy? Why does Nikki have to?" Victor looked shocked and clueless, "Well, we will soon. Why, don't you like Nikki an' Runt?" "Don't call my dad that" Vincent said, turning to the TV. "I like them but I miss you a lot daddy, you're always working and stuff and you never have time for me anymore" Erica said, "Nikki and Logan always have something for me to do or they talk to me or..." Erica was crying, Vincent turned to Victor, giving him a look. "Aww darlin', I'll be here as long as you wanna be around me. You never come to see me, but I'm always here" Victor said, wiping away Erica's tears. "Good job" Vincent mouthed, motioning for Victor to take Erica back to bed. "C'mon you two, it's late, get to bed" Vic said, guiding them to bed and tucking them in. He went back in his room, closing the door and shutting off the TV. He slid into bed, nuzzling Kitten while he fell asleep.  
In San Fransisco, Emma was plotting with Scott in his office. "Claire may not have worked but still, there has to be something we can do to break up the X-Warriors" he said. "Scott, what if we can't? Couldn't there be another way?" she asked, holding a bit more heart for her friends than Scott. "That's your problem Emma, you have way too much empathy for people. Do me a favor and go to the bedroom, I'll be up soon" he said. She walked off, "Selfish bastard." She pulled out her cell phone when she was upstairs and changed, debating whether to call them or not. 'In the morning' she decided, walking over to the window. It was turning fall in San Fransisco, it was nothing like Canada would be soon. She wrapped her arms around herself, school would be back in soon. That ment more people to hide her thoughts from. Scott would be coming up for a while she hoped. She pressed her hand to her stomach, hoping that one day she'd get out of the X-Men and live a normal life, have a normal family, be something like Nikki. 'Nikki doesn't have to deal with what you do Em, remember that' she thought sadness and bitterness seeping into her thoughts. She looked outside again, the city was still bright with the nightlife, people who didn't have to be trapped in a prison of a room waiting for the one thing she hated about every night. 'You CAN be a real person if you try Emma' she thought, 'You just haven't tried for a while.' Scott walked in, "Come over here Emma, it's late." She bit her lip, fighting back repressed emotions and walked across the room, bracing herself.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Helping The Enemy  
Emma paced the room again that morning, Scott had to give up that role of headmaster, it was driving him insane. 'Insane and powerhungry' she thought, 'The professor's back, he should take over again. Scott needs to relize he's going insane with power. It needs to stop!' She quickly gatered a bag of her things, taking the idea before she had time to reject it herself and raced out the door.  
Logan sighed, the morning sun cascaded through the open curtians to bathe the room in a golden light. He looked to Nikki's sleeping form, brushing back a strand of her hair to gently kiss her collarbone. She snugged against him, her eyes fluttering open, "Morning love." He smiled, the sun couldn't compare to the light in her eyes. He mentally slapped himself for that thought, he loved her but there were some times when he scared himself with how gushy things could get. "Mornin' darlin" he said, kissing her demandingly. She giggled, "Didn't you have enough fun last night?" "I'll never have enough of you" he said, grinning. A knock at the bedroom door interrupted them, "Logan, Nikki, Emma Frost is at the door for ya" Victor called in. Nikki got up, a low growl escaping her throat as she stormed across the room to get dressed. "Darlin-" Logan began. "I am not in a good mood right now Logan" she said. "I can tell" he chuckled, crossing the room and wrapping his arms around her, "Just relax." He went ot get dressed, letting her cool off for a minute. She went to the stairs, seeing Emma sitting on the couch in the room below with Josh staring at her as though he were hipnotized, and knowing how Emma dressed he probably was. "Emma" Nikki greeted a bit coldly. "Nikki, listen, I need you and Logan to convince Scott he's going insane" Emma said, there was an unusual ring of panic to it. "What happened?" Nikki asked. "He snapped, he's gone all Hellfire club on us. Please, convince the X-Warriors to help us, I don't know what he'll plan to do" Emma said. There was genuane fear and worry in her voice and that was all it took to convince Nikki, "Sure." Emma embraced Nikki, "He hurt you didn't he?" Nikki whispered so only Emma could hear. Emma nodded, "and I'm actually afraid for the students." "Then it's settled, we'll get the professor back and do something with Scott" Nikki said. The idea popped into her head easily, two words that could change everyone's lives, Savage Land.  
Nikki let Emma sit and she went to go talk stratagy with the team, "I already have an idea." "Go ahead" Gorge said. "We get the Professor back, then we get Scott away from them long enough to take him out somehow and dump him in either just the snow or the Savage Land" Nikki said, her confidence in the plan growing with each word. Gorge looked to the others, "What do you think?" There were murmurs of agreement before Deadpool spoke up, "When you mean 'take out' do you mean kill or just incapasitate?" "Depends, do you have any problem with either?" Nikki asked. "No" Wade replied. "Then either" Nikki said. "Then it's settled. Suit up team, we're going to get Professor X back!" Gorge said, mainly happy he was ging to whoop Scott's $$ again.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- How It Used To Be  
The team boarded the jet with Emma in tow, ready for the fight to begin. Gorge could hardly stay still in the pilot's chair and Feral was equilly exited, sharpening his claws with a metal file. "He scares me" Wade whispered over to Emma. Emma gave Wade a look and scooted away, "You scare me too." Nikki sat up front with Logan, "This just might be more fun than I thought." Logan chuckled, "If you get an open oppertunaty out there, take it, we need to make this work." "I know, it was my plan love, you helped make it better though" she said, "and after this, we'll probably get put back on the team." Logan put his head back, "I love 'em like family but I hope not. The NA, the X-Warriors, plus the family, I'm pretty much swamped as it is." "Not to mention when you have your own things to do" Nikki said. "Exactly. hmmm, Maybe we can give Vic to them" he said, making Nikki giggle. The jet landed in the forest close by, careful not to alert the present X-Men to their arrival and the set out on foot for the mansion.  
Scott tried to anticipate their moves, but when the Professor showed up Scott knew something was going on. The X-Warriors carefully approached the outside of Scott's office, unfortunatly, they had some climbing to do to get to his window. Logan sent his claws down, embedding them into the wall and scaling up the side, Nikki following after him. Feral used his claws to grip the hand-and-foot holds easily while the others struggled up behind them. Logan paused, waiting for Nikki and Victor at the windowledge. Victor grinned, cutting a hole in the glass and tapping it out with his claws. "Showoff" Nikki muttered and climbed in, Victor following her. Gorge had already teleported in and was looking for signs of when Scott would be back. "Okay, Wolverina, take 2 others and go find the Profesor, get him here to see Scott's evil ways. Take Emma with you too. Feral, you're with me and Logan, we're keeping the others here and fighting Scott when he gets back. We're also providing distraction for you, get the prof and incapasitate Cyke any way you like. Sound good?" Gorge asked. "Aye, Aye captian" Feral said, saluting. Nikki nodded, "I'll take Wade off your hands, 3 is a good enough team. Plus Wade can used his guns if needed." Gorge nodded and motioned Deadpool and Emma over, "Go find the professor, Scott's coming, you're going with Nikki and stay together. Bring him back here and follow Nikki's orders, she's in charge of you for right now." "Good luck Gorge" Nikki said, leaving with her team. "Same to you" Gorge said, "Get ready people!" Logan wasn't too happy about having Nikki gone without some decent protection, but if she needed it she could protect herself, he knew that much. He wasn't too happy about being stuck with Feral either. Scott entered the room, "X-Warriors!" "Now, remember the plan!" Gorge shouted, his team begining the battle.  
Nikki followed the Professor's scent to a room, Emma and Wade behind her. "Professor?" she called in, "Are you alright?" "Yes but I'm locked in" Professor X answered. "Then stand away from the door" Nikki said. She drew back and kicked the door in, "We need your help." After explaining the plan, Emma, Nikki, Wade and Professor X raced down the hallway. Every second they spent away from the team ment another second of wondering what was happening to them, wondering if they were winning or even alive. Fear was the one thing that plagued Nikki at the moment, fear for Logan. She knew how formidable Scott could be, how badly this could end. "Cyclops! Stop this instant!" Professor X shouted. Scott continued to blast at the X-Warriors, Feral and Wolverine dodging best. "Wade, I need a favor" Nikki whispered, telling him the rest of her idea. "If I live, you owe me" Wade said, aiming and pulling the trigger. Scott dropped, lombotomized by Wade's carefully placed bullett. "I did something right!" Wade shouted, doing a happy jig. "and that was something wrong" 612 said, sheilding his eyes. "Professor Xaiver, I'd like it if you'd become head of the school again" Emma said. The Professor smiled, "Anything for my students."  
The jet departed and flew over Antartica, the snowy tundra under the warm and cozy jet cabin looking desolate and freezing as usual. Gorge lowered the jet until it was almost a foot off the ground, tossing Scott out into the snow. "Stay that way for once will you?" Gorge said, shutting the hatch, "Let's go home team."  
The End  
**Back To School, Oh Joy**

Chapter 1- A Week  
The dark of night cloaked her as she ran through the trees silently, her senses warning her of danger ahead. She kept running anyway, the thrill of the hunt bringing her bloodlust to the surface. She could hear voices, not Weapon X, but humans, robbers on the run by the looks of it. "I'm telling you, just give it up already!" one man shouted, the firelight showing his orage jumpsuit. 'Esacped cons, even better' she thought, her fangs sliding down at the scent of blood. The other cursed, "I told ya not to distract me while I'm tryin' to pick the locks! Look what ya made me do!" She circled around the makeshift camp, all the while the thirst building as she prepared to strike. One turned in her direction, nudging the other who was bandaging his hand, "Not now." "Man you gotta see this, somekinda animal-" he was walking in her direction, she darted out, gripping the collar of his shirt and pulling him into the shadows to quench the thirst. This was the time when the monster she kept hidden got it's due, she couldn't change what she couldn't control. "Mac?" the other man said, lookign up at his partner's terrified scream. "Mac? Where'd you go?" he called again. Baring her bloody fangs, she lept out of the shadows. His shout of terror being cut off by her fangs landing the killing strike.

Nikki pulled herself back, looking down at the two drained bodies she'd created. She fought with the small amout of control she could gather against the remaining thirst. She ran again, this time going after a heard of deer, something Canada was overrun with. A few deer had managed to give her full control again, the thirst gone for a few more weeks. "Hey, thought I might find ya out here" Victor said, striding over to her. "What do you want Vic?" she said, standing and striding over to the small river running through the trees. "Runt's starting to worry about ya" he said, leaning on a tree. "Well, tell Logan he doesn't need to" she said, washing the blood off her mouth. "He loves ya, he's not just gonna stop worryin' about ya" he said, "Just hurry up and get back to 'im before he drives me insane." Nikki looked at her reflection in the water, standing and turning to run back home. Victor chuckled, "Not in a great mood today are ya?" She slowed down, walking inside and up to the bedroom. "Hey sweetheart" she said, seeing Logan standing near the window. "Hey darlin" he said, "Creed find you?" "I was on my way back anyway" she said, kissing him gently. He pulled her against him, deepening the kiss, "Don't I get a proper hello?" She gave in, slipping her arms around his neck and kissing him back. He broke their kiss, "That was better." She grinned, sitting down on the bed, "So, got any word from the Professor?" "Yeah, we start Thursday" he said, sitting down with her. "That's good. I have an idea though" she said. "Yeah?" he asked. "We should do something as a family, you know, go camping or something" she said. "Sounds like fun" he said. They began planning the last vacation of the summer.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Camping In Canada  
The Howletts dropped their camping backpacks on the ground of the small clearing. "This is why I don't hike" Josh panted, tiredly falling to the ground. "Get up drama queen, we have tents to set up" Daken said. "You're in a good mood for someone who's never been outside the house for more than a few hours at a time" Josh said, laying back on the ground. "That's because I brought a portible generator, I have everything I need in here" Daken said, patting his backpack. "and I have the nessesities, food, water, a tent" Rachel said, placing her pack near his. Josh made a disgusted look as they kissed, turning away from that to look around the rest of the clearing. Nikki was carrying the little ones while Logan set up the tent, the others were busy setting up their own tents and unpacking their things for the week. Josh laid his head back on the ground, "Hey, you still awake?" Vincent asked, tapping Josh's shoulder. "I'll give you 20 bucks if you set up my tent" Josh said, sleepiness setting in. "I'll hold you to that" Vincent said, walking over to the tent case.  
Hours later, the sun had set on day one, twilight creeping in on the camping site. Logan cooked over the fire with Nikki beside him, the kids gathered around on longs or the ground, with the exeption of Rachel and Sal. Tayla yawned, curling up against Sal's side. He was going to watch over the little ones as he always did, especially Tayla. They ate dinner and went to bed, the tents weren't as bad for sleeping as they'd though it'd been. They'd all been tired enough to make it through the first day, but who knew what was awaiting tomorrow?  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Shiny  
As dawn broke the horizon, Tayla sat up in her little sleeping bag, seeing Sal fast asleep in the middle of the tent. She tapped his shoulder to wake him up, he only turned in her direction. She tapped his shoulder again and he swatted at the place she'd tapped. Finally, she tugged his hair, "Wake up!" Sal bolted up, making Tayla giggle happily. He growled playfully, tickling her back into her sleeping bag, "Go back to sleep Tay." "I don't wanna, I wanna stay up with you" she said, pouting cutely. "I'm going back to bed Tay-Tay, you too" he said, yawning. Tayla played with the ends of his hair, "Tayla." he growled. She giggled, letting his hair fall, "Okay, get over here cutie" he said, motioning her over. She snuggled in her sleeping bag, pushing it close to him and laying there. "Now please, get back to sleep" he sighed, falling asleep close to her.

A few hours later, a pillow to the head quickly woke Josh up, "What?" "Mom wants you up" Aron said, holding back laughter. "Why? Are we going home now?" Josh asked, suddenly awake. "Not yet, she says another day" Aron said. Josh groaned, falling back onto the sleeping bag. "I don't think he'll be up for a while" Aron said, sitting down for breakfast. "I'll get him up" Vincent said. "How?" Aron asked. "The younger brother way" Vincent said, grinning evily and running off. He ran back a moment later, hiding behind one of the logs. "VINCENT!" "Oh joy, you're all up first" Laura said, "Where's breakfast?" "Somebody has to go get it" Lana said, sitting beside her sister. "You go get it, I'm kinda busy here" Josh said, looking around for Vincent. Lana used her telekenesis to take the pancake mix out of a backpack and carrying it over to them. Sal stumbled out, with Tayla right behind him. "Breakfast?" he asked. "Making it" Lana said, leaning over a pan on the fire. Tayla yawned, streaching and leaning on Sal. "Are mom and dad awake yet?" Laura asked. "Mom is now" Aron said, pointing over to the tent. "Uh-oh" Josh said, suddenly not tired. "What?" Laura asked. "I have to go to the bathroom" he said, the others cracked up laughing. "It's the woods, pick a tree" Sal said, desperatly fighting back giggles. Josh ran off into the trees and the others doubled over laughing, even Tayla. "What's going on out here?" Nikki asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "A city boy and nature, gotta love it" Sal said, leaning back on a log and relaxing. "Forget it, I don't want to know" Nikki said, taking over breakfast.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Wendigo  
The clouds had begun to roll in, threatening the first snow of the season as noon approached. "We should head back, it looks like snow" Nikki said, packing up the things for lunch. Josh cheered, running back to his tent to pack. "Aww, mom do we have to?" Vincent asked. "I'm sorry honey, but when spring comes we'll go camping again okay?" Nikki said, smiling over to him. "Promise?" he asked. "Promise" she said. He grinned and trotted off to his tent to pack, much like the others. "So, when we get home I'm guessing they'll want to spend time in their rooms catching up with the internet and whatever else so..." Logan began. "Say no more sweetheart, you had me at 'when we get home'" Nikki said, kissing him deeply and heading off to pack up everything.  
A little while later, the Howletts were on the path back to the estate. Snow began to fall as they reached the yard. "Okay, go inside, do whatever. No snowball fights until this stuff actually sticks" Nikki said. The wind blew the snow in all directions, the snow falling faster and sticking to everything in sight.  
Inside, Nikki turned up the heating and unpacked her things, storing the camping gear in the closet for next year. "Snow's picking up" Logan said, wrapping his arms around her. "How is that even possible? It's already a blizzard out there" she said. He chuckled, kissing her neck, "As long as you're in here I could care less about the snow." She slid his jacket off his shoulders, laying back on the bed and kissing him. A growl came off the wind, "Did you hear that?" she asked. He listened to the howling wind outside and heard the faint growl beyond it. "I'll be back" he said, putting his jacket back on. "Logan no, you'll get hurt or sick or-" she said, he kissed her gently, cutting off her worries. "I'll be right back, just relax" he said. She grinned, an idea cutting in, "I'm going with you." He sighed, "I can't talk you out of this can I?" "Nope" she said, sliding on a warmer coat and following him out. He looked behind to her, a memory of Silver Fox wearing almost the same thing when he'd gone to get firewood, exept she hadn't been wearing her clothes under the coat. He shook his thoughts away, he had to focus on the growl they'd heard. He shut the door once she was outside with him, the snowy winds tossing her hair while she rubbed her arms, "It's freezing out here!" she said over the howling winds. He sniffed the air, "Get back." She did, her eyes trained on the same place as his, or rather, the same THING. A moutain of white fur with bead-like black eyes staring from the snowy bushes. "Wendigoes again?" she asked, the wind whipping in it's direction. The Wendigo sniffed, long and slow and opened it's eyes to them. "I really hope that thing can't see us" Nikki whimpered. "It can, and it's hungry" Logan said, hearing her whimper in fear. "I'm guessing it wants to eat us?" she asked. "Mostly you, but I would too if I were it" he said, grinning mischiviously. "You really have a one-track mind don't you, keep in mind it's staring at us like dinner" she said, "This is sort of why we came out here in this blizzard in the first place." "I'll handle it, just stay warm" he said, giving her a quick kiss before his claws came down and he lunged at the Wendigo. She stood, marveling at the way he moved and the lingering feeling of his kiss. 'Yeah, now I'm warm' she thought, watching the fight ensuing.  
Logan was blocking the Wendigo's claws as he swung with his own. It's massive claws caught his shirt, ripping it in a few places but allowing Logan to get the next shot. Nikki was watching in awe, his bravery was incredible, not to mention his strength against it. He doged another blow, landing his final strike and finishing it off. He turned back to her, walking through the snow and up to her, "You okay darlin?" He wrapped his arms around her and she relized how cold she was, "Just cold." He took her inside, "I'm not taking you out there in one of these again." She smiled, "Don't worry, I didn't even know I was. Probably because the torn up shirt was distracting to say the least." He grinned, "Just leave it to me darlin, I'll warm you up fast." She grinned, shutting the bedroom door behind them.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Snow in August?  
"You're frikkin' kidding me?!" Josh shouted, "It's August and there's a foot of snow out there!" He ran into the hallway, knocking on every one of his sibling's doors, waiting for them to look outside, "What's the ruckus?" Aron asked, looking out the door. "There's a foot of snow outside and it's August!" Josh said. "So? It's Canada, the same thing happens every year, but usually not this early, must be a polar cold front. Well I guess that means March will be spring instead of April" Aron said, shutting his door. "Science geek" Josh muttered. "Does this mean we don't have school?" Vincent asked, perking up. "No, we go to school at Xaivers, there will be snowball fights on Blackheart's front lawn when it snows in San Fransisco" Josh said. "Actually, you were going to go to school here, but since it looks like there might not be any school for a while, I think you guys might end up home-schooled" Nikki said, looking outside. "But who's gonna teach us? You and dad both work" Vincent asked. "Well, maybe your brother can. Otherwise one of the X-Warriors, or I could after I get off work" Nikki said. "That sounds like a great idea mom! You could teach us after work!" Vincent said, grinning. Nikki chuckled, "Since you guys insist on paying so much attention to the snow, why not go out in it? You have 2 days of freedom left, don't waste it." "You'll still make us start in 2 days?" Josh asked. "I'll start off easy on you, and I might just give you a longer winter break too" Nikki said.

Later, the kids gathered their snow gear and went out to play, the teenagers taking a walk down memory lane, with the exeption of Laura who learned at long last what a snowman was thanks to Lana. "Well they seem to be taking the homeschooling news well" Logan said, wrapping his arms around her waist. Nikki giggled, turning to kiss him, "They never knew they weren't getting homeschooled until this morning, it makes the suprise even better." He chuckled, kissing her again, "So, everything's how it's supposed to be?" "Yep" she said, smiling. "I find that really hard to believe, but I'll go along with it anyway" he said, patting her bum and going to watch the game. "Lemme guess, she's wearing that outfit again huh?" Victor said. "Nope, but I'd like her to" Logan said. "I can hear you, and you just may" Nikki called in. Logan looked over to Victor, "Now I know I'm a lucky man." "Yeah yeah, just try to keep it down later I can hear it through the walls" Victor grumbled. "Like we can't tomcat" Nikki said, setting Logan's lunch down, "Ignore him hun, we'll do whatever we want later." Logan grinned, kissing her, "I know, and you're gonna like what I have in mind." "Damn this romantic crap's makin' me sick, get a room!" Victor said. "It's our house, deal with it" Nikki said, giving Logan her full attention. Victor turned to the TV, turning it up and covering his nose to forget they were there.  
The End (for now)

**Canadian Winters**

Chapter 1- The Beginning Of Winter  
It was the last day of summer for the Howlett kids, even though the weather seemed to dissagree. The snow was over a foot in depth, but that hadn't stopped them from getting an early start to their last-day snow fun. Logan slept in, Nikki rejoining him after making breakfast for the kids. "Mornin darlin" he said, kissing her. "Morning. Just think, tomorrow we're going to have to get up at 6:30, as if getting up at 7 hadn't been bad enough" she said, laying her head back down on the pillow. He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist, "We'll live through it." She smiled, snuggling close to him, "I don't know how I'm going to live trough it. I can't stand being out of the same room as you for more than ten minutes." He stroked her hair, calming her restlessness, "We'll figure something out, always do." She looked up to him, her eyes seemng to glitter, "I know I'm really going to miss this." "So will I, but we have weekends, and holidays, and those things Cyke always did that nobody showed up to" he said, making her giggle. "So we will have time but I'm still going to miss you. I'll be thinking of you every minute" she said, kissing him deeply. "Maybe you won't have to miss me, we could always end up doing the same thing like teaching class across the hall or taking them outside, things like that" he said. She grinned, "I'm hoping this works, otherwise I'll probably end up depressed." "Even with me around?" he asked, giving her the saddest look he could. "No, only when I can't be right at your side" she said.

Later, Logan and Nikki took care of the things they needed to bring the next day. "I'm really getting sick of this already and it hasn't even started" Nikki muttered, brushing back a strand of her hair. Logan smiled, "I'm not crazy about it either but I think we still have to get all this stuff together." "What if by some mysterious snowstorm the jet gets buried and we can't get out?" she asked, grinning evily. "Might not work, Storm could uncover the jet" he said. "Dammit! We need an evil genius to get out of this one" she said. "Don't even think about it" he said, taking her arm and pulling her over to him. "Fine, but don't expect me to be in a great mood tomorrow" she said. "I didn't expect that anyway, but I know I can still put you in a good mood" he said, grinning. "How?" she asked. He grinned, turning in her direction, "You sure you don't know?" She smiled, "I have an idea but I'd like to know anyway." Wade was passing by the room and he looked either way before leaning against the door to listen. Wade went bug-eyed and started snickering, listening. He silently reached for the doorknob, pressing his weight into it and threw open the door, "AHA!" "Wade what the hell are you doing?" Nikki asked, she stood beside Logan, her mood improved since he'd kissed her. "But-but you were? and he was- and-and-Awww man!" Wade said. Nikki smiled, ever so innocently, "We did what Wade?" "Oh you busty little minx you, I never would've thought you'd resort to pranking me!" Wade said. Logan growled, "She's my busty little minx Wilson, don't forget it." Nikki grinned, "I'm starting to like that title." "I came up with it" Wade said proudly. "Yes you did, and I thank you" she said, pecking Wade's cheek. Wade looked like he'd been electrocuted, and dropped back, fainting for a moment, "Woo that was fun." Nikki tugged Logan's hand, walking off with him as she held back giggles.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- First Day  
The quinjet landed at the estate after a long first day of the new school year. "So, what are we learning today?" Josh asked, grinning as his dad sat down on the couch and his mom started dinner. "Nothing today, you guys can start Monday, today was exausting and tomorrow will be too" Nikki said, "Now, who wants pizza?" Sitting around the table a few minutes later, the Howlett family looked to one another, conversing about their day. "So, how was your day?" Lana asked. "Tiring, how was yours?" Nikki asked, smiling weakly. "Are you okay mom? and you're being really quiet dad, what's up?" Laura asked, looking to either of her parents. "We're fine Laura, just had a long, hard day" Logan said, turning to his wife, "I never thought teenagers could be so...exausting." "Thank god we have such good kids" Nikki grinned, chuckling. Josh put his hands around his head in a halo, humming and making the others laugh. "Ooo PIZZA!" Wade shouted, grabbing for the box. "Hands off Wilson, your pizza's over there" Logan said. Wade sneakily reached for a peice of their pizza and Nikki smacked his hand, giving him a motherly look. "Somebody's got her panties in a knot today" Wade muttered, rubbing his hand. "Make another comment about my wife's underwear and your head is going where the sun doesn't shine Wilson" Logan growled, making the others giggle. Wade stuck his tongue out at him, going to get his pizza. "Of course the all might Merc with a Mouth gets ticked off at a little comment about getting his head shoved up his own-" Josh began. "Finish that sentence and you're grounded for two weeks" Nikki said. Josh looked to Wade, silently busting a gut at his demise. Josh focused his powers on Wade, a soft golden light surrounding Wade's pizza slice and making it blow up in his face. "Joshua" Nikki said repremandingly. Logan grinned, "You're learning your magic?" "Yep" Josh said proudly. "That's my boy" Logan said, smiling proudly.  
"How come you've never said that to me?" Daken asked. "I did, you just never thought it was a good thing" Logan said. "Aron got the 'my boy' first, science geek" Josh muttered to his brother. "Your brother is not a geek, he's smart and one day he might be your boss" Nikki said. "I'm not working with him, he can't get a date! How do you think that would make me look?" Josh said. "I can too, I just havn't yet" Aron said, "I'll get one this weekend." "Yeah, I'm sure" Josh said, rolling his eyes. "Okay, okay quit it boys" Nikki said, ending the discussion. After dinner, she did the dishes with Laura's help, getting some things together for their lessons on Monday. "We're going to learn all this?" Laura asked, holding up a thick book. "Sort of, we're going to skim this stuff and discuss the important things" Nikki said, smiling. Laura smiled, maybe the schooling thing wouldn't be so bad.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- A Welcome Weekend  
"Damn each grade gets harder and harder" Logan muttered, taking a beer out of the freezer. "I'm just not that ecstatic about your new addition to X-Force" Nikki said. Logan looked up, confused, "There better not be anyone else." "Oh trust me, there's going to be" she growled, picking up a knife and starting to cut celery for dinner. "Darlin what'd the thing do to you?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck. "Alice called me and said Domino was going to be on your team, and she told me to go on the internet and I really don't like what I see, if it were me instead of HER that would be different" she said, her mood barely improving. "I know without a doubt Alice is wrong again, there is no way I'm leaving you for Domino" he said. She smiled triumphantly until she heard Wade whistle, "Or you know he could." She walked out, the two both staring the screen, "Cable was a good buddy, but he's got another woman in his life now, Dom here I come!" Wade said, grinning through his mask. "There is no way in hell I'm gonna be anything like that with her" Logan said, astouded. "Oh you better not be" Nikki growled, her tone serious, "Or else not only will I never speak to you again, but I will move out." Logan stood, pulling her into his arms, "There is no way I would do that. You know me darlin, there is never going to be a single moment where I don't love you." She smiled, relaxing, "If she even comes near that team-" "I know, tell her to go home and if nessisary, give X-Force a new leader. I would gladly give up X-Force for you darlin, just say the word" he said, gently stroking her back. She purred softly, resting her head on his shoulder, "Keep doing that and I might fall asleep." "You deserve it" he said softly, going to lay her down on the couch, "I know you're more worn out now with work, supering, the kids, starting Monday teaching the kids, not to mention housework and everything you do in a day. I know I'm not really helping at night but you should rest now, while we have free time." "Exactly, I have things to take care of-" she began. "That I can do, you're supermom all the time. Take a break and let me be superdad" he said, kissing her deeply. "Wake me up to take care of dinner" she said, already sleepy. He smiled, brushing a stand of hair back off her face.

Wade choked, "I really better not be that gushy when I'm in love." "You will be" Logan said, "You just gotta find the right gal and everything'll piece together." "Runt's got a point Wilson, havn't you noticed that we  
re not trying to kill eachother? Or that nobody needs to use a danger room now? I think we've gotta face it sometime, we're better off with our women" Victor said. "Vic! Man snap out of it! The women have hypnotized you into believing them! Look, Logan's about to do housework! And you're babystitting! doesn't this sound weird to you?" Wade said. "It's part of being in a family Wade, ya gotta do what ya gotta do to keep your woman happy. That includes letting her take a break" Victor said. "What screwed up world have I stepped into?! You're Victor Creed, the former Sabretooth! You struck fear into every soul who knew you existed! and now you're babysitting and talking all deep like! What happened to you?! and you're Wolverine, you kick bad guy butt and act bad$$ doing it and you're doing housework and taking care of the kids?! What happened to both of you? You guys are super people, we don't get married, we don't settle down and we don't do housework" Wade ranted. "I don't really flamin' care what you think Wilson, and we'll do whatever we want. Ever think we like keeping our wives happy?" Logan asked, walking off. "You should've stopped after 'Ever think' cause I'm sure Wilson doesn't even get that far" Victor said, following. "Does no one see how freakish this is!" Wade said to no one in particular. "Sort of, but who cares it's their lives" 612 said. "Dude, you go play with Electra most of the time, you don't live like them" Wade said. "and I may never, but at least I have fun" 612 said, grinning and walking back the way he came, "Remember that."  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Weekend Suprise  
Cassie rushed up to the door, her overnight bag in hand, "NIKKI!" "Cassie!" Nikki shouted, hugging her best friend. "Who's there?" Logan asked from the couch. "It's Cassie sweetheart" Nikki said. Cassie made a face, making Nikki burst out in giggles. "What?" Logan asked. "Oh nothing, nothing at all hunny" Nikki said, holding back giggles. "Do you mind if I hang out today? I mean like sleep over?" Cassie asked. "Awsome, a sleep over, but Logan might be jealous" Nikki whispered, giggling. "Okay, what's so flamin' funny?" Logan asked, turning in their direction. "Cassie's sleeping over, do you mind hunny?" Nikki asked, pouting so he couldn't say no. "Fine darlin', but she doesn't sleep in our room" he said, turning back to the TV. "C'mon!" Cassie said, leading her along upstairs. "I don't understand women" Logan said to Wade. "Neither do I" Wade said. The girls raced upstairs, going into Nikki's room to get stuff to use for their sleepover. "This is gonna be so awsome!" Cassie shouted. Oh yes it would.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Sleepover  
It was half after midnight and Cassie had an idea. "Let's go prank someone" she said. "Okay, dare I ask who?" Nikki asked. "Logan" Cassie said, grinning evily. "You are not pranking my husband" Nikki said. Cassie crept into the room across the hall, the room Logan was in. Cassie slid over to his dresser, opening the underwear drawer. "Cassie! Get the hell out of my husband's underwear drawer!" Nikki hissed, pulling the bag out of her friend's hands, "What is this?" "um...My brother's Hulk undies" Cassie said. "Normally I'd agree to Logan wearing really tight underwear but your brother's underwear, I don't think so" Nikki said, tossing the bag into the hallway. "Killjoy" Cassie muttered, walking out. Nikki looked after her friend, running over to the bed and kissing him before she left the room. "You sicken me sometimes" Cassie muttered, walking back into the room. "Hey, I thought we were going to prank somebody" Nikki said. "Well we were going to but you won't let me" Cassie said. "I said you couldn't prank my husband, I never said anything about the other guys" Nikki said, grinning evily.  
In the morning, Nikki and Cassie pressed their ears to the door, waiting for the explosion the would hear. "WADE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!" Victor shouted, racing into the hall in Hulk underear, visibly a 9-year-old's. Nikki and Cassie busted up giggling, falling onto the floor. "So, I'm guessing you ladies had something to do with this?" Logan asked, grinning at his wife. "Of course sweetheart, who else would have the nerve to pull this off?" Nikki said, grinning. Cassie made a face, "I'm gonna leave you two alone now. Don't break the bed." Cassie teleported out of the room, leaving them alone. "Finally, I thought she'd never leave us alone" Nikki sighed, kissing him deeply. "and I'm hoping she doesn't need to be in here for a few more hours" Logan said, kissing her back.  
Downstairs, Cassie listened for the sounds from upstairs, "Why can't we hear them?" "Soundproofed walls, gotta love them" 612 said, smiling.  
TBC  
Chapter 6- Homeschooling, Howlett style  
Nikki was happy to be home after another long day at work, but it wasn't so bad now that they were getting everything in order. "So, what are we learning today?" Laura asked, smiling. "You're in a good mood today" Nikki joked, walking up to the library in the other wing of the mansion. The huge room was a rich maroon, it's oak shelves lined with books as though it were one of the larger libraries in Chicago back when Nikki was young. The kids were sitting at a table, waiting for their mom. "So, what do we have to be put through today?" Josh half-said, half-groaned in boredom. Nikki took some books out of the beach bag on her shoulder, setting a few in front of each of them, "You'll only have studies for about two hours on the weekdays Josh, you're not being put through anything that isn't nessisary." "That doesn't seem like much" Aron said, "and I don't think these books are high school level." "Hey, I'm not complaining, the smaller the book the less time to read it" Josh said. "I'm suprised you read at all" Aron said. "Okay, boys relax" Nikki said, cutting in before it could get worse, "Your books are, so are Laura's. Lana has junior high level books. Aleasha, Vincent, and Erica have elementary level books. You're all where you're supposed to be okay?" Both boys nodded, "So what are we doing anyway?" Aron asked. "You two are going to start history with Laura, I'll get Lana started with math and the others are going to do reading" Nikki said.  
Once they'd started working, Nikki took a few other, younger books out of the bag, walking over to where Sal played with Leah, Gabby, Shawn and Tayla, the ones too young for school. "I have some books for you guys, this is unless you don't want to be like the big kids..." Nikki said, sitting down near the little ones. "I a big kid mommy" Shawn said, taking a book from her hand. "Me too!" Gabby shouted, taking a book from the little pile. Tayla tapped Sal, "Read me a story." He looked like he would melt, "'Kay Tay-tay." Leah picked up a book, flipping through and setting it down sadly. "What's wrong sweetie?" Nikki asked, picking her up and putting Leah on her lap. "I can't read" Leah said. "The only reason Gabby and Shawn can is because they said I read too slow, I can teach you just like I taught them" Nikki said. "Really?" Leah asked, a beaming smile on her face. Nikki chuckled, "Really." "I can teach her, go back over to the other kids" Sal said. "You sure?" Nikki asked. "Positive, now go back to teacher-mom, future-son-in-law-daycare will take care of the rest" Sal said, grinning. Tayla giggled and Nikki sighed, "Don't teach them anything I'd kill you for." "As you wish, mom" Sal said. Nikki rolled her eyes, "Not for 18 more years I'm not." Sal chuckled, "Right, future-mom." Nikki sighed, walking back to the other kids.  
TBC  
Chapter 7- Viva La Revolution  
The Elysian council had been the most ancient and secret society in vampire history, where there had been man, there had been vampires. As the time had progressed, they'd become the most feared creatures in the world, driven to becoming nomads, hiding in the forest for their very protection. The council had cared for everything it's people desired, but times changed and the laws had begun to as well..."I won't stand for this!" D'Ablo shouted, "I've been council presedent for 380 years and NOW you want to impeach me?!" "We have no choice D'Ablo, the times have changed and we truly can't follow the laws you've set" one of the councilmen said. "How hard would it be to simply cull the heard so to speak? Just get rid of the problematic ones and let the rest follow my laws as I see fit?!" D'Ablo shouted. "We won't kill our people D'Ablo. End of disscussion" the councilmen said. "Who will lead you now?" D'Ablo, "Surely noone can do as good a job as I!" "Otis Tod is our new president, the council seems to have taken a shine to him sir" Jasik, D'Ablo's right hand vampire, said. "You know what this means Jasik" D'Ablo said softly, exiting the council room. "No master" Jasik said. ""It means we shall have to do the culling ourselves" D'Ablo said grimly, departing down the corridoor to his former office.

It was late in Canada, Nikki slid into the bedroom after putting the kids to bed. "They really like homeschooling" she said, smiling tiredly. "Well they should, they have you for a teacher" Logan said, he grinned as she sat down on the bed near him. "I'll be back in a moment love" she said softly, kissing him deeply. There was this nagging feeling that something was about to happen, but he ignored it, whatever it was they could face it together. She strode back over to him, slipping off her robe and climbing in bed. Morning came all too fast, eight hours of sleep and a few hours before that hadn't seemed like enough. Nikki stacked the dishes in the dishwasher before they'd leave for work, he watched her with the feeling nagging its way into his thoughts. He slid his arms around her, "I love you." She smiled, lacing her fingers through his and sighing as he kissed her neck, ""I love you too." "I don't think we should go today" he said, holding her in his arms. "We have to sweetheart" she said, gently brushing her fingertips along his shoulder. "I have this feeling that something's going to happen..." he said, tightening his hold on her. "Nothing's going to happen love, relax. You worry too much" she said, gently kissing him. "Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I still think you should stay here. Just in case" he said. "Once again, you worry too much love" she said, "Now we have to get to work and I'm sure nothing will happen."

D'Ablo saw the quinjet land at the Xaiver school, "Jasik, she is here." Jasik nodded, running off in the direction of the jet fumes. Logan and Nikki had to go their seperate ways, promising to meet up for lunch. The outdoor hallway between buildings seemed eerily quiet for such a beautiful day. A flash of white and a sudden scent stopped her in her tracks, a hand darting out and pulling her securly into an iron grip, "Hello beautiful" her assailent purred, brushing a lock of her hair back. She growled, her claws slicing him as she pulled free. D'Ablo stood behind her, his scent covered and a smile streaching his features. Nikki unintentionally backed into him, his arms catching hold of her like adamantium cables. She struggled, Jasik gripped her face in his hand, "Stop. Struggling." She stared, his eyes turning pure black as held her where she was, his mental powers trying to gain him access to her mind. She shook her head, making Jasik laugh, "Stubborn little thing aren't you?" D'Ablo threw her into him, Jasik picking her up in a vice grip, "Come, we have our first to deal with."  
Logan had been on edge all day, the feeling getting worse with each passing minute. "Logan, where's Nikki today?" Emma asked, walking up to him in the hall. "What?" he asked. "She never got here, do you think something's wrong?" Emma asked, seeming more panicked. "I'll be back, but if I'm not in a couple hours, start looking for us" he said, racing off to the last place her scent was. He sniffed the air, following her scent. The trail ended at an abandoned factory across the bridge, he knew she was there, her scent was strong. He broke down the door, walking inside. The sight he saw before him was something out of a horror movie, something he never would've seen coming. Two vampires, leaning over Nikki. Her bruised and bloody body in one's arms, her clothes torn. He could only imagine what they'd done to her before she'd gone unconcious. With every possiblity came more rage, and more pain he'd inflict on them. "Put her down and step away from my wife" he growled, rage burning to the surface of his consiousness before everything went red.  
TBC  
Chapter 8- Sacrifice  
Logan lept, his claws cutting through D'Ablo. Jasik stared in wonder and fear, turning and racing away. "JASIK!" D'Ablo shouted, Logan's claws tearing through a few vital organs. D'Ablo dropped and things started to turn back to ow they'd been. He walked over to her side, dropping to his knees almost mechanicly and holding her up. "Nikki, darlin please wake up" he said softly, fighting back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. He held her tightly, burying his face in her hair. He listened to her soft heartbeat, the only comfort he had. She groaned softly and he drew back, watching her eyes flutter open. He stroked her cheek, a little blood coming off on his hand, "Are you okay baby?" She turned her face into his hand, a few tears flowing from her eyes, "I'd never been dead before, but the moment I saw you in pain like that, all of that changed. It killed me that I could cause you so much pain." He turned her to face him, kissing her deeply, "You didn't hurt me, I was too worried about you being hurt. All I wanted was for you to wake up, so I could see your beautiful eyes. Watch you smile, hear you laugh, taste those beautiful lips over and over again. Nothing in my world would matter if you weren't in it." She touched his face, keeping him close, "I love you too." He chuckled, stroking her face, "Never scare me like that again." "Boo" she whispered, kissing him deeply. He lifted her in his arms, carrying her away from there.  
"What happened back there?" he asked, stroking the back of her knuckles. She sighed, shivering at the memory, "After I was out, they brought me there. When I woke up, they were talking about 'culling the heard' and killing other vampires besides me. They had my eyes covered for most of it, but it hurt. Just before I passed out, he pulled the blindfold off and told me someone would be here any moment. I saw you...but I couldn't stay awake long enough to fight." He looked to her, curled up in the co-pilot's seat in the quinjet, "We're almost home." "I should've listened to you" she said. The jet decended and he pulled her into his arms, "We're so connected that I could tell when something would happen, I should've never left you alone." She snuggled into his arms, "Baby, all I want right now is a shower and maybe you an join me?" He grinned, "Can't miss that oppentunity now can I?"  
The End  
**All The Time In The World (OS)**

Logan smiled down to his wife, her sleeping form beside him as always. He gently caressed her cheek, just the feeling of her warm skin under his fingertips was enough to calm the anxiety he'd been feeling since they'd gotten home. "Do that again" Nikki said softly, her eyes fluttering open. After everything that'd happened within the past few hours he was suprised she was awake, "Go back to sleep." She smiled, lacing her fingers through his and holding his hand to her heart, "I did, I'll sleep again later." She turned over so she rested her head on his chest, the soft waves of her crimson hair falling onto his skin. He sighed, there was no getting rid of the axiety was there? "I could've lost you if I hadn't been there when I was, and I can't get over the face that I let you be alone. I let it happen and then I alomst lost you for it. I can't believe I was so stupid to let that happen" he said, stroking her hair. "You're not stupid, you didn't know it was going to happen. You're not Alice you know" she said, smiling coyly, "Because this wouldn't be happening right now if you were." He chukled, kissing her deeply, "Did I tell you I love you?" "Several million times, but once more can't hurt. I love you too" she said, kissing him back, "You know, we probaby should get up soon." "Why darlin?, we've got all the time in the world" he said, rolling ont top of her. She giggled, "That's what I like to hear."

Down the hall, Laura sat with Jared on the roof outside her window. "So, they're letting you keep it?" Jared asked, staring out at the nearing sunset over the snowy ground. "As long as I want her yes" Laura said. "Her?" he asked. "There have been some tests, she's a girl" Laura said. "You do realize we are way too young to be parents right?" Jared asked. "If humans do it why can't we?" she asked, turning to him, "I've seen my mother do it and we both know we can. Just give her a chance." "I'm sixteen Laura and so are you! This is insane! We can't raise a child!" he shouted, standing up. "Well maybe 'we' can't but I can, she's MY daughter and I'm not giving her up!" Laura shouted back. Jared looked away from her, her stomach showed a slight bulge, "I can't Laura. I never told you why I've never had a girlfriend, and I think I owe you that since I know I can't stay with you." "What do you mean?" she asked, "I don't understand." "The same people that made my parents die, and yes, there were other people behind it, they've come looking for me and my brothers. Marc and Greg left Canada already, we're going back to California. If we're going to end up dead, we'll die together in our old home. I can't put you and the baby at risk Laura, I care too much about you. I promise, if it's ever safe I'll come back for you. If I stop writing to you, don't try to find me. Either I'm hiding or..." he trailed off, letting her think the end for herself. "But I've run too, we can run together" she said. "Not with the baby Laura, I don't want her to have that life. Just do me a favor, name her Anita. In case I don't get to be here for her, let her know everything when she's ready" he said, "I gotta go. I'll write you soon." He flashed her a reassuring smile as he climbed down he tree, tears slid down Laura's cheeks. "I'll miss you" she said softly. "I'll miss you too, but I'll be back. I always manage to come back" he said, walking off. She didn't truly know what 'miss' ment, but every time Nikki's said it when Logan had gone out without her, it had become a little clearer. At that very moment, as she watched him walk away, possibly never to see him again, she knew what 'miss' truly ment.  
End


	6. Part 6

**The Cypher**

Chapter 1- Endgame  
Jared was home, but it couldn't be home without Laura there. Marc and Greg had locked down the house, they hid out in the attic with a few packed up belongings, the rest were in a storage unit outside of Seattle. Jared wrote by the battery powered lantern they sat around, Greg was on guard and Marc was reading another novel, one of his many. Jared sealed the letter, a pang of sorrow hitting already. "You gonna mail that tomorrow?" Marc asked. "Yeah, I just want her to know a few things" Jared said, knowing the enivitable was going to happen soon. "Put your will in there?" Greg asked grimly. "Yeah, she gets everything if she wants it" Jared said. He tucked the letter under the fold of his backpack, curling up in his sleeping bag, "G'night." "Night" Marc and Greg said in unison. Jared lay awake, thinking of Laura when a hand reached over his mouth, "Remeber me boy?" the voice he'd always dreaded asked, resurfacing old nightmares he had as a child. "I asked you a question" he said. "Of course I do Cyber" Jared said, calmly. "Get up, you're coming with me" Cyber said, pulling him up by his collar. Jared saw Marc and Greg, dead. Fighting back tears he said throguh clenched teeth, "And what if I refuse?" "You end up like them" Cyber said. "I'd rather die than serve you, jsut like my father would've died beofre he served Romulus" Jared said, looking out to the sky. "He did, and you know where Romulus is boy. You're coming to show me" Cyber said. Jared let his tears fall then, the pain of knowing his death was soon would be enough, "Goodbye Laura." Cyber growled and killed Jared, walking out without a second glance.  
Laura shouted for Cessily to hurry the car, they sped down the highway to the beachhouse. "There!" Laura shouted, seeing the faint glow of the lantern in the attic. She raced up the steps, the door was broken off the hinges, "No." She raced in, Cessily right behind her and she stopped at the top of the stairs. His eyes were closed, turned to the window and his pack lay near him. "No" Laura whispered, "No. No. No." She began to sob, her heart breaking, "NO!" She collapsed on her knees, grapsing for his bag. She took a shirt from his bag, clutching to it and inhaling his scent as it slowly faded from his lifeless body. Cessily hugged her friend, Laura clutched his bag and cried, heartbreak overcoming everything else. Cessily watched while Laura buried them side by side, near their parents' graves, all the while Jared's bag slung over her shoulder. She whispered goodbye and turned back to Cessily, her eyes red and glassy from tears. "I want to go home now" she whispered, her voice breaking. "Okay, I'm taking you home in your jet" Cessily said, guiding her by her arms, "It'll be okay." Laura shook her head dejectedly, "It can't be. I loved him, how can he be gone?" She began to cry again, and Cessily didn't push the subject any more.  
They arrived back at the Howlett mansion, Nikki waited for them and embraced Laura the moment they came through the door, "I'm so sorry sweetie." "I'm going to bed" Laura said softly, "I'm tired now." "Thank you Cessily, if you want you can stay here for a while" Nikki said, "She'll need you now." Cessily nodded, "I'm gonna stay with her for a little bit okay Mrs. Howlett?" "Go ahead" Nikki said. "Is Laura back yet?" Logan asked. "She's back. Jared's dead" Nikki said softly, sliding into his arms, "Be gentle with this. You and I both know how terrible it feels to loose someone you love." He nodded sadly and held her close, he knew all too well and if he ever lost her...he'd die. Just like Laura would be.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- The Hunt  
Cyber followed his old path back to the last lead he had, but this one was going to be difficult. The large mansion was quiet, the airbase was half a mile away going underground, probably to this mansion's lower levels. 'They do such a good job keeping this place a secret, too bad they didn't do good enough' he thought, a small grin corssing his face. He slid the tip of the adamantium on his finger into the lock, twisting as though it were a key. The door opened easily, Cyber easing it into place so it couldn't be heard. The house was pitch dark, but he could find the room if he tried. He kept light on his feet, making sure not to make a sound as he acended the stairs. The silence was drving him mad, didn't anyone here snore? Or were they not even here? He shook the though aside, the HAD to be here. He paused at the landing, unsure of which way to go.  
It was only half past 11, getting closer to midnight every approaching moment, but time didn't matter. Logan gently kissed Nikki's neck again, lingering at her collarbone for a moment. A soft, barely audible thump came from the hallway. He drew back, suddenly alert, "Stay here." She rose with him, unwilling to let him go alone, no matter what it was. Logan growled, catching a scent, "Cyber." He pulled on his jeans from earlier, looking over to her, "Stay here. I'll be back." She nodded, "Be careful." He saw Cyber in the hall, looking for some sort of clue as to where he was going. A flash of silver as Logan's claws decended, slinking up behind Cyber, "Makin' housecalls bub?" Cyber turned, Logan slashing him across his face. Cyber pushed Logan back, "I'm looking for my lead, any chance we can do this some other time?" Logan growled, "Not on my life." "Then maybe in your afterlife" Cyber said, his armor meeting Logan's claws several times. In a moment, Cyber dropped and Logan turned back to the door, "Couldn't stay in bed could you?" Nikki slid out, wrapping her arms around his neck, "There was nothing to do without you there. I got bored." He chuckled, "Want to use the cheat way so we can get back to bed?" She grinned slyly, snapping her fingers. Cyber dissappeared, down to one of the holdng cells they'd built in the underground. The clock cimed midnight and he grinned, "Maybe we should get to sleep." "Not until I'm finished with you you're not" she purred, pulling him into the bedroom by his belt.  
TBC

Chapter 3- From Beyond  
Laura awoke to rain falling outside her window. She'd heard her aunt Bella's stories of being without Edward and bonding with Jacob, but there was no Jacob for her, and she would never see her Edward again. Instead of the heartaching pain, she felt numb, like she used to. She walked over to the computer, turning it on. Her email popped up and she gasped, there was no way it was possible. Clicking the email, she read the encoded cyper inside, then the letter. She'd seen that type of cypher before, she pulled out a book of World War Two cypher codes and flipped through. She scribbled letters on the notepad and looked at what she'd written. 'The Lucius Defeats Romulus', whatever the Lucius was they had to find it. She raced down the hall, knocking hard on Aron's door. "Yeah?" he asked. She slid in the room, gripping the paper in her hand, "You know pointless things, what's a Lucius?" "A what now?" Aron asked. "Lucius! Don't play stupid with me genius boy, you know all this pointless crap so why wouldn't you know what a Lucius is?!" she shouted, gripping his shirt collar in her free hand. "Okay! Okay! I surrender! Let me look okay?" he said. Laura huffed, pacing impatiently while he flipped through a leather-bound book. "Here, the Lucius is the weapon of choice for the Pravius, the most powerful vampire who is only part. Normal damphirs and hybreds have been thought to be the Paravius when it is one of a kind. They don't even know who the Pravius is yet, and the Lucius is in the last specualted Pravius's possesion" Aron said. "I'll figure that out" she said, walking out. "Your welcome!" he shouted after her.  
Cyber sat on the metal bed in his cell, waiting for whoever decided to show up. A warm tingle began at his head, a feeling of being melted came over him. He reached up to make sure he was whole and saw the liquid adamantium dripping off him. "What-?" he said softly. "If you think that's impressive, wait until you see what I can do to something human" Nikki said, almost purring with an evil tone in her voice. The adamantuim glowed gold, turning into a ball and hardening as it floated into her open hand. Cyber turned to her, scowling, "What do you want witch?" "Watch your mouth big guy, if I can melt adamantium I'm pretty sure I can turn you inside out" she said, rolling the metal ball in her hand, "Why are you here? and do you know where here is?" "Yes and I've come after my last lead" he said, walking over to the bars seperating them and leaning against them. She unlocked the door, striding in. He quirked an eyebrow but remained where he was, "We'll have to fix that then won't we?" she purred, placing her hands on either side of his head. Her eyes blazed gold and he dropped, she grinned as the golden glow surrounding her hands faded. "Nice job darlin" Logan said, walking in behind her. "Thanks sweetheart" she said, smiling. Her eyes faded back to normal and she strode over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. "What're we going to do with him?" Logan said softly, gently brushing her neck with his lips. She sighed, melting against him, "Leave it to me my love."  
Cyber woke in a motel in Toronto, not remembering much about the past few days exept bars and late night crashes. He wondered brefly about were his armor was, but two blonds walking by the window changed that. Back at the Howlett mansion, Nikki finished telling Logan what she'd made Cyber remember and of course forget, her giggles getting in the way a few times. He laguhed, holding her close, "I love your mind darlin', the things you do with it..." She smiled, laying her head on his shoulder, "And the things you do with yours."  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Pravius  
Laura hesitated outside Nikki's door, looking down at the paper in her hand and back up, "Come in Laura" Nikki called out. Laura sighed, walking in, Nikki was sitting at the desk, on the computer as usual, "So, what do you need?" she asked, smiling. "Well, have you ever heard of the Pravius?" Laura asked. Nikki's eyes flashed red, "Where'd you hear that?" "The Pravius can weild the Lucius, who's the current Pravius?" Laura asked. "I do, she's my sister, why?" Nikki said. "I need her to help us, the Pravius weilds the Lucius and the Lucius can destroy Romulus" Laura said, "and Romulus is the reason for everything that's happened to us!" "No. I'm not letting my little sister and my teenage daughter go into war against Romulus. Forget it, when you're eighteen you can do whatever you want and then it's up to you. But you're sixteen Laura, I'm not going to let you" Nikki said. "Josh is fifteen, Aron's sixteen too and they can both do more than me!" Laura said. "Laura, they're boys, and they both have their powers, I know you do too but boys...defend themselves better. Not to mention since you don't just have your life to worry about anymore" Nikki said, "All I'm saying is, just wait. You'll thank me later on." Laura huffed, walking out of the room. She was going to find the Pravius, convince her to fight and destroy Romulus once and for all.  
As the dark of midnight crept upon the house, Laura pulled the backpack out from under her bed, sliding out onto the roof and racing along the edge to the garage. She jumped down agily, landing on her feet and going over to Aron's new car, a dark blue Mercedes. Laura grinned, "Sorry little brother, girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do." She slid into it, tossing her bag into the other seat. She unsheathed a claw, putting it in the starter and the car roared to life, gliding out of the driveway. She giggled, grinning, "The things dad teaches me unintentionally." She raced down the streets to the airport, gripping the steering wheel and looking over her shoulder every few seconds. As she got on the plane to Romainia, she sighed with relief, nobody had found her. Yet.  
TBC

Chapter 5- Captured!  
Laura stepped off the train into Transylvainia, looking around at the grey-bricked buildings around the train platform. "Didn't think this far ahead did you?" Nikki asked. Laura cringed, turning back to her, "I'm sorry mom." "Don't. If I were you I would've done the same thing. Since we're here we might as well finish this" Nikki said. "Where does your family live anyway?" Laura asked. "You see the big castle up there?" Nikki asked. Laura nodded. "That's home sweet home" Nikki said, smiling. Someone shouted in Romanian, and Nikki looked in that direction, "Laura we have to go." "What? Why?" Laura asked. "Just follow me" Nikki said, dissappearing into the gathering crowd. "Mom! Wait!" Laura shouted, racing after her. People began talking and shouting in panic, Laura barely saw Nikki stop near the moutian path. "Laura hurry!" Nikki shouted over to her. Laura ran over to Nikki and they started up the path, "This is Borgo Pass, back that way is Isle Dracula. We're going to Dracula's Castle" Nikki said. "But what's going on down there?" Laura asked. "Apperantly I'm not the only vampire here, and whoever it was exposed themselves. We had to get out of there" Nikki said. "But Castle Dracula is a tourist attraction" Laura said. "If you go through the big mirror in the study you get to the real castle, not the old castle" Nikki said. There were shouted behind them, "Laura come on" Nikki said, taking Laura's hand and pulling her off the path. Peopel began to walk past the bushes where they hid, Nikki staying in a silent crouch as though she'd done it before. Her hair blew back in the wind, dancing like a living flame. She moved quickly, tieing back her hair into a braid and twisting it up in a bun, then moving to tie up Laura's hair. "Stay quiet" Nikki whispered, pulling Laura to her feet and walking into the forest. She pulled Laura down near a tree, pushing part of it in, "It's hollow. Stay inside until I come get you." "Wait" Laura whispered. "We don't have time, jsut listen to me and stay here. I'll be back soon" Nikki whispered, closing the tree's small gap. Laura huddled inside, listening for some small sign Nikki was still there.

Nikki raced through the trees like Victoria had taught her, keeping a few paces away from the townspeople gathering outside a cabing near the pass. A slayer's cabin. She stared in shock, there hadn't been a slayer here in over a hundred years. A hand closed over her mouth, gripping her back against someone. "I've got it" a man shouted in Romanian, "I've captured the bloodsucker!" People shouted happily and she struggled against his grip. "Sorry but I can't have my secret found" he whispered in english. The slayer spoke a diferent language, one she didn't understand and two burly men gripped her arms and pulled her forward. "Sorry again" the man said and she turned to snap at him and stopped, he had silver hair and deep violet eyes. His skin was snowy and he smiled apoligeticly, "Just get out of here" she said softly, knowing he'd understand. She remembered him from somewhere, but she couldn't remember where. The men spoke arabic, some of which she understood from being around Dust and the crowd dissapated. The slayer spoke arabic bak to them and she was chained, metal but not adamantium. This might be easier than she'd thought. The slayer was preparing something in a glass, he turned in her direction and she finally saw his face. He was young, no more than 20 with short dark blond hair. The name Joss sprung to mind, from somewhere in her memory, and she looked to the two others, nothing coming to mind. "Joss" she said. He looked up, turning to face her again, "How do you know my name?" he asked. "I just remembered it, and your cousin Henry, Vladimir Tod's friend" she said, knowing these things by the moment. 'I'm reading his mind!' she thought, smiling in her mind. A sharp pain hit her mentally, and she cringed, "Get out of my head witch" Joss said. She had to find a way out of this, she shut her eyes and focused on Logan, 'Can you hear me?' she though to him. 'What's going on darlin? Where's Laura?' he though back to her. 'Laura's hiding, I need your help. There was another vampire here, I let him escape while the slayer found me instead' she thought, 'I'm not sure I can get out of this on my own.' 'I'll be there, just stay where you are' he thought, 'Just be safe darlin', I'm on my way.' As she stopped consentrating on Logan, another pain hit her, causing her to double over. She wanted to clutch her head, this was a hundred times worse than the migranes she got when Josh had his sterio up all the way. "What are you doing to me?" she gasped. Joss chuckled, holding the glass close to her, "Do you smell that? What I'm doing is mentally holding the worst sensation of pain I've ever felt so when you read my mind, you experiance it." She pulled out of his mind, catching the second sweetest scent she'd ever smelled. "What is that?" she whispered, her fangs sliding down. "Newborns blood" Joss said. She drew back, her eyes widening, "You killed a child?" "Don't act like you've never done it before bloodsucker" Joss said grimly. "I wouldn't. I don't kill anything" she said, "I have children, why would I kill one?" Joss looked to her, rage and pain in his eyes, "You monsters breed? You create other creatures like you? It's bad enough you turn normal people but you can breed?! We have enough of your kind already!" Nikki looked up, relaxing as she saw Logan outside. He crept in while Joss ranted, the two arabs saw him before Joss did, and Logan knocked Joss unconsious. The two hulking arabs raced at Logan, Logan lept over both of them and they slammed into eachother, knocking eachother out. She grinned, breaking the chains on her wrists, "Hey hunny." "Hey darlin, miss me?" he asked, plling her into his arms and kissing her deeply. "Did you find Laura?" she asked. "Yeah, she's at home, I had Gorge come as backup just in case" he said, "You can't go a day without getting into trouble can you?" "Nope, I kinda like having my knight in shining armor come save me" she said, sighing and dramaticly pretending to faint. He picked her up, "You're a damsel in distress I can put up with." Smiling, he carried her out, ready to go home to just relax.  
The End  
**A Superhero's Halloween Costume (OS)**

Halloween, the favorite holiday of most of the paranormal. Paranormal being people like Nikki, but with different gifts, or curses, whichever they though fit. When they could go out in the world unnoticed, since everyone else looked unusual too. But Nikki was a bit different from them, she could go out among the other people of the world whenever she wanted to, she wasn't like most vampires. Or most werewolves for that matter. Or witches, or even some mutants, but that was still a day ment to be celebrated. "What'cha doin'?" Sal asked, leaning over Nikki's shoulder while she worked on her laptop in the living room. "Getting a Halloween costume" she said, not looking up. "Why don't you wear that leather outfit Logan likes so much? Talk about your trick-or-treat, mostly treat but I wouldn't mind if you pulled a trick on me while you wore that" Sal said. "Okay, 1) You're going to be my son-in-law so shut up. 2) Not with all the guys in the house I'm not and 3) Forget it, I only wear that for Logan" she said. "We're talking about that sexy leather outfit you kicked demon butt in right?" Deadpool asked, "Cause you looked hot." Nikki looked up, "See what I mean?"  
Sal looked at the screen and pointed to one, "Wear that!" Nikki looked down, groaned and hid her face in a pillow, "There's no way in hell I'm dressing up like Emma back in her Hellfire days." Logan looked out from the kitchen, walking over to see, "Darlin I don't think I'd object to you wearin' that. I'd just have to take these idiots eyes out of their heads." She looked up, "I'm not wearing leather, or that little of it." Logan watched over her shoulder for a few moments and pointed one out. "A supervillaness?" Nikki asked. "Darlin, even when you could make my blood run cold you still made my heart skip beats" Logan growled softly, wrapping his arms around her. She grinned, "As long as I get to be a bad girl for one night." He grinned back, knowing exactly what she had in mind, and turned to Sal, "I know I'm gonna like Halloween."  
End

**When The Impossible Happens**

Chapter 1- Sickday  
The explosions resound across what once was a city in Alaska, the X-Warriors took cover as yet another blast threatened to finish them off. Nikki sat, panting, at Logan's side, "Any plans sweetheart?" "Not one" he panted, taking her gloved hand in his own. "I've got a plan, kill whatever &%#* started this and get the hell outta here!" Feral shouted over. "That's you plan Vic, some of us are trying to lower the body count" Gorge said over from his place behing an overturned truck. "I think I have an idea" Nikki said. She stood, the golden light pulsing from her hands to contain the balsts as the others went forward, intent on stopping the massacre. Another, stronger blast rocked the ground she held and she struggled to contain it. The blasts ceased and she withdrew the shield, exausted. Logan caught her as she fell back, when she used her magic strongly this always seemed to happen. "Easy darlin, I've got you" he said softly, easing her to the ground. "Just...let me rest a minute" she said, holding onto his shoulders for support. He lifted her up, carrying her to the quinjet. "Logan I can walk, I'll be fine" she protested. "You're still not a hundred percent yet, I'd rather be extra careful with you then have something happen to you" he said softly, cutting off her protests with a gentle kiss. She smiled, resting her head against the base of his neck, "Don't worry about me so much." "I love you darlin', I just don't want anything to happen to you" he said, still holding her while he sat. "You're bein' rediculous now runt, she can sit" Victor said, shrugging off his jacket. "I don't care Vic, I kinda like it" she said, nuzzling Logan's neck. "You aure you're gonna be alright?" he whispered to her, stroking her hair. "I'll be fine love, you worry too much" she whispered back.  
The next morning, Nikki let Logan sleep in and went to go take care of everything before he got up. She went back upstairs with his breakfast, gently nudging his shouder to wake him, "Logan? Sweetheart, wake up." He groaned, "Darlin I don't feel so good..." She pressed her hand to his face, "You have a fever. Oh hunny! You're sick. Oh my poor baby." She stroked his hair, kissing his forehead gently, "You're staying in bed today sweetheart, I'll take care of everything." He coughed, "No, darlin-" "You're staying home today and that's it. The others can handle things without you" she said. He coughed, laying back, "I think I can stay in bed a day." "Either way, you're going to. Now rest, you want to get better right?" she said.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- A LONG Time  
Logan felt utterly miserable, and whatever it was wasn't going away fast enough. "What are you doing out of bed?" Nikki asked as he trudged into the kitchen. "Am I suposed to feel this terrible?" he asked, coughing. She leaned close, checking his fever with her hand. He held her hand to his face, the cool feeling of her skin stopped the burning. "You need rest, it's the only way you'll get better" she said softly. "There's nothing to do up there but sit around and watch TV, it gets boring after a while" he said, smiling as she placed her other, equally cool hand on his other cheek. "Do you want me to keep you company?" she asked, letting him slid his warm arms around her waist. "Do you mind?" he asked. "Not at all, Kitty's already pitching in so I can take care of you, my poor baby" she said, kissing his cheek gently. "It's been a LONG time since I was sick last" he said, keeping her close. "You're burning up worse than the pack" she said softly, making him sit on the bed once they'd gotten in the room. He layed back, letting her place a cool washcloth across his forehead. "Do you feel any better?" she asked, sitting beside him and running her fingers through his hair. He smiled, "I do now." She chuckled, "Finally, some good news." "Don't you worry about catching this?" he asked, taking her hand in his own. "None of us have to. I already talked to Hank, he said whatever this is it was targeting your healing factor specificly" she said.  
"If that's the case quit being so damn gentle with me, I'm not gonna break" he said, pulling her down to kiss her. "I'm only being gentle because I know your healing factor's not all the way right now, it's still fighting off whatever this is. Just relax for now love, I'll get you better soon" she said softly, not fighting his kiss. "What about your magic, can't you heal me yourself?" he asked, brushing a lock of her hair back. "What do you think I've been doing while you sleep? I told you I was taking care of you, that's more than cooking and fetching tissue boxes" she said, beaming. "Huh, so that's why I feel better? You healing me now?" he asked. "Yep" she said, gently touching either side of his face. Her hands were glowing brighter, she closed her eyes and focused. "Darlin, you don't have to" he said softly. "Yes, I do" she said, "I'll do everything in my power to make you better and thankfully, you married a woman with magical powers." He had to admit, he was starting to feel a lot better, her hands glowing brighter by the second. He kissed her neck, unable to resist her sweet scent so close, and he knew she'd done it. He gently nipped her neck where her pulse was, making her loose her focus and gasp softly. "You did it darlin" he said, rolling over so she was under him. Her heartbeat quickened and he drew back, grinning, "Before we go hunt down the *^&% that decided to try pulling that one off, I think I might as well thank you for getting me back to normal." "Your welcome" she said breathlessly. "That wasn't the thank you yet" he said, pressing his lips to hers again, getting her ready for one of the wildest nights of her life.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- The Enemy Of My Enemy  
Logan smiled, stroking back Nikki's hair while she slept. They would head out soon but he wanted to let her sleep after last night. She sighed, her eyes fluttering open, "Morning." "How'd you sleep?" he asked. "Fantastic, I was with you wasn't I?" she said, grinning as she kissed him. "Darlin', we've got to get out of bed today" he said, letting her kiss him at her own pace. "I know, I just wanted to show you how much I enjoyed last night. Not to mention every night since we first got together" she purred, running her hands over his chest. He eased her back, "You know we can celebrate after we get back?" "I know, but now is just as good as later" she said, laying on his chest, stroking his muscles. He caught her hand, kissing her wrist and holding her close, "I promise we'll pick up where we left off later." She smiled, "I'm holding you to that."  
The quinjet shot off in the direction of the battle site from the other day, the old lab was supossedly deserted but after the past day they didn't believe that anymore. They landed far enough away the jet couldn't be heard, but close enough to walk. Logan turned to Nikki, her bright eyes were intent on their target. She looked to him and smiled, gesturing to the compound with her claws. She raced out through the tress, her uniform keeping her well blended with the shadow of the building. A guard walked past and she darted forward, covering his mouth with her hand, "Take me to the guy in charge." He nodded, frightened. She smiled to Logan and walked off behind him, Logan following. He certianly liked his view from behind her, and whatever she was saying to the guard was scaring him. 'I'm glad you're enjoying this but can we please focus here?' she thought to him. 'Can't help it, you're distracting me' he thought to her. She smiled, following the guard to a locked door, "H-he's in there" the man stammered. "Good boy, now run while you can" she said, a hint of evil in her voice. He ran, not bothering to look at Logan as he raced outside. She drew back, kicking the door in. "You've gotta be kidding me" she said. "Wolverina, how nice to see you again" a guy in a dark green cape and black mask said. "What is this, the green hornet?" Logan asked. "No, I am DOCTOR NEWTON!" the guy shouted. "He got his $$ kicked by Deadpool if that tells you anything" Nikki said. "Oh but the fearless Deadpool isn't here now is he?" Doctor Newton said. "Oh c'mon Mike, you've gotta be kidding me" Nikki said. Dr. Newton drew back, "How do you know me?" "Actually, you went to high school with my stepsister, Bella, so yeah. Ed says you were kind of a dork and this was probably gonna be you so..." Nikki said. "Have you gotten over my sicknes then?" he asked. "Yeah, thank her. She can do anything" Logan said. "Surrender Newton, you're not getting out of this one" Nikki said. "Oh yes I will, Eric! Get over here you wuss! Eric?" Mike asked, "Oh nibletts." "The guard was Eric right, good guy but a total wuss as you've said. You're plan for world domination won't help you get with my sister kid, deal with it" Nikki said. She darted quickly, turning him around and locking his hands with chains, "Looks like you'll be wrapped up with a bow for the X-Men to deal with now" she said.  
Emma heard a thump and the roar of a jet going away as she went to the door. Looking out, a guy tied up in chains with a big red bow around his neck with a tag on it, 'From the X-Warriors.'  
The End

**Mistical Beyond**

Chapter 1- Moonlight  
The night engulfed the forest, the moonlight making the snow on the ground shimmer. Nikki stood out in the snow, the cold breeze would've chilled her on any other day, but the anxiety of waiting to see the quinjet decend over the moonlight was already making her blood run cold. "I though dad was home already" Daken said, walking out behind her. "No, I'm waiting for the jet" Nikki said, sitting down on the step with him. "You don't have to worry about him so much, he can handle pretty much anything" he said. "I know you didn't come out here to tell me that" she said. "I came to tell you to wait inside, there's a bad snowstorm coming. The jet will get here before it, I can promise that" he said. The distant roar of the qunjet's engines came over the horizon, the jet in sight. "See, now come inside mom, he'll be right in." She smiled, "Isn't it a bit late to be up?" "Isn't it a bit cold to be outside?" he asked. "Touche" she said, grinning. She walked into the lower levels, seeing Logan brushing the snow off his uniform, "Hey darlin." "Hey sweetheart. Missed you" she said softly, letting him wrap his arms around her. "Are you alright baby?" he asked. "Cold. and I missed you" she said, snuggling him. "Quit worrying about me" he said, rubbing her cold hands, "You're going to end up an ice cube waiting for me one day." She smiled, "As long as you promise you'll get me warm again, I really wouldn't care" she said, nuzzling his neck. He held her close, walking her upstairs. "How long were you waiting for me?" he asked. "A little while" she said, slipping her jacket off. "I'll be back in a minute, warm up a little for me please?" he asked, kissing her gently. She smiled, "Don't be too long." He grinned, an idea forming, "Why don't you come warm up with me?" She went over to him, slipping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply, "I'd love to sweetheart."  
Hours later, the house was quiet and the only person awake was Lana, she sat on the window seat in the room she shared with Laura. She stared out at the moonlit snow, the gray shadows of the trees falling near the house, the light reflecting off the ice covered pond at the bottom of the hill. She sighed, she'd never really had a huge place like this before, or a huge bedroom, or siblings. "Lana? What're you doing?" Laura asked sleepily. "Thinking" Lana said. "Go to bed, you're distracting me" Laura said. Lana eased the curtian shut on Laura's side, leaving it open on her side so she could see the light reflecting the scenery off the pond.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- New Allies  
The darkest time of night was always before the breaking dawn, and the moment Ashur stepped out of the forest into the snow around the mansion on the hill, the darkness seemed to lift a bit. His own hair, as silvery as the snow itself, blew in the wind as he looked to the half open window shade, his violet eyes glowing. He turned, listening behind him for a moment before racing to the mansion's front door. "Hello?" he called, knocking on the door. The lock clicked and he stepped back, a young raven haired girl opened the door, "Hello." "I'm Ashur, please help me. There are people following me, they've been after me all night" he said, "I had to leave my home just before the storm started. Can you let me stay for the remainder of the night, please?" She smiled, "I'll go ask my parents, come in and sit." She went up the stairs and he heard the voices of the two slayers out at the forest's edge. They were turning back! Pleased with himself, he sat back and allowed himself to relax.  
Lana knocked softly at her parents' bedroom door, "Mom? Dad?" The soft sounds of movement as one of them woke up, the door unlocked and Nikki stood there. "Yes Lana?" she asked. "There's a guy named Ashur downstairs who's being followed, he needs a place to say and he wants us to help him, please?" Lana asked. Nikki eased the door shut and slid down the stairs after Lana. "Mom this is Ashur, Ashur, this is my mom" Lana said. "Oh" Ashur said, "Maybe I shouldn't-" "Don't worry about it" Nikki said, "If you need a place to stay, I'll get you a room." "You don't hate me for doing that back in Romania?" Ashur said, "and call me Ash." "Ash, I can't hate you for saving your own hide. If I'd been you I might've done the same" Nikki said, "You're a pureblood damphir aren't you?" "Yeah, how'd you know?" Ash said. "Because you can't be more than 15 and you don't have the same qualites as other vampires. Your eyes are violet, not topaz, crimson or like a blood vampire's. And you're born to a powerful vampire, your hair is silver white, not like anyone else's. You're non-venomous aren't you?" Nikki asked. "Yeah" Ash said. "Then there's really no problem. You must be tired after being followed by those slayers so far, I assume I'm getting the full story in the morning?" "Yeah, I'll tell you everything" Ash said. "Then get some rest Ash, and go back to bed Lana" Nikki said, smiling to them both and walking off. "Night" Lana said, smiling to Ash. "Night" he said, smiling back.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- The Slayer's Return  
Logan had welcomed Nikki back to bed eagerly, and as the dawn broke the horizon, the slayers doubled back toward the mansion. "I'm telling you the damn leech came back this way!" Joss said, eager to get this alliance over with. "Well that doesn't help me now does it? and watch your toung, I'm one of those 'damn leech'es too!" Jasik growled, stalking back in the previous direction. "Well can't you pick up the scent like before?" Joss asked. "It's snowed since then in case you havn't been able to dectect that with your weak human senses" Jasik said. "and?" Joss asked. "And the trail's been covered. I can't follow it" Jasik said. "Great" Joss said sarcasticly, "Just great. It's freakin' 20 below and I'm stuck freezing my $$ off with Lassie the vampire." Jasik growled, his eyes turning red, "What?" Joss asked, turning to the very angry vampire. "This way, we have someone different to kill" Jasik snarled, taking off at vampire speed, far faster than the human pace he'd kept for Joss. "Wait! Jasik!" Joss shouted, "*^%&in' bloodsucker."  
Ash woke, the scents of the slayers fresh in his mind. "Hey Ash, are you up?" Lana asked, easing open the door. He raced to her side, "Lana, wake up your parents and hide. The slayers are coming." Lana gasped, "Ash, don't!" "I have to, just trust me" he said. "But Ash-" she began. "Before I go, I have one thing to tell you. You are the first person to actually care if I live or die, and I'm glad I finally found you" he said, kissing her breifly and running down to face the slayers. Lana stepped back, her heart pounding, and she turned and raced to her parent's room. "Mom! Dad! The salyers came back for Ash!" she shouted, banging on the door. Nikki suddenly pulled the door opened, her 'vampire fight' outfit on, "Where is he?" "He went out to fight them" Lana said. Nobody knew Lana called Nikki's leather outfit a 'vampire fight outfit' but that as usually when she wore it. Logan was a second behind her, his X-Force uniform on. "Stay here" Nikki said, racing out with Logan less than a step behind her. Lana raced back to her room, grabbing a black tank top and matching black jeans with their matching belt. She grabbed her mask from halloween, pulling gloves over her hands and sending her claws down with a 'snikt' like her father's. "There is no way I'm not going out there to help my friend" she said, posing in front of the mirror qiuckly, dashing out into the snow.  
Ash was racing through the snow, furiously scrambling to block and dodge Jasik's blows. Nikki slammed into Jasik, Logan taking on Joss. "Ash!" Lana raced outside, looking as superhero as she possibly could in her makeshift costume. "Lana?" he asked. "Get off your butt and run back inside!" Lana said, pulling Ash to his feet and making him race inside. Jasik's head rolled across the ground in their direction, Ash looked to Lana and they both said, "Ewww." Joss pulled at his bonds, crying out as Nikki compleatly eraced his memory. Nikki stood, flipping her hair over her shoulders, "That was fun." "Sometimes you scare me a little darlin, but it's worth it to see you in this outfit again" Logan said, grinning.  
The End

**Smashing The Smasher (current events related)**

Chapter 1- Doomsday Avoided  
Nikki's eyes scanned the computer screen, the sentance she just read kept playing in her mind, 'Micro black holes that could threaten the planet'. "So, what're you reading?" Logan asked, making her jump. "We have to get to Europe!" she gasped, an idea coming to mind, "If we can't reason with them we can still destroy the damn thing." "What damn thing?" Logan asked, following her. "We have to get the X-Warriors together, this is a matter of life on the planet as we know it!" she said. "Darlin, just answer one question, what the hell is threatening the planet that you could find on the internet?" he asked. "An atom smasher, it could possibly cause black holes that could engulf the planet and end life on earth" she said, quickly dressing in her uniform. "So some egghead created a machine that could end mankind? This is more overdone than I thought" he said. "Logan, focus, do you really want to die in less than 24 hours?" she asked. He sighed, "No. and there's no way anybody else is going to either. We're getting the X-Warriors, this is something we can't handle alone." She nodded, "Heaven help us."  
The X-Warriors had quickly agreed to help after Logan and Nikki helped prevent the Children of the Vault from attacking in Ecuador. "So, where to boss?" Deadpool asked. Feral looked over to the others, knowing enough about the experement to want to shut it down himself. "Well there's something you don't see everyday" Nikki said, looking out the window to the base where the atom smasher was, seeing Iron Man, the registered and unregistered Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic 4 and pretty much every superhero there was down at the base. "Looks like everybody was nice enough to form a mob and go destroy it too" Gorge said. "But this could help find out how the universe came to be" Kim said, her more scientific nature outwiting the superhero. "Kim, there will be no science if we're all dead" Nikki said. "Morbid, but true" Deadpool said. "Now come on, if the others are providing a distraction, we can go stop that thing from ever starting" Gorge said, leading his team into the heart of the compund where it was stored. "This thing is huge!" Deadpool said. Nikki looked at some wires, cutting them all and looking back to the others, "What're you waiting for? Destroy the damn thing!" Feral took more initive than that, he completely, singlehandedly, dismantled it. He dropped to the ground after making sure all of the parts were broken beyond repair and what was left was a pile of twisted and unrecognizable metal on the floor. "Nice job Vic" Nikki said, smiling almost evily. "You really had a bad experiance in science class didn't you?" Deadpool asked, "and I didn't even get to shoot anything." Nikki growled, sending down her middle claw. Logan chuckled, along with a few of the others, "Oh very mature" Deadpool said. "There's no law that says I have to be, when there is one I will be" Nikki said, "and I'm just having fun, you should try it sometime." Victor smiled, "I like how she thinks." "So destroying an atom smasher is fun but she doesn't even guy shop? What is wrong with that woman?" Redeemer asked. "First, that woman is married and second, there's nothin' wrong with her from this angle" Logan siad, watching her backside as she walked back to the jet.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Consequences  
Iron Man had seen the distruction of the project just after the X-Warriors had left, and he had no doubt they'd been the ones to destroy it. He followed the quinjet's signal to San Diego, where a riot had broken out over the planet's safety. "People, calm yourselves!" Wolverina shouted, people going quiet at her voice, which held a tone of calm, "I've seen this project and I can tell you it no longer exists thanks to a friend of mine who knows the safety of the people in this universe is more important than the quest for scientific knowledge. "But what if they build another one?" someone shouted. "Oh please the government would never give them that sort of funding twice and it would take another 20 years, in that time they would've given up on it and learned through exploring space, not achiving a recreation with proton beams" she said reassuringly. People sighed with relief and cheered, camera crews finished their takes from the end of the world-wide panic. Nice crowd control Tony said, landing on the pavement. "You'd want these people to know they were safe if you were there too wouldn't you?" Nikki asked, stepping down from her makeshift platform. Actually, I wouldn't have destroyed the project in the first place but it's nice to know you care about the people of earth Tony replied. "Back off Stark, my wife didn't destroy the damn thing, didn't you hear her up there? Or doesn't the suit get cable?" Logan growled, slipping his arm around Nikki's waist. I know she said 'a friend' did it but seriously, that's the oldest tale in the book Tony said. "What if I were to confess and say I did it, what then Stark?" Feral growled, sitting on a crate, sharpening his claws, "What exatly could you do ta me in that tin can armor?"  
"He can't do anything Feral" Time Warrior said, facing Stark himself, "They're my team and Feral acted on his own but I take responsiblity for him. And I agree with what he did. If Feral hadn't destroyed the machine then we might all be dead, and so would you. Nikki needed to calm that riot because they were worrying about something we've taken care of. Trust me Stark, you should feel lucky to have us around." Logan nodded in Gorge's direction, Nikki smiling deviously. Maybe, but I listen to reason Gorge. If you'd come to me we could've shut down the project, you didn't have to destroy it Tony said. "But you weren't acting fast enough, maybe if there had been time for reason we would've but this was life and death Tony, surely you understand that" Nikki said, "I wasn't going to sit back and watch the world die. I wasn't going to watch my family and my friends die all because nobody was going to step up and obliterate the damn thing. Well we took care of that didn't we?" She headed off in the direction of the jet, the others following her. "We're sure we made the right choice, if you'd been in our place you would've done the same thing" Kim said, following the others back to the jet.  
As the jet touched down back at the Howlett mansion, Gorge and Kim waved off to teleport home. The others headed off to their rooms t get some sleep, after all, it was night in Canada as well as it had been in San Diego. "Darlin, are you alright?" Logan asked, wrapping his arms around her protectively. "No, we could've lost our family and you're asking me if I'm alright?" she said softly, tears dripping from her eyes. He turned her around, taking her face in his hands and kissing her gently, "Don't worry so much. We took care of it. I would never let anything happen to you or the kids. I promise." She sniffed, laying her head on his shoulder, "I can't help worrying about them. I can't help worrying about you either." He chuckled, guiding her lips back to his, "Maybe I can stop your worrying, if not just for a while." He slipped the robe from her shoulders, she gave into his passion and kissed back. Thankfully, it wouldn't be the last night like that, far FAR from it.  
The End

**Prisoner Of War**

Chapter 1- War  
The vast, barren moutians on the Romanian countryside were usually quiet, but the machine gun fire and the explosions singaled differently today. The X-Warriors raced through the icy wind, blowing debris and flame from the explosives in their direction. "Why'd we have to get involved in a territory war Time Warrior!?" Nikki called over from her place behind a near-shattered boulder. "Because, the people of Russia would destroy everyone in the next hundred towns if we didn't stop them" Gorge called over. Another hail of machine gun fire, this time Logan and Feral ducking out of the way and behind an overturned car a few feet away from Gorge. "Darlin, you alright?" Logan called over. "I'll live" she called back. A grenade went off near the bouder, tossing her a few feet away. Logan shouted her anem, but his voice was drown out by multiple explosions. "Logan, get to her, we have to get outta here before they pull out the nukes" Feral said over the roar of flame licking at the metal they ducked behind. Another blast hit, sending half the car into a melting fireball. Logan raced over to her, her wounds were still healing but she would be fine soon. A hail of gunfire shot in their direction, Logan covering her while she clung to him. "Darlin, when I say go we have to break for the jet" he said softly. "I can't" she siad softly. He looked down to her, her eyes shone with unshed tears of pain and he looked down, her uniform torn where her leg was still healing. He gently gathered her into his arms, she gasped softly in pain when he placed his hand over her leg to pick her up. He raced for the jet, sudden gunfire piercing the air.  
The others had gotten to the jet before them and Logan could feel bulletts hitting him, stinging where the blood flowed. The quinjet closed just as another ground-shaking explosion basted outside. Nikki looked to him, pain still in her features but mainly concern. "I'm fine" he whispered, shifting her in his arms. She cried out, clutching onto his neck to keep from being shifted again. "Let me see" Gorge said. "Gorge just fly the plane, we'll take care of it later" Nikki said. "No, we're taking care of it now" Gorge said. "Gorge" Nikki said. "I'm not letting you talk me out of it" he replied. "Gorge" she said. "No going yet" he said. "Gorge start the damn plane they're going to open fire!" she shouted. Too late, the hinge ripped off the quinjet's hull door and a huge hulk-like mutant lumbered in. Speaking fluent russian he called to his team and three more people entered wearing simaler uniforms. "They're soviets" Nikki whispered, "I haven't seen people like this since the last time we fought Omega Red." They spoke fluent russian and Logan could follow what they were saying, "They say we should be dead" he whispered, "There's no way an ordanary human could've survived that." Whatever he heard next made him grip Nikki tighter in his arms, pressing her tightly to him, he spoke fluently to the others and turned back to the team. "Everyone else go, Gorge take her with you" Logan said, starting to put Nikki down. "Like hell you're going into the Ruskie's cult without me!" she protested, clinging to his neck. "Darlin I mean it, go with them" he said softly. "No, I love you and dammit I'm not letting you get yourself into this alone" she said. The leader spoke in russian, Logan turned back to him and replied with relief, "He's willing to trade. I won't have to go with them if someone else does."  
Redeemer stood, "I'll do it. Just promise you'll come back for me." Gorge nodded, smiling reassuringly, "We'll be back soon." "Brave girl" Victor muttered, earning himself a pat on the head. "and you know it tomcat" Maria smiled, her eyes dancing, "Who knows, maybe I'll like the ruskies better than I like you Vic. That's gaurenteed." Nikki chuckled darkly, "We'll be back for you, I promise." "Hell Maria you know that" Vic said, "and if she's not up to it, I'll bring a camra and record the whole thing for her." He smiled with his sharp canines, making one of the russians shiver in fear. Logan spoke to them and nodded to Maria, "Take care of yourself girl." Maria nodded, "See you boys, and Nikki." Maria smiled reassuringly before leaving with her now-captors onto the ground, the large one putting the door back on right.  
TBC

Chapter 2- Escape  
Gorge had returned home, he barely had any sleep worrying about Redeemer. "Gorge?" Kim asked, walking out of the bedroom, "Are you alright?" "I will be Kim, one of my own just got captured today" he said. She sighed, sitting beide him at the table, "Get some sleep, you may come up with a plan on your own." "Thanks Kim" he said softly, the fatigue was setting in, "See you in the morning?" "Unless you leave before I get up, plan on it" she said, going back to bed. At the Howlett mansion, things seemed all too quiet. Wade was comfortable enough to get a full night's sleep, so was Victor after getting his 'hello' from Kitten. 612 slept peacefully also, having dreams of Electra all night. Hez didn't know anything about the current mission since she'd been on recon with the X-Men. Logan held Nikki tightly yet he couldn't stop wondering about his teammate, what was happening there? Was she even alive anymore? "Love quit worrying, she'll be fine" Nikki murmered sleepily. "Sleep darlin, I'll be fine" he said softly, kissing her gently. "You sleep too" she sighed, falling asleep again. He smiled, she was right. Holding her sleepng form, he fell into a peaceful sleep, knowing everything would be alright.  
Maria sat awake in her tent, sitting up on her cot. "'Ello?" a female voice asked. "huh?" she asked, sitting up. A pretty blond girl walked in, no more than fifteen, "You are Redeemer, yes?" "Yeah" Maria said. "I am Illiana, can you help me get out of here?" the blond asked. "When my friends come back for me, I'll help you get out of here" Maria said. Illiana clapped softly, throwing her arms around Maria in a hug, "Thank you! Thank you! I've been here in this camp for my whole life and I need to get out of here, thank you!" "Why are you here?" Maria asked. "Their leader is my uncle, my mother died when I was born and my father died shortly after, so my uncle took me in. I know I should be happy to be here but I cannot be" Illiana said, her accent getting thicker while tears began to drip down her cheeks. "Hey, don't cry kiddo. My friends are going to help us and we're going to get out of here. I promise" Maria said reassuringly. "You-You mean it?" Illiana sobbed. "I mean it" Maria said. Illiana dropped into a hug with Maria, clinging to her shirt and sobbing. Maria hugged Illiana, letting the girl stay with her.  
Gorge landed the jet in the morning, the motors were so silent the camp didn't even wake to the jet landing. Nikki was the first one off, sniffing the air and racing after Maria's scent. "Maria? Redeemer?" she whispered. "Nikki!" Maria said, bolting upright. Illiana looked over to the woman in the doorway, "Come on, Gorge has the jet waiting." "Who is she?" Illiana whispered to Maria warily, not once taking her gaze off Nikki. "She's a friend" Maria said. Illiana sighed with relief, standing and going with Maria and Nikki. A scream echoed through the camp, Illiana gasped, "What's happening?" Feral slunk up behind her, "Who's this?" She gasped, jumping at his throaty chuckle, "Jumpy isn't she?" Illiana shook, "Don't be afraid kid, I'm not one o' the bad guys anymore." "He is w-with you?" she stammered, gasping at Feral's sharp canined grin. "C'mon kid, we don't have all day" Feral growled. "Feral, Wolverina, how did it go?" Gorge asked. "I'm here" Maria said. "They're pretty much dog meat now" Feral growled, almost a purr of satasfaction. Illiana sivered, this was the worst it got wasn't it?  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Team  
Illiana sat by Redeemer, the jet was going slowly as not to tip off any of the sensors to their prensence. "Where are we going?" Illiana asked. "Home" Maria said, "Man it's been a long time since I could say that." "Are you a mutant Illiana?" Nikki asked, careful not to spook the young girl. "Yes" Illiana said, "Watch." A swirling sliver/white mist covered her feet and she smiled, retracting it, "I can create fog for cover, it has helped me before." Feral chuckled, "and how would that be pum'kin, you pretend t' be a ghost fer Halloweeen?" Illiana looked to Maria, "Is he usually like this?" "A sarcastic $$? Yeah pretty much" Maria said. "Watch it Rexton, remember who's got claws and who doesn't" Feral growled. "Ooh scary tomcat, but not scary enough" Maria said. "Okay, before we start to destroy eachother let's remember that we're all on the same side" 612 said. "I call Vic's side!" Deadpool shouted. "We're not taking sides" Nikki said. "Oh yeah? I'm with Vic" Wade said. "Do they do this often?" Illiana asked. "Depends on the day" Maria said. "We're back" Gorge said. The arguing stopped, everone just seemed glad to be home instead of being stuck with each other.  
"Momma!" Leah shouted, racing over to Nikki. "Hey sweetie" Nikki said, scooping her up and kissing her head. "Can we have lunch now Momma?" Leah asked, puppy-dog eyeing her mom. "Of course sweetie" Nikki said. "Your daughter is beautiful" Illiana said to Logan. "Thanks, what's your name anyway?" he asked. "Illiana" she said. "Illiana, you have a big family?" he asked. "I did" she said. "You haven't seen anything yet" Logan said, smiling. Illiana looked to Maria for an answer. "Logan and Nikki have a big family, I think it comes with them loving each other so much" Maria said. Illiana nodded and walked beside the others into the house. She marveled, the house was huge! and the children, teenagers and the little ones in their playpen all looked related. "Are they the family?" Illiana asked. "Yeah, you get used to them soon enough" Maria said, taking a seat over by the TV. Illiana stood akwardly, looking around since nobody seemed to notice her. "Are you gonna sit down or what?" Josh asked. Illiana turned, "Me?" "Yeah" Josh said. "May I sit here?" she asked, looking to the free spot on the couch. "Yeah, just take it before Kyle gets back" he said, "I'm Josh." "Illiana" she said, blushing in embarassment. "New recruit?" he asked. "I suppose" she said. "Welcome to the team, it can get pretty insane around here" he said. As if on cue, a loud 'WADE!!' echoed through the house and Deadpool got up, remembering what he'd left in the bathroom he had to share with Victor, "Yeah Vic?"  
TBC  
Chapter 4- A Real Family  
Illiana looked outside to the X-Men's jet where Professor Xaiver waited, "Why must I got with them?" "To develop your powers, you may be able to do other things with it than just fog" Maria said. "Thank you Redeemer" Illiana said, hugging Maria tightly. "Awww!" Deadpool said, sniffing, "You really are a mother hen!" "Wade if you don't shut up-" Maria began, raising her fist. "I will see you all again, yes?" Illiana asked. "'Course kiddo, but you might wanna keep them outta the same room with each other" Feral said. Illiana looked to Redeemer and Deadpool who were almost fighting each other and laughed, "I will see you all another day, and do not let them kill each other." 612 chuckled, "Easier said than done." Illiana laughed, waving back to the others. Nikki smiled, waving back as the jet took off. Maria looked around, "I don't know about all of you, but I'm going to miss her." "Aww!" Wade said. "Wade..." Maria began. "Sorry!" he said almost instantly. Victor looked from one of them to the other as the verbal sparring began, "This is better than the tennis they got on TV." 612 laughed, sitting down, "So, this is how things go huh?"  
Logan looked to Nikki, "Want to go do something else?" She smiled, "Like?" "Anything you want to do darlin'" he said. Ignoring the others, she took his hand, smiling, and led him outside. The snow crunched under their boots, but she was just happy to be alone with him. "So, what do you want to do?" she asked, smiling. He took her hand, leading her to the lake where he sat with her on the old iron bench, "I just wanted to get away from them. Darlin, I don't care what we do as long as I get to be with you." She smiled, kissing him deeply, "That's all I want too." He smiled, content to just hold her while they looked out on the moonlit ice covering the lake. "You know, I'm just glad we have this time together, I really wanted some time alone with you" she said. "So, what do you want to do now?" he asked. She grinned, "I think you know what I have in mind." He pulled her into his arms, walking back to the house with her and if the others hadn't stopped fighting he was going to make them so the rest of the night could be devoted to doing exactly what he wanted to do.  
The End

**Revolutionaries**

Chapter 1- Rebels  
The renegade fled the compound just as the device went off, sending off an earth shaking explosion as the building burst into a giant fireball. He panted, holding to the tree for support, Romulus had thought he'd still followed the ways he'd been taught, but ever since he'd seen the light, the other side, there was no reason to. Kyle raced through the forest, back to the jet Amanda waited on. He slowed down, seeing her waiting for him on the steps to the jet's hull. Her long blond hair was pulled back unlike the other times she let it down, her amber eyes glowed with warmth her brother's never had and also unlike her borther she believed there was a different, better way to live than with Romulus's ways. She smiled, not looking up from the flower she absentmidedly twirled in her fingers, "I know you're there Kyle." He walked out of the trees, "We probably should get out of here now. I know some people up north that may help us with this." She looked to him as he sat beside her, "Can't we do something else? You know, be normal? I know that's pretty far for us, but we could always try." "Maybe when we know Romulus can't come after us anymore we'll try, but we should go" he said, tucking his shaggy hair behind his ear. She smiled, "You know, I'm glad you listened to that kid, you really do look cuter now." Kyle blushed and offered her his hand, leading her up into the jet and hopefully to begin the end of this war.  
The Canadian evening was quiet, peaceful in more than one sense of the word, especially for the heroes who had tirelessly calmed an anti-mutant riot earlier that day. Maria was out again, as usual and the night was calmer than most. The hockey game was on, Logan and Victor watching while Nikki sat with them, only paying half attention to the game. "Slapshot dammit slapshot!" Victor shouted at the TV, pulling Nikki from her thoughts. "You okay darlin?" Logan asked, his arm around her. "Yeah, just got distracted is all" she said. "You hear somethin'?" Victor asked, his head perked in the direction of the window. Logan muted the TV and the sound became louder, a jet engine. "Maybe your X-pals stopped for a visit or somethin'" Victor said, taking the remote and turning the volume back on. The jet almost crash-landed into the forest nearby. "Boys I have a feeling that's not the X-Men, they can fly a plane" Nikki said, sitting up. "Oh c'mon I am not missing this game" Victor said. "I gotta agree with Vic today darlin, there's no way I'm missing this game" Logan said. She sighed, "Fine, then I'm going to go find Wade and we'll check this out." "Uh-huh, whatever you say baby" Logan said. Nikki walked upstairs, finding Wade sitting with...a book? "Wade? Is that really you?" she asked. "Need something?" he mumbled, half foucused on her. "Wade, can you put the book down for a minute a jet nearly crashed nearby" she said. "and you want me to come with you to check it out? Sweet!" he said, jumping up and grabbing his uzi's, just in case, "Let's go!" She laughed as he bolted down the hall, eager for a mission.  
Amanda laughed, "It was very brave that you knew how to fly that thing." "I said I could fly but I didn't say I flew WELL" he said embarassedly. She laughed again, "I thought it was fun!" The bushes rustled, Kyle stepped forward, ready to hit whatever was in it. Deadpool jumped up, screaming and Kyle jumped back, shouting. "What the hell did you do that for?" Kyle said. "What was that? Kung fu fists of fury?" Deadpool asked. "Wade? What the hell man?" Kyle asked. "Wade! Where'd you-? Oh, hello Kyle" Nikki said, smiling warmly. "Nikki, Amada this is Nikki, Wolverine's wife, Nikki, Amanda, my girlfriend" Kyle said. "You have a girlfriend? Man I thought that would be impossible!" Wade shouted. Kyle smacked him, blushing. "Ms. Nikki, we need your help" Amanda said.  
TBC

Chapter 2- Reunion  
"What kind of help?" Deadpool asked suspisously. "What other kind of help is there?" Kyle asked. "Back off cat boy I have mad skills you don't want to mess with" Wade said, pulling a kung-fu pose. Kyle growled and Wade backed off, "Or you could have growl power." "Wade, let them talk" Nikki said. "We're against Romulus as you know, we recently destroyed one of his compounds in Nevada" Amanda said. "He was in Nevada this whole time?! And you call yourself a superhero I bet the cops could've figured that one out!" Wade said. Nikki smacked him, "Go on." "The compund was the main one but Romulus didn't hide there, he only came when he needed something. We don't even know where he is" Amanda said, "So will you help us?" "It may take a while, but we're all on the same side as of now, so yes, WE will" Nikki said, "but you have to agree to take us to one of these compounds." Amanda nodded, "It's only fair." Kyle walked with her, partally watching Deadpool whose hand was on his uzi's, ready in a moment's notice. "You sure he's not a skrull?" Kyle whispered to Nikki. "It's a full moon, and nobody can really be sure with him" she whispered back. Amada giggled, making Wade look over, "What?" "Nothing" Kyle said, stifiling a laugh. Wade looked to Nikki, "Am I really that funny?" "At times Wade, at times" she said. "Sweet!" he said. The mansion came into view and Amanda whispered in shock, "Big house." "You get used to it" Kyle said. "You've been here before? I thought you met up with them at Chuck Xaiver's place" Amada said. "When I said the mansion I ment here" he whispered to her. "Oh, well you could've said that" she whispered back.  
The inside was even more spectacular than the outside, and the outside looked small compared to the inside. It looked like a well lived in place, just not messy or anything like that. It looked how a mansion should; a huge flatscreen over the fireplace, couches around the living room they'd stepped into, two huge wingback chairs on either side of the large red couch facing the TV, and the other side looked like a spot for a book club. Amanda smiled at her own thought, they must sit around reading books a lot, or doing something rich people do. "Victor?" she whispered in shock. Last she'd heard her brother had been killed, and the world had been rejoicing. "Mandy? The hell are you doin' here?" he asked in his usual tone, as if he wasn't suprised to see her. Of course he wasn't, 'the great Victor Creed never dies' she thought bitterly. "So, come back from the dead again?" she asked. "Yeah, 'cept this time I really was dead. Sorry to dissapoint you kid" he said, turning back to the game but the edge in his voice told her what she needed to hear. Her older brother still cared about her even if he wasn't going to show it. She walked forward, half hugging him like she used to, exept this time it was different, she didn't need to convince herself he was still around, or thought about her or anything like that. Nikki smiled, sitting beside Logan while Kyle sat directly across from Victor in the other chair, "Vic" he adressed. "Kyle" Victor said, nodding in Kyle's direction. Logan looked to Nikki, "That's her brother" she whispered. There wasn't much of a family resemblance, aside from their matching blond hair, amber eyes and claws. Her bright amber eyes went to Kyle, relaxing back in the chair as the game ended and Victor changed channels to The Simpsons. "So, what'cha been doin' all this time rugrat?" Victor asked. "Joined up with Romulus after you managed to break out and go down your own path of destruction, right to right-hand man. Then I met Kyle and we broke out, taking the compound out with us" Amanda said, smiling at her memories. "Nice to know YOU had a good life" Victor said jokingly. Kyle grinned at Amanda, knowing full well Victor would get the whole story and the rant that came with it soon enough. Wade had gone off to the kitchen and Logan was enjoying watching the little drama unfolding between brother and sister. Nikki smiled, kissing is neck gently, "Having fun?" He turned to her, "It's better than the rerun." She nudged him playfully, smiling and turned back to them, eager to hear whatever stories that would unfold.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Tracking  
The trees rushed by in a blur as they ran, their natural instincts taking over beyond the control they'd all exerted over it. It waa one of the first times Daken had let his control slip, the feeling of his inner instincts was too unknown, unlike Victor, Kyle, Amanda and his parents, all coursing through the trees effortlessly, tracking whatever scents thry could pick up. He'd fallen behind, unable to really let his control down all the way for fear of not being able to come back from it. He sighed, letting his guard down, 'It can't be that hard can it?' he thought and suddenly, with his untouched instincts he raced forward, quickly advancing past the others after the scent they were tracking. Victor chuckled, half aware himself, "Like father like son huh?" he called ahead. Logan gave a warning growl and advanced after Daken, Nikki following. Daken stopped at the compound fence, waiting for the others. "You've been here before?" Logan asked. "Only once, I'm suprised I could find it again" Daken said. "So, what's the plan love?" Nikki asked, holding his arm as she leaned beside him. "We're going in, hopefully getting some intel and getting out as fast as possible" Logan said. "Sounds good, ready?" Daken asked. Logan nodded, taking Nikki's hand in his and smiling to her confidently. She smiled back, nodding back to him. Daken gave the signal and they charged at the compound, taking out the defences first. Logan sliced through the door, racing in. Nikki and Amanda covered the intel, taking files and disks while the boys covered them. "Take this and get out of here!" Nikki said, hearing the return fire. "What about you?" Mandy asked. "Get Kyle, Victor and Daken and head out, Logan and I will follow you" Nikki said, her claws coming down and she charged out into the fray. The four fell back, following Amanda out to the trail they'd led back to the road.  
Logan blocked most of the fire with his claws, taking out a few more guards, while Nikki covered him. The guards started to converge, leaving one exit open, "Get out of here!" Logan shouted. "Not without you I'm not!" Nikki yelled back, the slaughter continuing. Logan pulled her around a corner, taking her in his arms and kissing her deeply, "Listen to me, get out of here and I'll come find you soon." She panted, breathless and nodded, "I'll be outside and If you don't get out there in ten minutes I'm coming back in for you." He gently pushed her shoulder, covering her as she made her escape. She waited in the brush, checking her watch every few seconds until ten minutes passed. She crept silently to the compound, the hall was empty besides the carnage they'd left behind. She heard voices from down the corridor, stalking after them. "Logan" she gasped softly, seeing him fighting against the adamatium chains. She ducked under the metal stairs, her claws coming down as they started down the stairs. She waited until Logan had moved forward before she reached out her claws, cutting the tendons in the backs of their ankles. Stepping out from beneith the metal stairway, she lept up, catching the rail and swinging herself over so her claws sunk into them without a sound. Logan looked to her with a small smile of suprise, "I didn't think you could kill like that." She smiled slyly, "Baby I can do anything if I want to." Grinning promisingly, he took her hand in his and pulled her back the way they'd came.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Intel  
The group had made it home safely with Nikki and Logan following shortly after. "So, what're we going to do with all this?" Kyle asked. "Start reading" Daken said, tossing a small stack of files Kyle's way. "This is your version of payback isn't it?" Kyle asked. "This is work, you'll KNOW when it's payback" Daken said, giving one of his old evil smiles. "and you STILL scare the $#^% outta me" Kyle said softly, looking down to supress the shiver Daken's evil smile caused. "Pathetic" Victor muttered. "I heard that" Kyle said. "I wasn't talkin' about you kid, although that might fit right about now. I'm talkin' about this %^&# here, names Kestrel, thought he was indestructable. Got his $$ handed to him by yours truly too" Victor growled, almost purring at the memory. "Even as a good guy YOU still scare me, that never changed. You know, I have a feeling it's just the guys like you that even if they're good guys they can still scare the crap out of a guy" Kyle said. "And would I be able to scare you too Kyle?" Nikki asked, her cold hand touched his skin and he jumped, still dazzled by her sedutive purr. "Damn! Woman you're multi-talented" Kyle said, clutching his chest. Amanda smacked him, a low growl escaping her. "What I do?" Kyle asked. Nikki chuckled, walking off to the kitchen, most of the men in the room staring after her. "Guys damn that's my stepmom!" Daken said, smacking both Kyle and Victor, "and both of you are supposed to be taken." "Well I may be taken but that doesn't mean I don't like what I see" Kyle said. Victor chuckled, "Well I wouldn't say that in front of my woman if I were you, 'specially that woman." Kyle looked over to Amanda who had rage burning in her amber eyes, "Shut. Up. Right. Now. Kyle. Gibney." Each word was its own sentance and he knew she was on the verge of killing him or kissing him, "Sorry baby, she just reminds me of you's all" he said, giving her a pathetic puppy look to ease her rage. She smiled, leaning over and kissing his cheek, "Now get to work I'm not sitting here all night with this." He nodded, "Yes ma'am." Victor growled, "Keep your paws off my little sister." "Viccy, what if I don't want him to?" Amanda purred, looking to Kyle. If Victor'd been drinking something he surely would've choked, taken aback he didn't answer. Daken busted up laughing, "Kyle?! Woman you've lost it!" Kyle half-blushed, his cheeks turning a light red.  
Logan turned to Nikki in the kitchen, "I'm glad we got them on our side otherwise I might never know what goes on in that kid's mind." "Which one?" Nikki asked. "Both of 'em, but I really don't want to anymore" he chuckled, helping her cook. "I think it's sweet, everybody's getting paired up with who they really want. Not everyone is as lucky as us, apperantly we ferals find our mates relitvely easily." Logan grinned, "So, later..." "Anything you want love" she purred, kissing him deeply.  
The End (for now)

**Hunter and Prey**

Chapter 1- Coma  
The battles were just like they always had been, bloodshed unimangineable to a normal person. None of the X-Warriors were exactly what you could call 'normal'. The team was fairing pretty well given they were outnumbered and ourgunned, but most of them liked the odds. Logan was one of the two that didn't, he almost could feel it in the air, they had to back out while they had the chance. He'd had feelings like this before, only when his mate was in danger and he was taking no chances. He stayed at her side no matter what, keeping her from harm and as the second team of 'god only knows who sent them' soldiers, he gently nudged her behind him, the feeling of absolute panic increasing. "Gorge, we've got to get out of here, now!" Logan said. "There aren't that many of them and none of them have radios, they're the last resort backup. We take them and this is over" Gorge said, "It'll be quick and easy okay?" He shook his head, but followed Gorge's lead, most of the time the other man knew what he was doing. 'Most of the time' that annoying little voice in his head said.  
Logan faintly remembered a conversation he'd had with Cyber a long time ago, something about how every one of the women he'd loved had been killed because Romulus had sicked someone on them. The pieces fell together and the panic increased again, they were the last resort, because they were some of the best. Against anyone they'd probably win, depended on the person, and they'd been sent by Romulus against them. The soldiers opened fire, in a swift move, Logan gripped Nikki's wrist, forcing her down behind a few parked cars. "Logan" she said softly, "Something's wrong." A loud blast shook the ground, shattering the windows above them. "Stay here, I don't want anything happening to you" he said softly, pressing his lips to hers briefly before charging back into the fight. The soldiers weren't faring too well with him there, but an incredibly loud explosion stopped most of the fighting, with the exeption of Feral killing the last few. The hail of sniper machine gun fire was cut short, Time Warrior teleporting back with the body. Logan raced, hoping it hadn't been directed where he thought it had. His heart missed a beat, just seeing how badly she'd fared against a team sent to her. He knelt at her side, gently lifting her into his arms, "Darlin, please be alright." She lay in his arms, still unmoving. Deadpool appreared over his shoulder, "Damn what'd they do to her?" Logan just shook his head, unsure of anything. "She's alive, but out cold. When we get back to your place we'll have Hank come up, 'kay Logan?" Gorge said. Logan nodded, his only concern for his mate.  
Coma. The word echoed with a pang of pain, "What?" Logan asked. "Somehow, she's in a coma. I wish I could do more but..." Hank trailed off. Logan looked down at her, he could only see her but he longed for her voice, her laugh, her smile. "Will she come out of it?" Gorge asked. "It's impossible to say, I can only hope so" Hank said, "Tell me if anything changes." Gorge nodded, looking over to Logan who held Nikki's hand in his own, stroking her hair gently. "Talk to her" Gorge said. "What?" Logan asked. "She'll hear you and it might wake her up, just talk to her. Let her know you're here" Gorge said, "I'm gonna go handle this with the others." Logan nodded, the moment Gorge left he looked back down to her, wishing he'd been there with her. "Wake up" he whispered, "I love you. I'm here waiting for you. Wake up, please darlin, that's all I need." He shut his eyes, stroking her hand and hummed her lullaby. He felt her gently squeeze his hand and his eyes opened, her hand had moved! He continued whispering to her, soft words of encouragement, urging her to wake and find him there. He sat with practiced patence, humming her lullaby and gently stroking her hand, watching her face. "Logan?" Gorge asked. "Yeah?" Logan turned, looking to Gorge. "The others are downstairs waiting for you" Gorge said. "In a minute" Logan replied. He heard a soft, musical chuckle.  
"Dont wait on my account" her soft voice said. He turned, a sudden light in his eyes as he saw, her eyes open, her lips turned into a smile, "I missed you too." He embraced her tightly, holding her to his chest and breathing in her scent. "God I missed you baby" he whispered, gently stroking her back. "I love you too, and yes, I could hear you. All that time you kept giving me a reason to try to wake up" she said softly, her warm breath on his neck. He kissed her deeply, the numbness in his heart receeding. She giggled, "I'm still not a hundred percent love, you might want to tone down the enthusiasm for a few more hours." Gorge looked at them, "I'm suprised, I thought the minute you woke up you'd kick me out and have your way with him." "I will. Later" she said, grinning brightly, "How long was I out anyway?" "Almost twelve hours" Logan said, stroking her face, "It was the longest, most excrusiating twelve hours of my life." He leaned over, kissing her gently and stayed at her side. "Just tell the others to come up here, apperantly I can't get out of bed" Nikki said. "Not with everything you've been though today you're not" Logan said, "Maybe tomorrow." "That depends on whether I let you out of bed tomorrow now doesn't it?" she purred, sighing happily. He sat back, taking her in his arms and letting her rest against his chest, "I don't think I'd mind." "I'm leaving you two alone now, try to wait until I get downstairs" Gorge said, closing the door and almost running away.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Life  
Logan was incredibly gentle as he kissed her awake. "Don't act like I'm so fragile" she said sleepily, snuggling closer to him. "Be careful, I know the worst passed but you're still not all the way healed" he said, gently taking her in his arms as if she were breakable. "You didn't act this careful last night" she said, smiling and running her fingers along his arm, attempting to soothe his worry. "I should've been" he said softly. She sighed, "Exactly what did Hank say happened to me?" "Well, for starters your coma, then the fact that you'd actually managed to avoid getting shot aside from the cuts and scrapes you managed to get a few bruised ribs. How you managed all that in five minutes I'll never know, but I'm saying you should stay in bed again today." "Not a chance" she said, starting to lift herself up. He waited at her side, "There's no way I can convince you is there?" "No" she said, almost falling back as a sudden pain hit her. He caught her and held her to him, "Will you stay in bed now?" "No, I have other things to do than lay around all day" she said, allowing him to keep his arm around her in case the pain came back. Succesfully, she'd managed to get through her morning routine, letting him stay close by if she needed him, and she moved onto the kids.  
"We have to get them up you know" she said, slipping his arm from her waist. He smiled, "Don't push yourself, if it starts hurting let me take care of them." She smiled at his concern, tapping at the older of the kids' doors, "Aron! Josh! Time to get up!" she called in. "5 more minutes!" Josh shouted out. Logan chuckled, "I'll handle him, just go get the girls up, if you can." Nikki eased open the door to Lana and Laura's room, "Girls, it's time to get up." Lana poked her head out from under the blankets, "5 more minutes." "Your brother just used that one, we've got things to do today" Nikki said, nudging Lana awake. "Fine" she grumbled, stalking off to the bathroom. "Somone's in a mood this morning" Laura chuckled, a bright smile on her normally gllomy features. "You've got to get up too, we all have things we're doing today" Nikki said. Laura smiled, "Wouldn't miss it." She moved to the other rooms, taking care of the younger kids and then the little ones, Sal helping her with Tayla. "I've never seen a mom multitask like that" he said, watching as she got Shawn and Gabby ready at the smae time. "It'd be better if I had more than two hands though" she said, smiling brightly. Sal took the little ones downstairs and Nikki smiled, "See? That wasn't so hard now was it?" "Forgot one" Logan said, gesturing to Daken's room. "He's learned to tune me out, he sleeps until he wants to anyway" Nikki said, "Besides, he's old enough not to need his mom to wake him up. He'll get up when he's ready." "and I start wondering why I sleep in when I miss all this" Logan said, chuckling. "You didn't miss it, it just barely happens when they all actually get up the first time I say something" she said, smiling. "Listen, darlin', Vic's dyin' for a scrap and if you didn't mind-" he began. "There is no way I'm letting you go after Romulus with Victor" she growled, "Hell will freeze over and Blackheart will start snowball fights before I let you even THINK of it." Logan chuckled, "Not now I'm not, you're my life and there is no way I'm leaving you while you're in pain." "Logan" she sighed, "I love you too." He gently wrapped his arms around her, kissing her deeply and hoping that this one thing they had would never end.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Battle  
It had been nearly a week, and Nikki had been building up her strength and energy to get her own revenge. The X-Warriors couldn't get involved in this, this wasn't their fight. Logan, Daken and Nikki went out on the jet at sundown, when the soldiers would be on high alert. Nikki looked to them, her rage building up, she deserved part of this but not them. They hadn't done anything worthy of deserving what torture they'd been put through their whole lives, she'd been one to fight everything and everybody, she had better reason to deserve it. "Darlin, you alright?" Logan murmered softly to her. "Yeah, fine" she replied, an icy edge to her voice. He switched on the autopilot, taking her face in his hands, "I love you. No matter what, we are all in this together. You are my life now, ever since we'd met I knew you'd be my life and I don't care about them or fighting or anything but our life now. You, our family, that's the only thing now, and I wouldn't have it any other way." Daken smiled, "So, anybody up for killing these &%#*s now?" Nikki smiled, "All for it."  
Logan led them in, quickly and efficantly taking out the guards and going into the base's heart. "Oh my god" Nikki whispered, her gloved hand covering her mouth in horror. Cages. Cages of what used to be people, experemented on until they resembled horror movie monsters. One after the other, locked tightly and their dying groans floated up to the balcony. Daken looked away, "I-I never knew...If I had I never would've joined them." Nikki smpatheticly put her hand on Daken's shoulder, she knew how things got when you got involved in something you'd never imagined people were capible of. "Please...help..us" someone said from the large, disfigured shell of a person they'd once been. Other cries rose up to them, most begging for death, others for freedom. Nikki darted forward, taking the metal steps two at a timeto free the people. They had only been in the wrong place at the wrong time, they'd been innocent people just like she'd used to be. Daken and Logan followed her lead, taking mercy on the people that begged for death, too ashamed of their new apperances or their new monstrosites to wish for life and letting the others who wanted to live be free. A soft chuckle was heard from behind them. "This is how you live? How can you make innocent people beg for death?! How can you do this to people you monster?!" Nikki shouted, truning to the shadows with blazing rage in her eyes, making them glow inhumanly. "Easily my dear, after all, Daken of all of us knows what his life is like" Romulus said, the only feature seen from the shadows besides his hulking outline was his soulless black eyes. "I never knew" Daken said, shame overtaking his own anger. "Oh but you did know, all those times you've killed innocents were you so much different? Making them beg for death as I have?" Romulus asked. Daken looked down, "I never enjoyed it that much." "Yes, you were bored with this life, so sick of all the killing and the blood, but you still enjoyed it. You still took pleasure in hearing your victims beg for mercy" Romulus said, almost smugly. "He's nothing like you you heartless creature!" Nikki shouted, "He's young, he didn't know any other way thanks to you!" "Oh I'm the creature now? Am I so different than when you were with Sawyer?" Romulus asked. Her eyes burned with tears, "I wasn't able to control it then." "Oh yes you could, and you knew very well you could. That didn't stop you from taking every last drop of blood from his body did it?" Romulus said, once again smug. "At least I accept I'm a monster" Nikki said softly, her eyes going over to her family, "And I would never hurt a living being as you've done." "You will, kill your mate and son or pay the price" Romulus said. Nikki looked away in horror, "Never." "Than you'll pay the price" Romulus growled. A large cage door opened, and a dark figure lumbered for the light of the large lab room...  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Monster  
The huge thing lumbered forward, its skin was a light silver, as if stained by metal. The monster looked to them, as if begging like the others. "Cyber?" Nikki whispered, walking forward. "Yes, Cyber has been a thorn in my side far too long" Romulus sighed, going farther into the shadows, "Perhaps you'll grant him as he wishes, a merciful death, but perhaps I may keep my promise to turn him back if he kills you instead." Romulus returned to the shadows, leaving them with the monster that had once been Cyber. He lay down, bowing his head as if to tell them to end it now. "He'll just come back in another body anyway" Daken muttered, "Go ahead." Logan looked to Nikki, "He owes me, I saved his $$ once already. Cyber, you're bustin' us outta here and then I'll help you find the antidote to whatever he did to you." Cyber looked up, his now black eyes glittering with a new light. He readied himself, charging at the wall and breaking through the brick. Logan smiled, "Alright, now to get this as close to ending it as we can." The few soldiers left quickly faced their wraith, before Cyber broke into the lab. "Where is it?" Nikki asked. Cyber knocked a syringe to the edge of the table, edging it twoard Nikki. She nodded, picking it up and quickly injecting him with it. A shudder rippled the monster's form, slowly morphing him back into the Cyber they knew. He stood, cracking his bones, "I'd suggest you all get out of here while you can, this is about to get messy." "Damn straight it will, we're goin' with you" Logan said, his claws coming down.  
The helicopter was almost 30 feet in the air when they reached the outside, "We're too late" Daken sighed. "No. We're not" Logan said, "Throw me." "What?" Cyber asked. "Fastball special, aim for the motor" Logan growled. Nikki shut her eyes, "You better not die or I'll kill you." Cyber grunted, throwing Logan as hard as he possibly could in the helicopter's direction. "Holy $#^%" Daken said softly, watching Logan do a perfect backflip and land close to them as the 'copter went down in the trees. "Good enough" Logan said, "Managed to get the pilot." Nikki threw her arms aroung Logan's neck, "Don't you dare do that again! You'll give me a heart attack!" He chuckled, stroking her hair, "I won't baby, not when you're with me." Daken looked over to Cyber, "Yeah they do this a lot." Cyber laughed, "Looks like I owe you twice Logan." "Do me a favor Cyber, stay the hell away from my family" Logan growled, keeping his arms around Nikki. "Will do, just do me a favor, stay out of my way" Cyber said. Logan nodded, walking off to the jet with Nikki and Daken to go home. All he wanted to do was just relax for a while.  
The End


	7. Part 7

**Bullet For My Valentine (OS)**

New York, 1987  
The mob war between the Black Irish and the Italian streached from the quiet towns of Maine down to the grittiest parts of one of Calafornia's great cities, San Fransisco. The mob war wasn't the only war going on. The Donnely clan had shacked up in the city a little more than 2 years ago, when things had gone to hell for them up in San Fransisco. Nikki perched on the edge of a building, her eyes sweeping the darkening city for potential threats to her new clan. She was a traveler, never staying in one place long. She'd seen the world, and the horrors that inhabited it and yet, she still kept going. Her own personal war was coming, and she knew it. After almost 70 years Cassius was still chasing her, the momentary peace after every battle before he'd resumed hunting her again had ended very recently. That was why she'd joined up with the Donnelys in the first place. Unlimited firearms, unlimited resources she could easily access, 'I like to see Cassius try to get out of this one' she tought bitterly. The moon was partialy covered with the snow clouds, sending heavy, yet soft snow down onto the city below. A flash of golden in the moonlight and she smiled, if you could call it that, and turned back for the building, she had a hunt tonight.  
The small apartment was all she'd ever needed, the Donnelys trusted her enough to provide her with whatever she'd needed, including a fully stacked weapons room. She loaded two handguns, keeping them in the holsters on her belt before slipping a few knives down her bootlaces. She went down the back stairwell, her leather trenchcoat carrying the weapons she'd need. The snow had picked up, bathing the city in a dense, white fog. 'As if I really needed a blizzard now' she thought. "Hello again love" his velvet voice called to her. She whipped around, the knives flipping through her fingers as she cut at him. He moved silently, fluidly, like a ghost rather than a vampire. He griped her wrist, drawing it to his mouth, "Still such warm, sweet blood running through your veins." He breathed in her scent, twisting her back so she slammed against the other building. His lips traced her vein, breathing in her scent. She used her free hand, stabbing his side. He threw her back, the wearhouse window breaking around her. She turned, flipping out a handgun and getting a few shots out. He still charged at her, throwing her into the old crates, "Have you said hello to my prisoner?" Cassius purred, sending chills of fear down her spine. He pulled her forward, the broken wood leaving scratches along her exposed neck. The other vampire was different, he looked to her with concern and smiled when she glanced at him, registering his presence. Her tied back hair began to fall along her neck, Cassius chuckled as he slipped a strand back, "Shall we forget the petty games love?" "I will when you do" she hissed, drawing the only weapon that survived being thrown through the wearhouse. He gripped her wrist, crushing her with his grip. She cried out, dropping her dagger as he releced her wrist. "I come to you to make peace, and you retaliate with human weapons. How tipical" he growled. The other vampire leaned forward, his chains brushing the floor, "Are you alright?" She shook her head, biting her lip to keep from cursing. "I'm Zander, I'll get you out of here" he whispered, "Just be very, very still." She nodded, still gripping her crushed wrist in a futile attempt to stop the pain. Zander took her dagger from the floor, freeing himself and charging at Cassius. Cassius had time to react, taking the handgun he'd slipped from her other holster and takinga shot. Zander reacted faster, stabbing deep and clutching his side, "You never threaten a woman, every man should know that." Cassius howled in pain, tossing Zander back and racing for the snowy outside, "Until the future..love." Nikki went to Zander, "Are you insane?! He could've killed you!" "Made it even more worth it" he said, chuckling weakly. "You're the most absurd person I've met in a very long time" she said, a genuine smile forming. "Well, then it seems like I'm someone to remember" he said. "I'm not sure it's possible to forget someone stupid enough to jump in front of a psycho like that" she said, laughing. "Well then, I may be stupid but I would very much like to take you to dinner, after all it is valentie's day" he said. "You know, I think we will. That is, after you've healed" she said. "Well then, it's a date" he said, smiling brightly.  
~Now~  
Nikki looked out the window of the library, chuckling at the irony of her memory. Logan slid his arms around her waist, kissing the back of her neck, "What's so funny darlin?" "Just...what used to be versus what is, I thought before I'd taken a stone and made a dimond, when really all I had to do was go farther into New York to find a real dimond. I hope you don't mind being compared to a rock used for jewlery my love" she said, snuggling into his arms. "Nah, as long as I've got you you can call me anything you want" he said, kissing the base of her throat. She smiled, running her fingers through his hair, "I love you eternally." He held her tightly, "and I love you eternally, never forget that." She wouldn't.  
The End

**Killer In The Red Sand**

Chapter 1- Moon Demons  
Green Lake, New Mexico  
The small town was isolated, the only connections to the outer world were the phone and the internet, but without power the little town would be cut off from everything. The two figures stalked along the too small moutians boardering the West of the little town, their skin glowing inhumanly in the moonlight. The male smiled to his mate, "Shall we love?" "We shall" the female replied, baring rows of razor sharp fangs and racing into the town alongside her mate.  
Miguel Sanchez looked up from his comic book in his attic room over the garage as the lights went out. He went to the window, looking out as the whole town lost power. "Miguel" his grandmother whispered, her voice filled with worry, "This is what I've warned you about. Get your things and go get your car, go to Roswell or Roamer, anywhere we can get help." Miguel obediently grabbed his constantly packed duffel, his only other belongings were locked in the back of his ancient Chevy, one of the few cars Chevy ever made aside from the huge trucks most of the other guys had. Miguel packed the leather backpack with a small stack of comic books he'd been working on and his laptop and raced downstairs to the garage. He grabbed the flashlight and the keys off the rusted workbench and unlocked the trunk, tossing his things in and locking it again, racing into the cab of his old Chevy. He gasped, what was he doing? He couldn't leave now, he had to do as the heroes did and fight. A peircing scream filled the air, "Abuela!" he shouted, slamming the car door and slipping the keys in his pocket. The beam of the flashlight bounced on the tile of the kitchen as he entered the main house, an inhuman slurping noise coming from the living room. A monster, looking as if it had been made from the moonbeam itself the way it's skin glowed, it's mouth covered in blood, was feeding. Miguel was too frightened to yell, or fight. The creature turned to him, crouching in a pounce stance and readying itself. Horrifed, Miguel raised one hand to block his face as a blast came from his palm, making the creature fall back in pain. He looked at his hand, the glow was almost as bright as the sun, yet it toned down the moment he looked at it, willing it to stop altogether. The female rushed in to cover her blinded and burnt mate, hissing inhumaly at Miguel as he dashed out to the car in fear. He backed out of the drive, not getting very far when a large black quinjet landed in his path, a yellow and blue clad angel striding twoard him.  
"Miguel Sanchez?" she asked in a hipnotizingly beautiful voice. "Si?" he asked. "Come with us" she said, gesturing for him to drive into the quinjet. He nodded, dazed and did as she'd motioned. Stepping out of the cab, he turned back to face her, seeing her with a few others, "What about the Moon Demons?" he asked, "We can't just leave the others to die." "Moon Demons?" she asked. "Si, creatures that are by myth made from beams sent by the dark side of the moon. They hunt people and drink their blood to stay on this earth and not have to return to the land which they came" Miguel said. "Sounds like a local load of bull-" the blond male began. "Victor" she cut him off. "Dios! You're Sabretooth! A-And you're Wolverina! You're the X-Warriors!" Miguel said, joy overtaking the panic he'd felt moments before, "You've come to save us!" "Actually, they came to recriut you for ol' Chuck Xaiver's but I'll kill something if ya need me to" Victor said, cracking his knuckles. Miguel stepped back in fear, "Victor" Nikki repremanded, as though he were a child. Logan stepped forward, "Where are they?" "In-in the village, they've attacked mi casa" Miguel said. "Anybody understand him?" Deadpool asked, trying to lighten the mood. "He said they attacked his home stupido" Maria said, walking off the jet. "That I understand" Deadpool said, walking of after her. "Stay here, we'll be back" Nikki said, giving a comforting smile before locking Miguel in the jet while they went to face the creatures.  
Logan sniffed the air, following a familar scent. "What is it?" Nikki whispered, staying close behind him. "Vampires, as usual" he whispered back. She relaxed, "They may not be bad, they may just be nomads like James and Victoria used to be." "Nomads hunting here?" he asked. "Your point? Victoria and James used to hunt outside Phoenix" she said. A low growl came from one of the buildings. Nikki slid ahead and went beyond the door, seeing the vampire and her badly burned mate. She gasped in shock, Miguel didn't even know how to use his power and yet he'd caused a lot of damage. The vampire spoke, an old ancient launguage she'd heard before. "What's she speaking?" Logan asked, "I've never heard it." "Because it's not human, it's Elysian" Nikki said softly. Nikki spoke the same language to the vampire, the other female backed off and let Nikki see just how bad of damage Miguel had caused. The female said something, almost begging, and Nikki replied with an empathic tone. "Her name's Aiara, her mate's Jessanial, she knows he's not going to make it if we don't help them" she said softly. "They attacked that kid" Logan said. "Only because they were thirsty. They just escaped being imprisoned by someone here, Logan if that were you and I wouldn't you want someone to help us?" Nikki asked, her tone sympathetic to the other female. He sighed, "I'd do anything for you." "And I you, you know how they feel. We need to help them" she said. Logan helped the male to his feet, his wounds were slowly healing but they couldn't continue healing much longer if he didn't feed. Nikki steadied the female, reassuring her kindly. The crunch of tires on gravel alerted them to someone backing out. They passed the weakened vampires to their teammates, turning to see a large red truck staring them down, the familiar halogen lights blinding. A wave of panic overcame every vampire there, the female spoke in Elysian but Nikki knew all to well hat she was saying. "What'd she say?" Gorge asked. "Slayer" Nikki whispered, staring at the front of the truck that almost promised doom.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Slayer  
Logan stepped protectivly in front of Nikki, a low warning growl slipping through his teeth. She took his hand, squeezing it tightly and looking to him in fear. "Don't worry baby, I'm not letting him anywhere near you" he said softly, so only she could hear. "What's going on? Who are you people?" a woman asked, stepping out of the truck's cab. "Dios! Mercedes!" Miguel shouted. "Miguel?" she asked, "You know them?" She kept one hand warily in the cab of the truck, "The woman's like them." "Si, but she's good. They are the X-Warriors, the heroes I was telling you about. They've captured the moon demons" Miguel said. Mercedes stepped forward, leaving her weapon in the truck, "Miguel, what did you do to it?" "I got powers Mercedes! I'm like them and I defeated it!" Miguel said proudly, "What do you think?" "You almost killed him Miguel, that's not somethig you should be proud of" Nikki said, "He and his mate had been imprisoned and they'd only been thirsty. If they hadn't been here nothing would've happened." Mercedes gasped, "Aiara? Jessanial? Dios Miguel, what have you done to him?!"  
She rushed forward, Aiara pulling her into a tight embrace. "Mercedes?" Miguel asked. "Dr. Molina had them imprisoned, he was going to experement on them when I set them free. They taught me their language while I helped them escape, but somehow they must've gotten thirsty and come back from the ridge.." Mercedes said, "I have to go with them!" "Unless you're a mutant kid, we don't have room" Victor growled in attempt to scare her off. "Well, in that case, I can come" Mercedes said, "and if you value your life you won't stop me." "What can you do?" Deadpool asked, "If it's the power of fear you don't scare me." She smiled evily, morphing into a demon-like creature and roaring at Deadpool. He ducked behind Maria, "Good to know." "We have to hurry if we want both of them to make it out of here alive" Nikki said, guiding the vampires. Mercedes raced back to the old red truck, taking out her bag and slamming the door. "Sorry kid, loose the car there's too much weight on here as is" Victor said. Miguel nodded, taking out his things and allowing Tw to teleport it down to the road. "Where to?" Gorge asked once he was back. "Xaiver's and push it to Mach 20, we need to get there soon" Nikki said, her magic slowly healing Jessanial's wounds. Aiara looked to Mercedes, "Will she heal him?"  
"Neah! You speak english!" Deadpool shouted. "Very well actualy, I've been here since the late 19th century" Aiara said. "So have we" Victor said, "Some since a hundred years before that." "and more" Nikki muttered, glaning at Victor briefly. "You callin' me old?" Victor asked. "If the shoe fits buy it in every color" Maria said softly, giggling. Nikki smiled, "That answer your question?" "I'm sure he's not older than me" Jessanial said, his velvet voice weak. Aiara sighed, dropping to his side, "My love, how are you?" "Better, now that I see you're alright my darling" he said, taking her hand and gently kissing it. Nikki looked to Logan, "Not so far off huh?" "Just a bit" Logan said softly, leaning down to kiss her deeply. "We're almost there" Gorge called over to them. "Hank knows to keep the lab stocked if we get vcisitors like yourselves, you'll be fine there" Nikki said. "How can we ever repay you?" Aiara asked, olding her mate's hand between her own. Nikki smiled, "Stay out of trouble, and stay with him. He loves you, and you may want to settle down, it's not as bad as it seems." Jessanial chuckled, "We may take your advice, it's been far too long since we've had a place to call home."  
The jet landed, Miguel and Mercedes along with Aiara and Jessanial stepped off to the waiting team, "Thank you for going out for us, we've been a bit busy now that the mutant gene seems to have reactivated" Professor Xaiver said. "No problem Charlie, all yout have to do is ask" Logan said. Nikki smiled, "You're welcome Charles." The Professor nodded, and let the team go home. "You know, all I can wonder is if we'll be like that in a few hundred years" Logan said softly, holding Nikki against him while he stroked her back. "Maybe, although I thought more along the lines of it still being like it is now, exept our kids may move out, but close by and have familes of their own" she said. "Why did I have to bring that up?" he asked himself. "Logan, every father worries when his baby gets married, I'm sure mine was haunting the wedding himself, but it all works out in the end for people like us" she said, kissing his neck. "Nothing in the world could've kept me from you" he said, taking her hand and intertwining their fingers. "and one day it'll be the same for them. After all, they do have their father's determanation" she said, smiling. "and their mother's never-take-no-for-an-answer personalitly. I mean that in a good way baby" he said. "You better" she purred, kissing him deepy, "Or I may just have to make you sleep on the couch." "As I've said, nothing can keep me from you, not even yourself" he said, kissing her again. 'We'll see about that' the elder thought, watching through his looking-glass.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Elder  
The pale white of the snowcloud covered sun streamed through the spot where the curtians weren't fully closed. Logan smiled, the peacefulness of a sleeping-in morning setting in. Ever so lightly he brushed a strand of Nikki's hair from her face, holding her tightly while she slept. He aloowed his mind to wander, the thoughts of the previous night slipping back into his mind. He smiled, he knew all the secrets of pleasing her and more. She sighed, streatching a bit, "Morning love." "Listening in on my thoughts?" he asked, grinning. "Well, even when I'm asleep I'm still connected to you. Besides, I needed something to wake me up, and those thoughts were...just what I needed" she said, smiling. "You know we don't have to get up yet" he said. "So what would we do?" she asked. He kissed her neck, slipping the covers back up over them, "Anything you want." She sighed, snuggling close to him, he'd told her about the feelings he'd gotten whenever she'd been in danger. They were so closely connected they could hear each others thoughts when they wanted to, and knew what the other was feeling always, so why was it a supprise to know when the other was in danger? She knew of his feelings, but this was one of her own. "Let's just stay here today, the team can't be that needy can they?" she said, kissing him passionatly. He eased her back, "You're just worried about me aren't you?" "I'm getting one of those feelings Logan, we should stay here" she said. "If whatever happens happens, you don't want them to be here do you?" he asked. She shook her head, "But I'm staying with you." He nodded, "As long as nothing happens to you I'm fine with that."  
Not as far as you would've thought away, 'the elder' stared into his looking glass, "Dare he! It takes a truly foolish man to love a woman far higher than him." The elder spoke with bitterness, for he himself had lost his love because she was a lower class than him, if only the times had been different! The elder grimly sent a message to his mage, "Find the fool, and bring him here! I don't care if you have to drag my neice along with him just bring them here and spare me the waste of time hunting them." "Yes master" his mage replied, slinking off to find the mates. Logan had never minded the crisp winter air, he only cared what the temperature was if his mate was cold. It was a perfect day to track deer, the hoof prints were fresh in the snow, their scents strong. "Two pairs and a fawn" Nikki said softly, brushinga lock of her hair back from the wind. He smiled, taking her hand to help her up. Aside from Silver Fox, he'd never thought a woman could look so beautiful in clothes for tracking deer in the Canadian winters, but he'd known himself wrong when she'd come outside in her gear, ready for the long hike and the cold weather. There was a soft snapping of twigs and she stopped suddenly, the feeling getting stronger. "Logan, we have to turn back" she whispered. "Getting close?" he asked. "Yeah" she whispered. He stepped in front of her, his claws sliding down on one hand, "If this gets too dangerous, start running." An arrow fired through the trees, clipping te side of the tree behind them as she made him duck. The arrows came one at a time, never from the same spot, always a few feet right, as if the archer was running away. Logan went into 'tracking mode', following the archer's scent. Nikki sprinted after him, unwilling to let anything happen to her mate. Suddenly, the ground caved and they landed in a hole, about 10 feet deep. She jumped, trying to catch the sides when they heard a laugh, "Stubborn little thing aren't you princess?" Logan growled, "Watch what you say to my wife, make me less angry and I may let you live through this." "Your wife?!" another voice shouted, "You married her?!" "Well no $#^% Captian Obvious, of course he did why else would we be our in the woods together? And if you say 'chance' I'm gonna-" Nikki began. Logan caught her raised fist and smiled, "What? Cut his &^&% off?" Nikki giggled, "I hadn't thought of that, thanks love." "Stop it, don't you realize you've married beneith you?" the voice asked. "and I would care why? I turned down the whole princess of the vampires thing a LONG time ago" she said, sliding into Logan's arms, "Besides, I would've given up roaylty for him anyway." The other man coughed, as if to hide a laugh. There was a choking sound, then the other voice called, "Uncle! Uncle!" "What the hell? I have a feeling a bunch of brainless teenagers pulled this one off" Nikki said. "I'm no brainless teenager young one, hasn't your father ever told you about me? I am Liam, your uncle" one man said, steeping froward so they could see him.  
"Oh yeah, you're the guy that went nuts so they shipped you off to Antartica never to be seen or heard from again, yeah I'm sure that you really are a grade a whackjob now" Nikki said. Logan chuckled, the full blown laughter of Liam's coutnterpart echoing off the trees. "Will you stop that?! Idiot" Liam said. "So...you gonna let us out of here or what?" Nikki asked. "You, of course, him, not so much" Liam's assistant ran forward and said, "Hello, I'm Igor." "I can tell" she nodded, looking over to Logan, "I knew my family was crazy, I just didn't know it was this bad." Logan chuckled, "Isn't everyone's?" "I don't think Cass Nova or even Vulcan was/is as bad as this guy" Nikki said, "But hey, if it wins the 'most insane family of the year' award then so be it." "No I think that would still go to Wilson, and any poor sap related to him" Logan said. "Okay, can we quit the banter?" Liam asked. "It's a superhero thing, you wouldn't understand. Although some villians do, but not many of them" Nikki said. "I know, why can't villians have good banter nowadays?" Igor asked. "OKAY! Enough with the banter already!" Liam shouted. Igor winked down at them, and knocked Liam in so he landed flat on his royal behind. "I've always wanted to do that" Igor said, pulling Nikki up, and with her help Logan. "I have a feeling my father really liked you" Nikki said. "Yes, I helped him out of much mischif when he was young" Igor said. "So, you're really old huh?" Nikki asked. "Almsot 400" Igor said proudly. Nikki whistled, "Well you beat me by 3 centuries plus." Liam pounded at the walls of the pit, "Igor! Igor get me out of here! IGOR!" Igor was already going his seperate way, back to where he'd belonged at castle Dracula, and allowing the mates to go back where they belonged as well.  
Epilogue- A few hours later  
"Hello? Is anyone still there?" Liam called up, "Hello?" A deer walked by, kicking something in the hole. "Help! Someone get me out of here! The deer is throwing crap at me!!"  
End

**Monster Mash Madness**

Chapter 1- Cute And Fluffy Meets Big And Scary  
Tayla trotted downstairs at full speed, "Mommy look! I'm a fairy princess!" Nikki laughed, the frilly pink dress and sparkly princess hat/taira thing that came with the glitter wand looked adorible, "Oh sweet princess, what do you want for lunch?" "Mac and cheese" Tayla said, waving her wand royaly. "All hail Princess Tayla, the most beautiful girl in the land!" Sal said dramaticly, "Sorry Nikki, but she's just so darn cute!" "I know, isn't my little princess?" Nikki said, tapping Tayla's nose. Tayla scrunched up her nose, giggling happily, "What're you gonna be for Halloween Salykins?" Talya asked, batting her eyelashes innocently. Victor, who'd been sitting at the table attempting to ignore the rest of them choked on his drink, "Salykins?" Nikki giggled uncontrolably at the counter, keeping out of the madness. "Yeah, he's my handsome perfect Salykins and he's all mine so don't even think about it" Tayla said, smiling and pecking Sal's cheek. Victor looked over to Nikki, "I wonder where she gets THAT from." "It could always be you Victor, after all, I can hear you and Kitty all the way down the hall. Make the bed hit the wall anymore and you just might break both" Sal said. Nikki laughed, "He has a point Victor."  
"Do I want to know what's going on?" Logan asked, smiling. "Well, feel acomplished runt. You and your gal managed to screw up the youngest of the family. Now she knows what l-o-v-e is" Victor said. "L-o-v-e spells love!" Tayla said proudly. "Tay-tay, do you love Sal?" Nikki asked. "Do people need air to live?" Tayla said, "Of course I do!" "So little, yet so sarcastic, she really is our little girl" Nikki sighed. Logan chuckled, "Is that really a bad thing? If she really loves him, then we never have to deal with the 'bringing of the boyfriend'." He wrapped his arms around her waist, gently kissing her neck. She sighed again, "I guess you're right." "Sal's my boyfriend!" Tayla said, grinning brightly. "Oh god we just had to bring up the boyfriend thing" Nikki said. Logan grinned, "At least this one isn't that bad, otherwise we'd have to wait 16 years and then she'd complain that we'd killed all her boyfriends." Nikki grinned, "I can see it all too well, I think my dad was going to try the same thing." "And yet nothing could've kept me away from you" Logan said softly, turning her to face him and kissing her deeply. "Yuck!" Tayla said, hiding her face on Sal's shoulder. Nikki broke down laughing, "So it's alright for you but not us?" "Yep" Tayla said. "Then how's this?" Logan asked, kissing Tayla's cheek. She giggled, clinging to Nikki's neck for support.  
Out in the shadows of the nearby trees, a large, furry thing looked in, seeing the child radiating light, 'The prophet spoke true! The child of light has been born, and what great things she shall do for them...not if I can help it.'  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Child Of Light  
That night, as usual, Sal was curled up on the small bed in the nursery where Tayla slept. A soft inhuman chuckle woke her, and she looked out the cradle bars, pulling her blanket over her eyes, "Sal?" He stirred, getting up and walking over to her sleepily, "Yeah Tay-tay?" "Can I sweep with you?" she asked, reaching out to clutch onto him. "Sure Tay-tay" he said, yawning and walking back over to the bed. A pair of red eyes looked out from the shadow of the closet, a white-fanged grin peering out along with the eyes. "SAL!" she shouted, waking him up. "Holy-!" he gasped, picking her up, "What the hell is that thing?" "I am your DOOM!" the little white thing said, waddling forward. "What the-? A furby?" Sal asked. "I'm no furby! I am doom! DOOM!" the little thing said, "The child of light must be destroied in order for our race to live!" Sal looked to Tayla, "...and what does she have to do with this?" "She is the child of light you stupid mutt!" the little thing said, furious. "Dont smart-mouth me furby" Sal said, picking it up by it's little paw. "No! Put me down! I don't enjoy being manhandled!" it shouted. "Toss out the furby" Tayla said, yawning. Sal put her back in her cradle, taking 'furby' down the hall to Nikki's room. He knocked, "NIKKI! The evil furby's gettin' on my nerves!" "I AM NOT A FURBY!!!" it shouted, struggling.  
Nikki opened the door, and the 'furby' went limp, "Oh $#^%, you're her mother?" "You've gotta be kidding me" Nikki said, "You really never quit do you?" "You've seen the furby before?" Sal asked. "It's not a furby, it's a gremlin, and these things have just about as much inteligence as a broom" Nikki said. "You know I'm right here" gremlin said. "So, which one are you? Mortar or the other one?" Nikki asked. "I am Zebelock! Mortar's my cousin" the gremlin said. Nikki sighed, "So, your family gets tossed out by my family, I see a pattern emerging." Logan walked to the door, "Want me to just harpon it?" "NO! No please! I beg of you! I'm only following orders!" Zebelock said. "Orders? From who?" Nikki asked. "Lucian! The lycan king! He wanted the gremlins to do his bidding in order for our race's survival!" Zebe said. "Lycan king? Wow he's full of himself lately" Nikki said, standing up. "Help us please!" Zebe said. "Do yourself a favor, take a gun, load it with silver nitrate hollow points and call me in the morning" Nikki said, walking back into her room. "Got one I can borrow?" Zebe asked Sal.  
Zebe landed with a soft thud on the ground outside, sitting upright and dusting himself off, "Thank you wolf man!" "Go to sleep Zebe" Sal called out, shutting the door to the gremlin. "Sal? Is the furby gone?" Tayla asked, standing at the stairs, holding her teddy bear by the hand. "Yeah, furby's gone, now let's get to bed Tay-tay, we've got work tomorrow." Off in the distance, Sal sworn he could've heard 'I AM NOT A FURBY!!!'  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Rescuing Furbys  
"You dare revolt against us?" Lucian growled in his half-wolf form. The gremlins trembled at the werewolf soldiers flanking Lucian to either side. "You won't make much of a snack, but all of you together might make a full meal" one of the lycans growled. "Run!" one of the gremlins shouted, quickly scrambling the little troops. "Get back here you little furbys!" Lucian growled, snapping at them with his teeth. "We are not furbyeees!" one said, shouting in terror when Lucian snapped too close to it. "Oh no! Things have gone horrbly wrong! We need to flee! Flee my friends flee!" Zebe said, calling to the other gremlins. They all ran into the tall grass, running every which way away from the lycans. Zebe ran in the direction he'd come, they needed help and he was going to get it. "Help! Little Child Of Light help!" he called, breaking though the underbrush into the mansion's yard. "Hello little furby" Tayla cooed, "What can I do for you today?" "What do you want furby? She's already got me playing princess with her, I don't need you acting nuts too" Sal said. "Help! My people are being hunted by the wolfmen!" Zebe said, hopping up and down. "I'll help you little furby" Tayla said, "Sal, go get my princess wand!" "First, I am not a furby, I am a gremlin, and second, a wand?" Zebe asked. "It's for my magical powers" Tayla said, as if it were the most obious thing in the world. "You do know we aren't playing a game right?" Zebe asked. "Who's playing? To Sal I am a princess, that's what he always calls me and I do have powers, I'm talking to you aren't I?" Tayla said, plopping on the grass in her pretty pink princess outfit. "Everyone can TALK to me, it's just you do have powers young Child Of Light, I just find it hard to believe you have them so early on in life. Your mother didn't get them until she was closer to my age" Zebe said, sitting on the ruffled lace at the end. "How old are you?" Tayla asked. "10" Zebe said. Tayla gasped, "You're my brother's age!" Sal held out the sparkly wand, Tayla taking it from his hand, "Let's go help your people!" "Smart for a little kid isn't she?" Sal asked. "You have no idea" Zebe said, clinging to the end of her ruffles.  
Lucian picked up a gremlin between his teeth, the little creature trembling in fear, "Stop!" Tayla shouted, waing her fairy wand. Lucian growled, making it sound like a chuckle, "You're the Child Of Light? A mere baby is going to stop me? I eat little ones like you from lunch" Lucian growled, stalking closer to her. She held out her wand, thwaping Lucian on the muzzle, "Did I say you could growl at me mutt?" Zebe busted up giggling in her ruffled lace. Lucian growled at him and he ducked in her ruffles, trying to hide. "It's alright gremlin, he can't hurt you with me here" Tayla cooed, lifting Zebe in her hand. "Um, Child, you might want to use your magic now" Zebe said, looking oer to a very ticked off Lucian. "I am silly, I have the magic power where everybody loves me, mommy says I won't get other powers 'till I'm older" Tayla said, smiling brightly. Lucian growled, "Then your mommy is lying, I don't feel love, but I'll settle with you for a meal instead of the little ratty furbys!" Sal raced forward in wolf form, attacking Lucian before Lucain could attack Tayla. "Sal!" Tayla shouted, "C'mon fairy wand, work already! Save Sal!" She started crying, tears running down her little face, "No! The stupid wand lost it's magic! No! Sal don't get hurt! All I wanted was to be a fairy princess, I never ment to get Sal hurt!" She cried, dropping to the ground and sitting there with her face in her hands. The other woles looked to one another before going to Tayla's side. "Don't cry little one" the female said, putting her head on Tayla's lap. "We mean you no harm" the other said. "Lucian is mean is all, don't cry" the female sighed again. "I want my Sal not to get hurt I don't care about stupid Lucian!" Tayla wailed, stamping her foot in frustration, "and the stupid wand isn't magic anymore!" She leaned on the grey wolf-female's back, crying hoplessly while the tan female wolf stood, striding over to Lucian and pulling him back by the fur in his neck with her teeth, "Leave them be Lucian, they'e done nothing to you!" The gremlins were peaking out from the grass, dazed that the wolves that had been on either side of Lucian were helping them. Sal stood back, going down on all fours in his wolf form, his silver coat lightly reflecting the sun that came through the treetops. The other female joined the tan one in yelling at Lucian while Sal walked over to Tayla, whining and putting his head on her lap. "Sal! You're okay!" He gae her a big wolfy grin and licked her face, letting her hug his neck tightly. He shimmyied her off, trotting into the trees to put his jeans on and turn human again. He walked out a moment later, taking Tayla in his arms, "Don't cry princess Tay-tay." "I don't want to be a princess anymore" she said, sniffling. "What do you want to be?" he asked, rocking her gently. "I dunno yet" she said, yawning. "Let's go home okay? Take a nap?" he asked. "What about the furbys?" Tayla asked tiredly. "The furby's are fne, they've got the shewoles helping them out now" Sal said softly, walking back down the path twoard home.  
Later, Tayla went back to her room, knocking what she really wanted to be. Nikki, Logan and Sal waited at the end of the stairs for her to unveil her latest idea. "Princess Tayla is no more, now I'm Super Tayla!" she said, jumping out from behind the wall in a supergirl costume. "Looks like another Howlett's in the family business" Sal laughed. "I was wondering when that was going to happen" Nikki said, laughing as Tayla ran downstairs into her arms. "I'm gonna be a superhero with you and daddy now!" Tayla said happily. Nikki looked to Logan and they both said, "When you're older."  
The End

**Evil and Good, The Never Ending Battle**

Chapter 1- Darkness and Light  
The lone figure stood in the shadows as twilight engulfed the grounds of the estate, she'd waited over a hundred years for this and she'd thought with all that time spent waiting she'd have more patience, but that wasn't the case. Lillith almost felt exited, almost. In her thousands of years of life, she had never once felt this exited about a deal becoming fufilled, she'd rarely ever been exited in her human life, and not once in her demon life, so why was now so important? Was it the fact that possibly the most powerful being in the netherworld, or even possibly this world, was going to become what she was? All because of a deadly twist of fate? The deal had run dry years before, when Patrick O'Mally had revoked the deal in his prison cell, awaiting exicution of a crime that should've never been a crime in the first place. But, once Lillith had seen through the minds of her children how much Patrick had seemed to care for one of his many daughters in particular, well that had struck her intrest. In the awaiting years, she'd tried to track the girl, to no avail, until now. The hellhound at her side growled impatiently, the stink of brimstone rolling off its fur in practicly tangible tendrils. "Be quiet Cerberus, or else she may hear" Lillith said, a commanding tone to the relitivly young mutt.  
Inside, Nikki had heard the growl, and smelled the acompanying brimstone long before she'd heard the animal. Logan hd caught the stink of brimstone the same time she had, and they'd made the children hide, Daken being the only one alowed to join them if a fight broke out. Logan sniffed, "It's getting stronger." Nikki attemped to reach out with her magic, to see with the glow of the light rather than her own eyes. Willing the spirit of light to move, taking a mist-like form and willing her eyes to follow in spirit. She gasped, the gold glow fading quickly, "Nikki?" Logan asked, catching her before she fell. "Hellhounds, and the daughter of darkness herself" she gasped, clutching onto his arm in utter terror. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Daken asked, ready for a fight. "Stay, please, it's too dangerous" Nikki said, almost begging. "Why? What's so scary about a couple of dogs and some girl?" Daken asked. She pulled forward the sight, touching his arm and allowing him to see what she'd seen. "You're afraid of dogs and a little girl? Mom, no offence or anything but you've lost it" Daken said. "That little girl is Lillith, the daughter of darkness herself. She's the mot powerful demon there is, she's porbably even stronger than me" Nikki said. "Then why are you fighting her? Why can't I? You'll need help and you know it" he said stubbornly. "Can't you see, if she's really come for me I'm not condemning you with me" Nikki said, "I want you to stay here, just please don't get into this. This is the one time where it's actually possible that I'm about to go out there and die fighting." Logan looked to her, "No, you're not. I'm not letting you." "And I'm not letting you die for me either. Do you honestly think I could live with myself if anything happened to any of you? You're all my life, and if anything happens it's not worth living anymore" she said, letting him wrap his arms around her. Logan held her tightly, looking over to Daken, who looked shocked by the thought of loosing the only mother he'd ever really known. A feeling like ice stabbing deep into his heart was the only feeling he could possibly grasp as she kissed him, a soft, tender, loving kiss. A kiss goodbye. Daken was still shocked, a small hint of rage in his eyes, "They can't possibly think they're going to kill you." "They can, and they might" Nikki said, embracing him tightly, "If I don't come back, take care of everyone. You'll be the only thing your father has." She sniffed, and he relized she was crying, "You'll be back mom, I don't doubt that." He embraced her back, looking up to meet his father's gaze. Logan looked broken, in all sense of the word, his eyes brimmed with tears, but he didn't cry, probably staying strong for her. "You'll be back" Daken said softly, letting her go. Tears overflowed from her eyes, "I love all of you." Her oice broke, and Daken knew how badly his father wanted to comfort her, but couldn't. She wiped the tears from her eyes, a final look back to them, frozen in place, as she went to confront her possible doom.  
Lillith laughed, "So you're the mighty nightwalker I've feared." Nikki stood, wordless and wishing on a small shread of hope, that she would make it out of this. "Cerberus, boys, at your will" she hissed. Nikki didn't give the dogs a chance, with possibly her last valiant attempt, she raced forward, an edge to her battlecry as she launched herself at Lillith, hoping to strike a killing blow. The demon gasped, no-one had ever tried to fight her before! The naggy little voice in her head said, 'So what? You'e also never seen a crossbreed before.' The dogs looekd astounded, not attacking for fear of their master. Lillith was on her own. She fought back, then, as if by some unknown force, Nikki's claws found enough momentum to peirce Lillith all the way through. With her own magic, Nikki cast the banishing spell, suprised she could remember it through the haze her mind had taken. Lillith and the dogs dissapeared as fast as they'd come. She laughed, suprised she could through her wounds. The now dark sky looked hazy, but the one thing she was sure of was Logan had run out to catch her before she'd fallen into unconsiousness.  
Logan held her tightly, her heartbeat was strong, and judging by how the bloodsplatter on the ground stunk of brimstone, Lillith had been killed insted. Lifting her carefully, he went back inside with her, overwelming joy all he could feel now, the feeling of utter darkness gone. She was more powerful than Lillith, and maybe, just maybe, the rest of the world could be too.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Rising Sun  
Nikki stirred, her eyes fluttering open, "What-?" Logan gently pressed his finger to her lips, "You won." She could tell by the way he smiled warmly, the way his eyes shimmered with joy, that she hadn't just won, she'd ended the life of the daughter of darkness. She smiled, "How?" "I don't know, but I know you did" he said, leaning down to kiss her deeply. She sighed, her lips parting under his, "I thought I was going to loose you" he whispered, stroking her hair while she snuggled against him, smiling. "You're never going to loose me, I will never leave you" she said softly, kissing his neck gently.  
In the underworld, the devil himself paced back and forth, "First Blackheart turns against me, getting himself killed in the process and now Lillith, my daughter only followed in my footsteps. Can you see anything wrong with that? If only you'd been more like your sister..." he sighed, looking over to Satana. "Well maybe if you weren't EVIL..." she began. "Oh you're not saint either!" he shouted. "Well I would've been if I hadn't been your daughter! And I don't blame whoever did this, Lillith DESERVED to die for everything she's done!" He cast her back, "You come to my land for what? Treason? My own daughter? Why do you come here if you're so good?" "I've come for one reason only, to revoke my name, to you and the rest of the world, I'm not your daughter anymore" she said, holding her bleeding cheek. "What?!" he shouted. She turned away, using her own power to teleport herself back to the land of the humans. She looked around the corner of the crouded New York street, running into the brunett. "Ruby?" she asked. "'Tana" Ruby sighed, embracing her friend, "How'd it go?" "Terrible, I left before he finished. If he'd even know I was considering it...I might've been exiled from the beginning" Tana laughed. "So, if you're nto his daughter, you don't have to go by that anymore" Ruby said. "Oh I know, I'm using that as my alias, I'm getting a real name, like Brooke, or Natasha" Tana said. "Alias?" Ruby asked. "Yeah, doesn't every hero need an ailias? I'm going to join up with a team, a little known one so my father can't find me easily. gasp I know, the Thunderbolts!" Tana said, "And I think I've picked a name for myself, Ana!" "Ana?" Ruby asked. "What? It's human" Tana said, "And every superhero has a human name." "Well...I guess" Ruby said, walking along beside her, "But why Ana?" "I dunno, I guess I've always liked that name" Ana said, "and it's also like a shorter version of my old name." "What about a last name?" Ruby asked. "You're jsut Ruby, I can be just Ana" Ana said. "Fine, but when you get tracked down don't come crying to me" Ruby said. "Ruby, look out!" Ana said, pulling her friend back from the giant robot's hull crashing into the ground. "X-WArriors Assemble!" Time Warrior shouted. "Who?" Ruby asked. "I have an idea" Ana said, grinning. Harnessing her demon powers, she took out the other robot in a heartbeat, turning back to the X-Warriors, "Am I in or what?" "Oh, you're in, and you're hot" Deadpool said, walking forward, beging stopped by Time Warriors arm. "How'd you do that?" he asked suspicously. "I'm a demon" Ana said, leaning on the robot. "Well, she killed it and she's on our side. Nikki could read her if she were here-" Deadpool began, Redemer reaching forward and clamping her hand over Wade's mouth. "You're in, come with us" Gorge said. Ana smiled to Ruby, and ran off after the X-Warriors.  
When the quinjet landed back at the Howlett mansion, Ana looked around in awe, "You LIVE here?" "Most of us live at Xaivers, but Feral lives here since his wife wanted to stay near her godmother" Gorge said. "Wow" Ana sighed, walking through the halls. "Hey Gorge, how'd it go without us?" Logan asked, sitting on the couch with Nikki in his arms. "Who's she?" Nikki asked, a strange sense about the unknown woman. "Nikki, Logan, this is..." Gorge began. "Ana" Ana smiled, "But I want my codename to be Satana." "Like the gutarist?" Deadpool asked. "No you moron that's SANTANA" Redeemer said. Nikki gasped, "You're Lillith's sister." Ana looked around to the team, all were suddenly rigid. Lgoan's arms were tightly wrapped around Nikki, the tohers were poised to strike, this may not go as well as she'd planned.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Hellfire  
Ana backed away, "Yes, Lillith was my sister, but I am nothing LIKE her!" "How're we supposed to believe you?" Time Warrior asked. "She's telling the truth" Nikki said, "You're not like them are you? You're the one that has a soul." Ana nodded, "I'm not full devil like he thinks, yes, I was born half succubus, but I've never followed his way. I'm like Ruby, I'm one of the good ones." "Succubus?" Deadpool asked. "The only kind of woman you could ever get" Redeemer said. "So...Does that mean you're intrested in this?" Wade asked, gesturing to himself as though he were fine art. Ana laughed, "That depends, are you this funny all the time?" Nikki looked to Logan, "Well she most defenitly isn't like them, I don't think I've ever really met a woman as insane as her." "Not insane, In-Love" Ana said, twisting a lock of her hair around her finger. "Woo-hoo! Finally! A pretty woman that likes me!" Wade said, "Well pippen, shall we go raise a little hell?" "Only if we get to destroy hell first!" Ana said, pecking Wade's masked cheek. He tugged her along, running back to the quinjet, almost skipping with joy. "Aren't you going to follow him?" Nikki asked. "Why?" Redeemer asked. "Because, he's most likely going to destroy the jet" Nikki said. Time Warrior took Redeemer's hand, "We'll see you later." The teleported out, leaving Feral staring after them, "I don't know what scares me more, that the devil's daughter is on earth, or that she fell in love with Wilson and ran off with him." Nikki looked to Logan, "I don't get it either, if she were smarter she'd love you, but if she were smarter than that she'd know I'd tear her head off before I'd give you up." Logan kissed her passionetly, "And I'd do the same to any man before I gave you up." Victor walked away, grumbling about chick-flicks and throwing up.  
Ana shouted in exileration, the wind rushing around her while she clung to Wade as they jumped out of the jet. "What the hell are you doing?" Time Warrior shouted from above. "Showing my lady a good tiiime!" Wade shouted back. "What abotua parachute?" Redeemer called down. "Screw the parachute, I'm goin' freestyle!" Wade shouted. "Um Wade?" Ana asked, watching the ground come up at them very fast. "Oh $#^%" Wade said softly, smacking into the ground. The landed side by side, and Ana burst out laughing, "That...was...awsome" she said between breaths. Wade gave her a thumbs up, pelling himself off the ground, "Ow." "Oh Wady! I should've never told you that was what I wanted to do!" she said, taking his face in her hands and kissing his forehead. "Woo" Wade said woozily, dropping back onto the pavement. "Somehow I always knew he was going to be stupid enough to jump out of a plane without a parachute on his own free will, and then land on his face" Redeemer said, walking over to them. "What are we ever going to do with you Wade?" Gorge asked, pulling him up by his collar. "Let me be, I think I've died of happiness" Wade said woozily. "OH Wady!" Ana said, pulling up his mask and kissing his cheek. "Oh yeah" he sighed, passing out against Time Warrior. "Well, it looks like it wasn't Wade's stupididty that killed him after all" Redeemer said, laughing as she walked off to the jet.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Deadpool + Romance = Insanity  
Victor stormed into the living room where the rest of the X-Warriors were, "It's been 3 %^*&ing days, how much longer can she keep this up?!" "Victor" Kitten warned, holding little Darren against her side while she stood near the couch, listening to the news along with the X-Warriors. "I'm happy for Wilson but the man needs to take his woman somewhere else, I know I didn't put the X-Men though this" Logan said, earning a look from Nikki. "It's cute, and just feel lucky he isn't as annoying as he used to be" she said. "Believe me, he's gotten WORSE" Victor said, "You don't even wanna KNOW what I found them using the danger room for." Redeemer's eyes went up from the TV, "You mean she actually...?" "Yeah" Victor said, "and I've never seen something so disturbing in my life." Gorge looked up to Victor, "You actually watched them?" "NO! Ugh, gonna make me hurl Gargan" Victor growled, shaking his messy blond hair. "Victor" Kitten sighed, resting her hand on his arm, "I'm sure they felt the same way when we got together." "No, it was more disturbing considering you were 17 and he's...how old are you?" Maria asked. Victor growled, gently tugging Kitten into his arms. Nikki smiled, "You know, maybe this could be good for Wade." The news flashed to a scene in downtown New York City, and Gorge stood, "Looks like it's time to test that thoery."  
Ana smiled, holding Wade's hand tightly while the quinjet sped off at unfathomable speeds, leaving cities behind them in a glace. "Oh Wade, isn't this incredible?" she asked, clutching his hand. "Heh, Ana, sweetheart, you're kinda crushing my hand" he said. "Oops, sorry Wady" she said, pecking his cheek. He shook his hand, "No problem, just beginner's jitters is all." He looked back to the team, starting to agree with them. The jet landed and the X-Warriors sprung into action. Ana used her powers, taking out everything in her path. "Ana don't!" Gorge shouted. She giggled, "What? I thought that was what you do." "Wade, get rid of her" Maria said. "No, don't you get it Maria? You're beautiful, you turns heads. I'm lucky if I get a girl to look at me when I'm wearing my mask. She likes me, actually LIKES me, and she doesn't care what I look like! I'm not passing up pretty much the only chance I have" Wade said, walking off after Gorge to vouch for Ana. "I heard" Ana said, "Im' not leaving and you can't make me." "Wade can't see that you really are more insane than he is! He's blinded by love and you're not helping him get a grip on reality any" Maria said. Ana picked her up, gripping her by the throat, "Maybe he really loves me." "Ana! What're you doing?!" Gorge shouted. "I'm not leaving and you can't make me!" she shouted, tossing Redeemer back. "Ana this is insane! Stop!" Wade shouted. "Wade...I thought you understood me" she said, "Well, you're just like everyone else!" She laughed insanely, casing her powers at Wade. "Ana stop!" he shouted, "This isn't you! The Ana I know isn't insane! The Ana I know is good, she isn't you. You're not my Ana!" Wade shouted. "I'm the same person I've always been Wade and I still love you!" she cried. "Well you were wrong! You're not just Ana, you are what you are. You're always going to be the devil's daughter. And you can't be good, no matter how hard you try. All you know is killing, you'd be great for X-Force, but not us. Not here" Wade said. Ana looked down, casting back her destruction, "Maybe you're right. I'm sorry Wade, all I wanted was to be normal." She turned, looking back over her shoulder once, "Goodbye Wade." "Bye Ana" he said, watching her teleport herself away. Nikki put her hand on Wade's shoulder, "Don't worry, it just wasn't meant to be, you'll find someone someday." "Yeah, I hope so" he sighed, "and not even a comeback. Wow. I am depressed." Logan eased Nikki back, "Just let him be darlin', sooner or later there's going to be someone out there for him, as insane as he may be." Deadpool stood atop te pile of rubble where Ana had just been, letting the others go back to the jet to wait for him. Redeemer cast a look back his way, Deadpool was brave, she'd gie him that. And saving her life was something she wasn't liable to forget, at least not any time soon.  
The End

**New Moon (OS)**

"You HAVE to do this Victor, it's not optional" Sinister said. The larger mutant slammed his fist down, "I don't HAVE to do a damn thing!" "It won't be much longer until the X-Men start to believe you, and when they do you can come back and help us" Sinister said calmly, despite the fact that Sabretooth was getting closer and closer to going berserk. Victor growled, stalking out to go kill something. At the same time, Slasher, one of the newer Maurders, had begun to come back toward the camp, her feelings directed at Sinister just as dark. "What're you doing out here Creed? Huntin' rabbits?" she asked. "I got better things to hunt frail" Victor growled, stalking towards her. "Like? Let's face it, you're not that close to the X-mansion and do you really wanna take a chance with them?" Sabretooth drew back a clawed hand, finally snapping into a rage. She fought back, her claws cutting deeper than his, but his size allowed her little room to manuver between the trees. Victor pinned her back, the rage slowly subsiding as he watched her chest rise and fall with each ragged breath. He kept her pinned, taking both of her wrists in one of his hands, "Victor, what're you doing?" he gasped, watching the way he looked her over, like a preditor admiring it's soon-to-be kill. He almost lifted her, roughly kissing her as she struggled. He growled, his grip tightening on her wrists, "You don't want to do that frail." She growled herself, struggling harder. His claws sunk into her wrists, stopping her struggle almost instantly. He ran a claw down her cheek with his free hand, licking the blood from her healing wound, "I'd tell you this won't hurt, but then I'd be lying" he growled, "You're gonna remember this your whole life frail, 'cause you're gonna pray it's the only time I do it." He could smell the fear coming off her, while she didn't need to know what his scent said, although she did, she knew that this sick, psychotic SOB she'd ended up alone out in the forest with was going to get what he wanted, no matter how badly she struggled.  
Gambit bolted up from where he sat. All the other Maruders had gone to meet with Sinister exept for Creed who had been MIA and Slasher, but he now knew where they were, he'd heard her scream. He'd heard that scream from Sabretooth's victims before, the scream of pain and fear, the scream that they just wanted it all to stop. Gambit took off, knowing if he didn't stop Creed there'd be a good chance she'd be dead. Sabretooth's roar filled the forest, it wasn't inraged like Gambit had expected it to be, it was a roar he'd only heard once, back when he'd helped the other X-Men track Sabretooth. That night he'd found Creed murder a young woman, after taking what he wanted from her that was.  
Sabretooth let her drop to the ground, tears were running out of her eyes as she curled up, sobbing softly in pain. "Buck up frail, you've got a 'factor and it can't hurt that bad" Victor said, "I gotta admit, as much as you struggled, you were the best I've had in a long time." He chuckled and walked off, leaving her laying on the ground, her clothes torn to extremes. "Nikki! Mon dieu!" Gambit said softly, going over to her and partially lifting her up. She watched as he slipped off his coat, wrapping it around her and lifting her up, "Did you see where he got to chere?" She nodded, "He went back to the mansion." Her sobs quieted, Gambit keeping her close, "How bad does it hurt chere?" "It's healing, but I don't feel so great" she said. "Chere, Creed just did t' unthinkable to you and you're saying you don't 'feel so great', of course you don', it's gonna be a while before you feel good again. No offence" Remy said. Nikki sighed, "None taken."  
Later, Remy walked into Nikki's tent, "Chere? You here?" She came in behind him, "What Remy?" "Chere, what happened?" he asked, sitting beside her, brushing away her tears. "Remy, I don't think I can tell you. I can't tell anyone" she said, her voice breaking. "Chere, you can always tell me, I swear I'll never tell nobody else" he said. She tenderly placed a hand to her stomach, "I don't know how it happened so fast but...Remy, I'm carrying Victor's baby." "Chere..." Remy said softly, "Mon dieu." "Even if he is Victor's I won't get rid of him, he's still my baby" Nikki sighed, cradling her stomach protectivly. "How do you know it's a he?" Remy asked. "Because I know, he's my baby Remy, and I can't end his lfe because of who his father is" she said. "Alright Chere, I'll see what I can do" he said, smiling to his friend.  
9 months later-  
Nikki smiled down at the little bundle in her arms, "Well what d' you know, it is a he" Remy said. She smiled, "And his name is Vincent. Vincent Gregory. And no matter who is father is I will always love him." Vincent cooed, reaching up to place his little hand on his mother's face. She smiled, her eyes only for her baby. "Nikki, chere you can't keep him here" Remy said, "It's too dangerous for the little one." She bit her lip, "I think I know who I can give him to, just for a while."  
London-  
Her black duster swept the grounds of the London dockyard, the little bundle in her arms sleeping like the angel he was. She knocked at the door, a familiar face greeting her, "Nikki, I never thought you'd return" Dorian said. "Dorian, I heard you've gotten married" Nikki said, smiling warmly. "Yes, would you like to meet her?" he asked. "I was wondering if you would do something for me?" she asked. "That would be...?" he wondered. "I know I'm asking a lot of you old friend, but would it be possible if you could care for him, just for a while" she asked, looking down to Vincent in her arms. Dorian sighed, "Of course, of course." He lifted little Vincent from Nikki's arms, holding him in the same way she had, "I know you'll be back." "His name is Vincent" she said softly, "and I promise I will be back for him." Dorian smiled, uncharicteristicly for him, "Take your time." She smiled, planting a kiss softly on Vincent's forehead, "I'll be back Dorian." "And Brooke and I will be waiting" he said, easing the door shut. She started to walk away, but turned, looking back to the door, "I'll be back" she whispered, tears flowing from her eyes as the rain began falling.  
The End


	8. Part 8

**Forever Dawn**

Chapter 1- Anita Marie  
Anita Marie was only less than a day old and yet, the Volturi had found out about her, somehow, through some process she'd inherited a vampire gene. Laura slept soundly, Anita was a few rooms down in the nursery with Ben, her now-older cousin. The sweep of the black cloak drowning out the moonlight on the window drew her attention, and she quickly scrunched herself into a little ball. Like Renesmee and Tayla, she was young but she knew more than most human little ones because her mind progressed farther more quickly, and so would her age. That was, until it stopped altogether. Aro, the remaining of the Volturi, eased the window open as not to wake them. Tayla walked up the stairs, she'd slipped out of bed for some milk and cookies before she went back to bed. Hearing the creak of the window she, clutching her toy wolf, walked twoard the nursery. She looked in, the black cloaked figure leaning over Anita Marie's cradle. She gasped, it was just like that TV show Josh watched all the time and she took off running down the hall, back to her room. "Sal! Sal get up! The yellow-eyed demon is gonna take Anita!" she said, jumping on Sal's bed in the corner. He woke up, picking up Tayla so she would stop jumping, "Stay here Tay-tay, I'll be back." "What about mommy and daddy? Aren't you going to wake them up?" Tayla asked, clutching the little gray wolf. "No, just stay here Tayla" he said softly, walking out into the hall. Tayla followed close behind, watching his back just in case. "What're you doing up?" Daken asked, picking up Tayla. "No lemme go, Sal's gonna go fight the yellow-eyed demon! It's going after Anita!" Tayla said. "Stay here Tayla" Daken said, putting her down. Sal growled, morphing as he walked over to the black cloaked figure. "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?" Sal growled, tossing Aro back. Daken backed up Sal, making the vampire get back out onto the ledge. Sal growled, leaping out after Aro.  
The trees went past in a blur as Sal raced after Aro, his wolf form stronger than ever with the threat of the last remaining Volturi less than ten feet ahead of him. A sudden blur of white struck Aro, kocking him back. "You don't want to come near my family" Nikki growled, her eyes a dark burgundy with rage. Sal morphed half-wolf, gripping Nikki's arm, "Don't! We can get some intel out of him." "Why were you here?" Nikki growled. "The pravius has been born, we must destroy it before it destroys us!" Aro said. "Anita isn't the pravius" Sal said calmly. "No, she is!" Aro said, "The only child born from two non-vampire parents and by some impossiblity she carries it." "There is no way she is the pravius, she's so close to her family there was a possibility that she was going to end up with it" Sal said. Nikki looked back over to her friend, "You honestly think that? Even if she is the pravius she's my neice and I don't really care what they think, she's not going to be what they think she is." Aro chuckled, "The Volturi haven't been beaten yet my dear, we still exist." "What, three of you? We can handle that" Sal growled, holding Nikki back. "No, there are now many, MANY more" Aro growled. "Well let's see how they do without their leader" Sal growled, both attacking Aro before he could get far. In a swift movement, one of the shadows of the forest dissappeared, leaving with the news of their fallen leader. "Nikki? You see that?" Sal asked. "If this is going the way I'm sure it's going, we've got another war on our hands" she said, looking off in the direction the shadow had dissappeared to.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- New Volturi  
Marcus had been the only survivior of the Volturi until the Aro had come back. Only 3 of over 30 had been brought back again, Felix, Aro and Jane. "I don't understand, how did they come back?" Nikki asked, thinking aloud, "We saw them die how is it possible?" "Don't you remember the first time this happened? They were brought back the same way. Here's what I think, maybe the same person did it, but picked the most important because they knew they couldn't bring them all back" Sal said, pacing around the living room. Logan looked over to Nikki, "He may be right, all we have to do is find out who." "We need to find someone poweful enough to do a vampiric resurection, any magical being can do an ordainary resurection but it takes centuries of skill and training to resurect a non-human. Even I can't do that" Nikki said. "So we're looking for someone centuries old that has a thing for the volturi" Sal said, "Well we can rule out the Romainians, and the irish, they hate them. Well, pretty much everone in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America." Nikki looked to him, puzzled. "People all over hate the volturi, but most people in other place the North America deal with them more. We can also rule out Canada and Mexico since they're also nomadic regions" Sal said. "How do you know this? I thought you were a werewolf" Logan said. "I'm a hybred, I'm one of the few that actually survived the venom and I'm only a month younger than her, I've been everywhere I possibly could go. The Volturi know all the nomadic territories, and so do the city vamps, they all know to try and avoid the nomads as best they can" Sal said, continuing on his knowledge rant. "Wait, that just leaves the US, and the more powerful covens are in the south. Vampires can't do magic, do that leaves us one place" Nikki said. "Wanna go get the jet?" Sal asked.  
"I can't believe that moron convinced us to fly to New Orleans" Logan said, "He really better be right." Nikki looked to him, letting him take her hand, "He better not get us killed." Sal sat in back, reading over the map of the area they would cover, "Land here." Nikki sighed, squeezing Logan's hand before landing the jet. The thick treetops let little light through to the brush and twisted trees they had to go through, making travel in the maze more diffacult. "I can't believe that idiot got us to come out here" Nikki muttered, cutting at the vines around them. "Shh" Sal said, listening. Nikki and Logan heard the chimes, "We're almost there" Sal said. Nikki looked to Logan, "If we're walking into a trap I'm going to kill him." "Not if I get him first darlin" Logan said, chuckling and brushing a stray strand of hair back. He kissed her lovingly, holding her tightly to ease away her tension. Sal looked back, seeing them through the trees, "Again?" The vines crept up, locking around his wrists. He shouted, twisting them to near breaking. Nikki lept after him, cutting the vines and racing into the sunlight beside Logan. "What the hell are those things?" Sal asked, panting. "Dere my plants, an what're you doing on my land?" a white eyed young woman asked. "Angelique" Sal said. "Sal, I neva thought I'd see you again" she said. "You know her?" Nikki asked. "She's crazy, what'd you expect?" Sal said. "An' you havn't changed none" Angelique said, "An you still be owin me." "For?" Nikki asked. "She helped me get away from the volturi a cpuple decades ago" Sal said. "Dis is how he knew to find me, I'm guessing you got me suprise?" Angelique asked. "Call off your spell" Sal said. "Say it nicely and I may" she said. "Please call off your spell" he said sarcasticly. "Sorry boy, can't be done, ya gotta face dem yourself now. I see you remembered out deal" she said, looking to Nikki. "What's she mean deal?" Logan asked, stepping in front of Nikki. "I needed someone strong to duel for my freedom" Sal said, ashamed, "I never should've come here." "You're relying on me to keep you free?" Nikki asked. "I'm waiting" Angelique called. "I'll fight but I can't promise I'll play fair" Nikki said, her claws coming down. Angelique smiled evily, raising the vines, "Who said anyting about playing fair?"  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Dual  
The three were suddenly telepoted to an ancient roman battleground. "Now, let's see how well ya fair in a fight usin' only your magic girl" Angelique said. "I'll be sure to give you detals when you wake up" Nikki said, blasting Angelique. The older witch dodged, firing back. It looked like a battle from Harry Potter until Angelique started to gain the upper hand, pushing Nikki back. "Come on, I know you can do this!" Sal shouted, "oh who am I kidding, I should just get the handcuffs now." Logan growled, "She'll do this, an' if that old broad gets anywhere near my woman-" "Logan!" Sal said, "Do you realize you just said the most powerful hoodoo enchantress in the world is an old broad?!" "Hoo-what?" Logan said, "That has to be the strangest thing I've heard in a long time." Angelique gave up her battle with Nikki, looking over to the two men on the sidelines, "An' how is it I am an old broad when you love someone who isn't even human?" "News flash, I ain't either lady" Logan growled, sending his claws down, a snarl directed at Angelique. She laughed, "Do you even know what side of her is the most dominant? Not just her lupine, but the vampire. Doesn't it frighten you to know you have less chance of dying if she looses control over the wolf, or the magic than she does when she needs to feed?" "I'm not afraid of anything lady, least of all my woman" Logan growled. "You should be" Sal muttered, "'Cause there are times when she scares the hell outta me." "Oh really? Then what about if you see what that vampire really is?" Angelique asked, cakeling evily while she sent a blast in Nikki's direction.  
"NO!" Logan and Sal both shouted. Nikki's cry became inhuman, talons and wings forming where they hadn't been. Angelique stopped, grinning smugly. Nikki's eyes were now burgundy with just a tint of silver among the red and black, her skin paler than it had been and her fangs showing. "What do you think now?" Angelique said, still grinning smugly. "What does it matter to you what I think?" Logan growled. "Because, I've proved that I am less of a monster haven't I?" Angelique said, self-pride coloring her tone. Logan went to Nikki's side, taking her in his arms and kissing her lovingly, "I could care less if you had a thrid eye and webbed feet, I'll still love you" he said softly, smoothing back her still vibrant hair. Angelique watched in amazement as her spell wore off, it had never done that before. "How are you doing this? You're not like her!" Angelique shouted. "That's the thing, I may not be but we're connected. If there's something she can't do, then I can damn well try for her" Logan said, kissing Nikki again, only this time more passionetly. A faint glow surrounded them both, Sal grinned brightly, "You were wrong." Three words that couldn't've been truer, the sudden blast was concussive, breaking the talisman that gave Angelique most of her power. "No! No it can't be! I am still stronger! I am still the most powerful!" she cried, her hands glowing as she started to levitate. "Give it a rest already, I heard you back in Canada" a familiar voice said, three claws peircing Angelique's chest all the way through. Sal grinned even wider, "I'm starting to think I owe you one." Daken smiled, a hint of sarcasm in his tone, "What made you think that? Just that I saved your $$ from an evil witch?" Nikki laughed, "I see this coming back to bite him." "Bite no, but I do see a little 'payback' in my future" Daken said, "and you know exactly what this is for." "I thought you forgot about that" Sal said, fear suddenly showing. "Oh no, and I'm not forgetting anytime soon" Daken said, grinning evilly. "Do I wanna know?" Logan asked. "I made a fatal mistake, I..erm..was flirting with Rachel. But that was before the whole Tayla thing and I didn't know they were together...and in my own defence you wouldn't go for me so..." Sal trailed off, getting an equally evil look from Logan, "Oh crap you two are teaming up on me now." Logan nodded, "My woman is my woman bub, no exeptions." His arm tightened around Nikki and she sighed, "This is what I don't understand about you men, why so territorial?" "Did I mention Emma was wearing Scott's favorite outfit for me last time I was at the mansion?" Logan asked. "Oh she is so dead" Nikki growled. Logan chuckled, "I'm terriorial?" "Damn" Nikki sighed, "Well what did you expect? I ended up with the perfect guy and I'll be damned if I let some other woman take him away from me." "Technicly, you kinda are already..." Sal said. Logan sent out his middle claw, "Back off, or you'll end up in an alley with your-" "Logan" Nikki warned, "Let me handle that." "Not if I get to it first, I have a lot going for payback" Daken said. "Just how many times did you flirt with her?" Nikki asked Sal. "37" Sal said timidly. "38" Daken said, "and he tried to keep going." Nikki looked to Logan, "Well this is gonna be going on for a while now isn't it?" Logan shook his head, "Darlin', I don't want to know."  
The End

**Following The Path**

Chapter 1- Family  
Laura smiled, leaning over Anita Marie's cradle. "How're you little one?" Nikki smiled, standing in the doorway, "You know, I have a good feeling you'll do this right." Laura looked up, suddenly suprised to see Nikki, "I didn't know you were there." "Are you alright Laura?" Nikki asked, walking in to stand beside Laura. "Yeah, I just don't know..." Laura said softly. "Don't know what?" Nikki asked. "Anything" Laura said, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do.." "You'll know, it'll come to you. I didn't either, but I learned. It took some getting used to but I learned what I was supposed to" Nikki said, smiling. "But how?" Laura asked. Antia Marie laughed, looking up and reaching for Laura. "That's how you know" Nikki said softly, smiling brightly. Laura smiled, lifting the little bundle in her arms. Nikki walked out, giving Laura a moment to figure things out. Logan smiled to her as she walked into the living room, "She's handling it?" "Very well actually" Nikki said, sitting down beside him. The phone rang, Nikk picking it up, "Hello?" "Nikki, we're taking back our land!" Jacob said over the phone.  
Nikki busted up laughing, "What are you talking about Jake?" "I mean the Quiliutes are getting their land back!" Jake shouted. "Jake that's rediculous" Nikki sighed. Logan chuckled, stroking her hair while she talked to Jacob. "I mean it Nikki, and I want you to help us" Jake said. "And how would I do that, smack you really hard?" Nikki asked sarcasticly. "No, get Sal down here and come with him, we need all the help we can get" Jake said. "Jake, you've lost what marbles you had" Nikki said, "There is no way on the face of the planet I'm helping you." Logan laughed when she hung up on Jake, "That idiot really thinks he can take over the country?" "If he tries, let me smack him really REALLY hard" Nikki said. "And breaking news, there seems to be a riot breaking out in Seattle. The cause seems to be teenage boys in Native American warpaint" the newscaster said. "OH you've got to be kidding me!" Nikki sighed, "Sal! We've got to go get Jake out of this one!" "Can't! Busy!" Sal shouted down. "Do I wanna know?" Nikki called up. "I can't believe I'm asking this but does this dress make me look fat?" Sal asked, walking out from behind the wall. "Oh forget it I'm going alone" Nikki said, sighing and turning away from Sal in his purple princess dressed insanity. A muffled snicker was heard from behind the wall, "Can I take this thing off now?" Sal asked. "Only after Josh gets a couple shots of you playing tea party with Tayla" Daken said, "Payback's hell isn't it?" "Why are you so happy about this?" Sal asked. "Because you deserve it" Daken said, grinning evily.  
Logan went with Nikki, replaying the newscast in the quinjet, "I have a feeling this is going to be big on YouTube for a while." Nikki grinned, "You have no idea sweetheart, people are till replaying that moment from back when the X-Warriors and the X-Men teamed up and Cyke took that faceplant on Bobby's iceslide and Deadpool ended up triping over them both." Logan laughed, "Yeah, that was a classic." They landed the jet on a rooftop, looking down upon the city, "What the hell is he doing?" "People of the US, we Natives are taking our land back!" Jake shouted, rallying the other Quiliute boys. "You've gotta be kidding me" Nikki sighed, looking over to the boys wearing warpaint.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Riot  
At the Xavier Mansion, Warpath clicked on his TV. "People of the US, we Natives are taking our land back!" a boy with warpaint called into the crowd of gathering boys. He looked at the scene for another moment before getting up, turning off the Tv and going to suit up, it had been over a hundred years since his people fought for their land and he might as well see what they'd get out of it.  
Seattle-  
"We did not give you people our land, you stole it from us, and it's time we take it back!" Jake shouted, the boys agreeing with cheers. "Think it's time to intervine?" Nikki asked Logan, watching the scene from their place on the rooftop. "Looks like the X-Men are getting involved too" Logan said, almost a sigh, "I wanted to see how far this got." "Logan!" Nikki said, a warning. Warpath stepped out of the jet, alone. "What's Proudstar doing here?" Logan asked. "I think he's joining up with them" Nikki said, shocked, "Logan, what if he does?" "Proudstar ain't stupid" Logan said. Warpath walked up to Jake, saying something to him softly. "And my brothers, we've got Warpath's help in our crusade!" Jake shouted, met by cheers of joy. Nikki looked to Logan, her eybrows raised. "Oh like you're always right" Logan said. She chuckled, "Not always." "You want to break this up now don't you?" he asked. "Hell yeah" Nikki said, leaping down. "Nikki! You've joined us!" Jake said. "Jake, you need to stop this" Nikki said. "Why?" Jake asked. "Because you can't do this" Nikki said. "Why? This is our land and you people can't do anything to stop us, you all stole it from us" Jake said. "I know I didn't do anything Jake, this happened long before any of these people were even born, before any of us were" Nikki said. "Just look at me Nikki, this is one of the greatest things that's ever happened to me. Please, just let me have this!" Jake said, sighing. "Jake it's wrong, you can't take this land from everyone else. You'd be just like the people that did a long time ago" Nikki said. "Oh please! You've gotten revenge before, what makes this any different?" Jake asked. "Because I didn't make hundreds of thousands of people suffer to get what I wanted" Nikki said.  
"Oh yeah? I know you're no saint, and for every person you've killed don't you think that affected people? Don't you think there's something ELSE you've been overlooking? You're like Bullseye, you move like a force of nature, killing one and going to the next without seeing what you do, how much pain you cause" Jake said, "Have you ever stopped to see what you cause? Have you?" "Don't blame this on her kid, you've been screwed up already" Logan growled. "Logan" Nikki said softly, "He's right." "No he isn't" Logan growled, looking to her, "You couldn't have done anything like that." "I did Logan, and Jacob's right. I never knew what I'd caused" she said. "I don't believe that" he said, looking to her. "But I did. And Jake's right" Nikki said. "See? Then how can you say what I'm doing is wrong?" Jake asked. "Jacob, you're a kid. Keep this up and I'll take you into the Avengers myself" Logan growled. "Why would people blame me for taking back my people's land?" Jake asked. "Because, a) it's wrong and b) you'll get arrested" Nikki said. Jake sighed, "I don't have time for this, boys let's go!" "Jake" Nikki said. Jake pushed past, trying to get out of the city. "I don't think so kid" Warpath said, stepping in front of Jake.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Legacy  
Logan and Nikki followed the Quiliutes close behind, thinking of a plan as they went. "Psst" Seth said, "Hey, Nikki, Logan." "Seth? Can the others tell how close we are?" Nikki asked. "Nope, but I'm with you. I'm only following these idiots because if Leah gets hurt I am in for it" Seth said, "Wanna know how you can convince them?" "How?" Nikki asked. "Tell them you've worked out a plan, that you'll get their land back for them" Seth said. "Won't they figure out I'm not going to do that?" Nikki said, "Give them a little more credit Seth, they aren't that stupid." "Just act like it, they'll believe it and then you won't have to worry about them, I'll handle it" Seth said. Nikki nodded, looking back to Logan, "I think it's a pretty good plan." "If things get too out of control-" he began. "You'll come save me, I get it" she said, grinning slyly, "I'll be right back."  
She jumped down to the ground, striding over to Jacob, "Jake, you're right. But I'm not joining you, I'm doing this peacefully for you. I'm going to work out a deal with them." Jake smiled brightly, "Really?" "Really" she said, trying to sound sincere despite the guilt that was creeping up from lying to her soon-to-be nephew-in-law. "Thanks Nix" he said, hugging her tightly. "Aw Jake" Nikki said, guilt creeping up worse now. "No, I mean it. Even Bella wouldn't have done this for me" Jake said. "Jake seriously, it's no big deal" she said. "Yes it is, I mean it" he said. "Jake, you can let go now" she said, trying to sound casual. "Oh, sorry" he said, grinning one of his famous sunshiny smiles. Nikki looked away, biting her lip. "Promise?" Jake asked, looking to her. She couldn't even bring herslef to cross her fingers, "Promise" she sighed. Jake cheered, getting the boys to cheer with him. "Looks like we're going home for now guys, but soon the country will be our home again!" Jake called. Nikki sighed, looking after them. "You're honestly going to do this for us?" Warpath asked. "James, normally I'd choose not to, but since you all are so into this..." she trailed off, ending on yet another sigh. Warpath smiled, "Come through for us." Nikki looked over to Logan, "I can't lie to them and break that promise." "How do you plan on getting their land back for them then?" he asked. "I don't know, it was easier a hundred years ago" she said, chuckling ruefully.  
Later, Washington DC-  
Nikki sighed for the millionth time that day, smoothing out her blouse yet again. Beside her, Beast chuckled, "You seem incredibly nervous. Are you sure you want to do this?" "I made a promise" she said, looking over. "Ah, the eternal bond which is promise" Hank sighed, "They get you in deep don't they?" She nodded, feeling almost hopeless to the promise she'd made. "Hank? What brings you here old friend?" the president asked, shaking Hank's hand. "Hello Mr. President. My colligue here helped break up the riot this morning and she's come with a proposition for you" Beast said. "Well, let's go disscuss this away from the ears of the prying media" the President said, chuckling. The three entered the large confrence room, sitting down to hear the proposal. "The Native Americans want their land back sir, and I know exactly how hard it is to live on designated land. I think they shouldn't be limited anymore" Nikki said. "They can leave the reservation if they want" the president said. "I know, but to them the land will always be theirs. They don't want more land, they want to be like everyone else. They don't want designated land, but to live on the land their people once lived on" Nikki said. "Is this true Hank?" the President asked. "Why don't you ask one of them yourself. James?" Hank said, motioning Warpath in. "I'm no Quiliute sir, but I am one of the Natives that want something other than res life" James said. "I see" the president said, sighing, "Miss..." "Mrs. Howlett" Nikki said, smiling. "Mrs. Howlett, I see the issue here and I will do what I can, tell your friends to hope for the best" the president said. James smiled, standing with the others. Hank led them out, equally happy, "That went better than I'd expected." Nikki grinned, "I kept my promise and I can finally say this superhero thing may have advantiges at times." "You know, this could give you diplomatic leverage, you could stand for the people of all minorites. Native Americans, Mutants and all the other people that could benifit from someone like you in office" Hank said. "Hank, I'm already trying to handle my kids, I'm not in line to be in office anytime soon" Nikki said, "and wait until they hear about the president."  
The End

**NYX- Wolverina**

Nikki walked through the cool streets of New York, her hands shoved in her pockets while the cool wind blew around her. District X, close enough to the Bronx to be her old friend's home. "Yes?" a woman asked. "Em, you still livin' here?" Nikki asked, edging the door open with her foot. "Nikki?" Emma Bradly, the original Captian America's baby sister, Patriot's grand-aunt who he never knew existed. "'Lo Em, it's been a long time" Nikki said. Emma smiled, unlike her brother she hadn't aged very much since the war, she still looked only twenty. "Nikki, how long has it been?" Emma asked. "A good half-century Emma" Nikki said, looking into the house, "Don't tell me, the Nixon girl's in there." "How'd-?" Emma began, recalling her friend's gift and smiling at the memory, "If only they'd known back then who you really were." "I'm not going anywhere" Kiden said, sitting back with the other kids.  
"I'm not taking you anywhere" Nikki said, walking in, "I'm here to talk." "What for?" Kiden asked, "Iron Man want to take me in?" Nikki chuckled, "Nah, Cage wants to make an offer. He wants you and your friends on a team and the NA he thinks would be best for you." "Nikki, she's only a child" Emma said. "Emma, I was younger than all of them when I'd become like them. I wasn't even thirteen yet. They had their childhoods robbed from them long before this, what makes now any different then they have more people to protect them?" Nikki asked. "How are you old friend?" Emma asked, "I never had a chance to ask you." "I'm perfect Emma, I have the man I love now, my family is back together and I couldn't have a better life. Only because I had a chance with a team though Emma. They need a team to help them make a new path in life" Nikki said. "We'll think about it Nikki, but I need a favor from you" Emma said. "Anything" Nikki said. "Let the children choose their own path, it's the least they can do for themselves" Emma said. "Always, you know how I've always hated having my path choose for me, just have them consider it" Nikki said, walking out. "It was good to see you again Nikki" Emma said, smiling. "You too Em" Nikki said. Emma smiled a final time before closing the door to her old friend. Nikki smiled, walking back twoard the Avengers Apartment.  
"How'd it go?" Logan asked, sitting around with the other New Avengers. "Better than I'd expected" Nikki said, sitting down beside him. "We should be going guys" Logan said, pulling her up. Nikki sighed, staning with him. "See you everyone!" She giggled as he pulled her into the hall, kissing her passionetly, "Where were you darlin?" "Visiting an old friend" she said breathlessly, holding onto him for support, "You know you really shouldn't dazzle me like that." He chuckled, kissing her again and guiding her out to the quinjet. "Let's just get home, it's been another long day" he said. She sighed, "Well, I know what I want to do when I get home love." She grinned slyly, kissing him passionetly as they put the jet on autopilot for the ride home.  
The End

**Possibilties**

Chapter 1- Team Up  
Daken paced the room worriedly, his thoughts returning to their previous course every time he tried to think of something different. 'Where is she? I knew she should've never gone back out with the X-men. I knew it was too dangerous' he thought, worry making every thought stand out. His cell phone rang, he picked it up, flipping it open anxiously, "Hello?" "Daken" Rachel said, her voice full of worry. "Rachel" he sighed, the pent up stress gone in an instant. "Daken, I need you not to worry" Rachel began, fear more prominant in her voice. "Rachel, what's wrong?" he asked, his own heart skipping a beat. "The Shi'ar recaptured us" she said, sorrow coloring her tone, "I don't know if I'm ever coming back now." "You are coming back, I'm coming to get you" he said. "No! Daken wait, they're coming back. I have to go, take care of Ben. I love you" she said, her voice breaking on a soft sob. "Rachel" he said, heartbroken. "I love you" she said again, hanging up. He looked over to Ben, sleeping soundly and walked out, taking the steps two at a time to get to the jet. "Daken?" Laura asked, "Where are you going?" "Out" he replied coldly. "Wait, I heard what Rachel said, you can't just go find the Shi'ar" Laura said, running after him. "Maybe you can't but I can" he said, starting up a quinjet. She sat in the co-pilot's seat beside him, "I'm coming too." "I'm not stopping you" he said. She smiled, turning and looking out as they prepared for intergalactic travel.  
They landed, freeing the X-Men and departing back to the jet. The Shi'ar were close behind, the X-Men on board. Rachel paused, sending a mental blast back at the Shi'ar. One of them fired, Rachel's focus not on her TK. "No!" Daken shouted, catching her as she fell. Laura pulled them both back in, starting the jet and raching Mach 20 in a few seconds. "Can this thing go any faster?" he called to Laura. "No, it's already at full speed. We're almsot there, just hang on for twenty more seconds!" Laura shouted, looking back nervously. Rachel's already slow heartbeat faltered, blood covered most of the front of her shirt, causing even more panic to spring to Daken's already fearful mind. "Laura!" he shouted. "We're here" she said, landing carefully. Havok took Rachel from Daken, "I'll take her." Daken could only nod weakly, going with them. Laura followed him, worried, "Daken?" "You had something to tell me?" he asked, turning to face her. "It's not important now" she said, "But I'm sorry." "For what?" he asked. "For not being able to go fast enough" she said, her eyes downcast. "Laura, you can't blame yourself for this" he said. "But I do" she said. "Damn, can't you see it? I'm the one who could've pulled her back, I didn't act fast enough Laura. You didn't do anything" he said, trying to reassure her. "I was wrong though" she said, "It took longer than twenty seconds." "Twenty seconds or twenty minutes, you still got us here in time" he said, smiling lightly. "I don't know if I did" she said. "Now you're just being morbid, try to be optimistic right now, please?" he asked. She nodded, "Optimistic. Got it."  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Love Triangle  
Laura sat with Daken while they waited for news on Rachel's condition. "Need to call home?" Bobby offered, holding out a phone for Laura. "Sure" Laura said, taking the phone from Bobby's hand. "Mom?" Laura asked. "Laura, where are you?" Nikki asked worriedly. "Daken and I are at Xaiver's, we helped the other X-Men get back. We're fine mom, don't worry" Laura said, looking back over to Daken. "Do you want me to come get you?" Nikki asked. "No, we have a quinjet, we'll get home on out own" Laura said. "Are you sure?" Nikki asked. "Yeah, I'm sure" Laura said, "We'll be back later." "Okay" Nikki said, "See you later." Laura hung up, handing the phone back to Bobby, "Are you alright?" she asked Daken. "What do you think Laura?" he asked, standing and pacing worriedly. "Do you want to know what I was going to tell you?" she asked. "Not right now" he said, "Can it wait?" "Sure" she said, sitting patently, "You love her." "Always" he said, "Why?" "Just wondering" Laura said. "You weren't wondering, you gave an idea and wanted an answer, why?" he asked. "I wish I knew" Laura said. "What's that supposed to mean?" Daken asked. "I don't know, I don't know what I'm feeling" she said, confused. "Well then just...show me?" he said. Laura stood, walking over to him, "I don't know if this is going to be right..." She took a deep breath, her heart pounding anxiously and she leaned close to him, pressing her lips to his gently. "Laura?" he asked, pulling back, shocked. "I'm sorry" she said, "I don't know how to do it really." "Daken?" Rachel's weak voice asked, shock and hurt in her voice.  
"Rachel" he sighed, going to her side. "Don't" Rachel said, closing her eyes to keep from crying. "Rachel please, let me explain" he said. "Don't just don't" she said, "If you didn't want me anymore all you had to do was tell me." "Rachel!" he called after her, watching in shock as she turned away from him, walking past Laura down the hall to the mansion's upper levels. He didn't try to go after her, he just walked back to the quinjet. "I knew I would screw it up one day, I knew it!" he muttered. "Daken?" Laura asked, jogging to catch up with him. "I'm the one that should be apoligizing Laura, not you" he said, "I've always been able to mess every other relationship up, how was now supposed to be any different?" he said, starting up the qiunjet. Laura sat down beside him, "You didn't do anything." She put her hand over his to keep him from starting the jet yet, her eyes meeting his. His freezing hands made her shiver, frezing her in place. "Maybe, this time...it could be different" she said. He leaned over, kissing her passionetly. "No! Daken how could you?!" Rachel cried, standing in the jet. "Rachel!" he gasped. "I should've never thought I could give you a second chance! Have Logan bring Ben here as soon as possible" Rachel said, walking off the jet. "Damn" he sighed. "Was that for me or because of her?" Laura asked. Daken looked to her, "Laura, you are one crazy woman, but I think I can get used to it. I mean, we aren't really...you know, related right?" "I don't know" she said, "I don't really understand that." He smiled, "Well this is going to be interesting." She blushed, smiling, "You want to try?" "Well since I struck out with Rachel pretty bad, why not?" he said, smiling at her.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Learning  
Later, Laura sat with Daken, looking over his shoulder. "Well, I guess we aren't really related" he said, looking down at their research, "At least, not closely." She looked down, making sense of what she saw. "Hey, what're you doing?" Nikki asked. "Oh, just looking at some genetics stuff" Daken said. Nikki looked over, "Well, I'm not Hank, but I'll say that looks pretty close to the cloning process. Trying to understand Laura?" "Yeah" Daken said, "By the test results wouldn't you say we aren't really related?" "Well, I could say that but you'll always be my kids to me" Nikki said, chuckling. Daken smiled up to Laura, Laura smiling back. "Am I missing something?" Nikki asked. "Well..." Laura began, looking to Daken to help her explain. "We're not quite sure how to tell you" Daken said. "Now you both are making me nervous, what?" Nikki asked. "I'm just going to say it, we've had a lot of...weird stuff happen today and we've come to the decision that...we're going to try the couple thing. With eachother" Daken said. Nikki bit her lip, thinking, "I really don't know what to say." "You don't have to say anything" Laura said, "Just don't be that..." "Freaked out" Daken said. "Okay, sure" Nikki said, "Let's go with that."  
Logan sat in the rec room, it was one of the best times to talk to him, the hockey game was on and he was at one of his happiest moments, but that didn't stop Daken and Laura from being intimidated. "I have a bad feeling this won't end well" Laura said. "Relax, this can't go that badly" Daken said, confidently. "You're what?" Logan asked, looking to them in shock. "Well you took it better than Nikki" Daken said. "Say something" Laura said. "Good luck" Logan said and chuckled. "Well that went better than I'd thought" Daken said. "Well..sort of" Laura said. He laughed, putting his arm around her. She blushed, looking away shyly. "Do you have a feeling this is going to become really strange?" Nikki asked Logan. "Oh I'm sure" Logan said, looking after them.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Explaining  
The next day, Nikki sat with Logan during some pointless comedy neither were really paying attention to. "So, any idea how this went on?" Logan asked her. "I have no clue, and I really don't want to know. It's their business" she said. He looked over to her, "Yeah but..isn't it a bit... I don't know, strange?" Nikki laughed, "Honey, three of my older sisters married my half-cousin, I don't think this can be considered that strange." "I get that you're related to Dracula but are you serious?" he asked. "That's not even close to as strange as it gets" she said. "Forget it, I really don't want to know" he said. "And I never wanted to live through it, you're really not alone" she said, chuckling and kissing him lovingly. "Mom, what the hell is going on with those two?" Josh asked, leaning over the back of the couch. "Yeah, I mean I get we're supposed to be nice to each other but they're kinda creeping me out" Vincent said, hopping up on the couch. Logan looked to Nikki, "Do you want to explain it to them or do I have to?" Nikki chuckled, "Okay, come here. I'm sure neither of you are going to understand, and it's pretty suprising even I do. But well.." She explained it to them, unsuprised at how strange they thought it was. "I don't get it" Josh said, "I just don't get it." Nikki ruffled his hair, "I don't think you're supposed to."  
Upstairs, Laura was on the phone, sitting in Daken's room while he was on the computer. They occasionally smiled each others way. "Wait, so you're together with Daken, who's been your brother for god knows how long" Cessily asked over the phone. "Well, that was how we acted but really, we aren't really even related" Laura said. "I'm not even trying to understand anymore" Cessily asked, "But if you get tired of him..." "Not going to happen Cessily" Laura said. Daken looked to her, chuckling. He motioned to her to come over, and she smiled, "Cessily, I'll call you back." "Woah, hold on a sec, you're really getting rid of me now?" Cessily asked. "Call you later" Laura said, hanging up. "So, never getting tired of me?" he asked, chuckling, "I'm sure at least one other woman has said that already." "Well am I like other women?" Laura asked. "Not any I've met" he said, "Then again, I've never met ANYONE like you before." Laura smiled, "That's a good thing?" He nodded. This couldn't be so bad, could it? The answer would come with time.  
The End, for now. (To be continued in Vampire King's story)

**Abyss**

Chapter 1- Strange Magic  
Logan looked over to Nikki who slept soundly at his side. She sighed in her sleep, the moonlight making her skin glow. He smiled, gently stroking her hair. "What're you doing up?" she asked sleepily, catching his hand and kissing it gently. "Why are you up?" he asked, kissing her neck. "It's a harvest moon my love" she said, her fangs grown down, "Why else would I be up?" He chuckled, holding her tightly, "Since we're both up..." She smiled, "After I grab a quick bite lover." She slid out of bed and across the room to the minifridge where she stored the bagged blood. Logan watched her, admiring the view. Nikki smiled, turning back to him, grinning, "I'll be right there my love." As she climbed back to bed, he kissed the blood from her lips. Her eyes were faded burgundy from feeding, her pale skin glowing as she kissed him deeply. "If this is another vampire thing, I like it" he groaned, kissing her neck. She stopped, sitting up and listening. "Darlin?" "Wait" she said softly, going over to the window. He walked behind her, slipping his arms around her waist, "What's going on?" "Hunters, getting closer" she said softly, getting back from the window.  
"How close?" he asked. "Too close" she said, dressing hurriedly. "Where are you going?" he asked, catching her arm before she could leave the room. "Away from here, I can't put you in danger" she whispered, looking back out the window. "I can't let you go, I can't be without you" he said. She looked back to him, unshed tears in her eyes, "Logan, I can't risk loosing you. I love you so much." Tears flowed from her eyes as he kissed her, "I love you too, that's why I don't want you to go." "Logan.." she sighed, "I can't put you or the kids in danger like this." She looked back outside nervously, "No, they're here." There was a loud knock at the door and she gasped, pure terror electrifying her nerves. "Logan, don't" she gasped. He looked back to her, walking down to the door. There was a soft knock again, and she looked to him in fear, staying frozen in her place by the bedroom door. "I'm looking for Nikki Dracula" the man outside said. "Gabriel? Gabriel Van Helsing?" Nikki asked. "There you are" Gabriel said, a warm smile crossing his features. "Gabriel I never thought we'd cross paths again" she said, smiling as she decended the stairs with an elegant grace that could break a ballerina's heart. "I need your help" Gabriel said.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Vortex  
Gabriel embraced his old friend much to Logan's annoyance. "It's great to see you Gabriel" Nikki said, smiling warmly. "I wish it was mearly a social call" Gabriel said, "The vortex that opened back when Connor was pulled into it opened again, he's returned Nikki. He hasn't aged a day and he's brought someone back from the other demension with him." "Who?" Nikki asked. "I don't know, but he's powerful. He has a healing factor, unpareleled senses, just like yourselves, but here's where it gets strange, he has three claws in his knuckles like yours and one from under his wrist" Gabriel said. "What's this got to do with us?" Logan asked. "He's joined with Concussion to go on a rampage in a small Montana town, they don't know what world they're in, they think they're back in their world" Gabriel said. "Connor doesn't remmeber us?" Nikki asked. "He does, but the world has changed so much that he doesn't know that it's his old world" Gabriel said. "I'll go, I have to stop him. He could kill and he knows it" Nikki said. "You can't go alone" Logan said. "I have to Logan, he doesn't know anyone else in my life, he just knows me. Most of Zenith is dead, but I haven't changed. He'll believe it's me" she said, "I'll be careful, I promise." He sighed, "There's no convinceing you otherwise is there?" he asked. "No, but I'll be fine" she said, kissing him gently. "How soon can you go?" Gabriel asked. "Now" Nikki said, walking out with Logan gathering a team to follow.  
Nikki decended the jet close to the edge of town, walking out and walking among houses that resembled tombstones in the wake of Concussion's blasts. "Connor! Connor!" Nikki called. "Nikki?" Connor asked, smiling. The boy at his side gasped, looking to Nikki in shock. "Nikki, it is you! Is this..is this really you?" Connor asked, running over to stand close to her. "It is me Connor, you're not the only one who never changes" she said, smiling as he embraced her tightly. "How long have I been gone?" he asked. "Too long Connor, too long" she said, smiling. "What's happened since I've been gone?" he asked. "Well for starters I'm married and I have kids, two grandkids too" she said, grinning sheepishly. "Wow, I have been gone a while" he said. "Oh, Nikki, I've brought someone back with me" Connor said, turning to the boy. "Do you know her?" Connor asked him. "I think I do" the boy said, "In my world, but I don't know if it's true here too, she's my grandmother." "Ben?" Nikki asked, looking to him in shock. "No, my name is Sage" the boy said, "Are you Wolverina?"  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Time Warp  
"Yes" Nikki said, looking at Sage. He looked oddly familiar, but she couldn't place it. "What was it like where you're from?" she asked. "I..I don't remember all that well, when Connor found me I couldn't remember anything and I'd only rediscovered my powers then" Sage said. Connor looked to Nikki, "What happened to eerone else? Is Jack..?" Jack was Connor's litte brother, although it could be big brother now since Connor hadn't changed a day. "Jack's fine, he's still alive" she said, she'd kept tabs on her old teammates enough to know that. "How old is he now, or better yet, how old am I?" Connor asked, chuckling. "Well, Jacks approaching 110 as the days get closer" Nikki said, "You're older than me Connor, you're be 115 now." "By three years" Connor said. She smiled, "Look where that puts me." "No way! That can't be right!" he said, "How is it possible? You? Jack?" "Jack had the supersoldier serum not long after you'd been gone, I...just never changed" she said. "How? How is it you've barely changed since I last saw you, and if you're being honest that was close to a century ago?" Connor asked, running his fingers through his messy hair in confusion. "I'm not human Connor" she said. "Yeah well neither am I, we've already established that" he said. "No Connor, it's not just my powers that have kept me alive this long" she began. "She's a vampire" Sage said, "Or at least, she is back in my world. That's really all I remember about you, you were Wolverina, at least until you were convinced to settle down. You were my grandmother, and once you'd given up the life of a hero you brought your family out of the human territory and we were in vampire terriory. We could be because you were one. Or are." "Not just" Nikki said, "Do you know anything about that Sage?" "No, in my world you're only a vampire mutant, nothing more nothing less. There are plenty more like you" he said.  
The X-Warriors were getting edgy, especially Logan while he watched Connor move closer to Nikki every second. "Relax runt, if you go out there and rip his head off there's a good chance she won't forgive you for it" Feral said, crouching in the trees beside Logan. Connor put his hand on Nikki's arm, saying somthing so softly not even Logan could hear. "I'm goin' down there" he said, getting annoyed. He stormed out of the trees, going down to Nikki's side and wrapping his arm territorialy around her waist, "Back off pretty boy." Sage laughed, smiling, "That must be grandpa." Nikki almost laughed out loud at the irony, a small giggle escaping her. "Grandpa?" Logan asked, looking to his wife who was shaking with laughter. "Who else have you been getting frisky with woman?" Deadpool asked, much to Nikki's embaressment. It was Logan's turn to laugh, "Wilson, shut up." Nikki glared at Wade, "One more crack like that and I'm cutting your tounge out." "It'll grow back" Wade said. "Oh really? What if I...?" she asked, whispering the rest to Wade, who in turn paled under his mask. "I'll be nice" he said, his voice a little above a squeek. "What'd she ask?" Feral asked, leaning over to hear. " won't get into details, but it promised pain" Deadpool said, "So much pain..." Feral looked to her with a raised eyebrow, "Didn't think you had it in ya, but you successfully made Wilson wet himself." Redeemer stepped back, "That's what that puddle is?!" Connor and Sage were busting a gut laughing over the past few moments as Nikki blushed. "Nobody ever explained the grandpa thing by the way" Wade said. "Wilson, SHUT. UP." Logan said, giving Wade a death glare. "Welcome to my insane world" Nikki said, sighing as Wade got a well deserved punch in the gut for his latest comment.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Lament  
Sage had returned back with the X-Warriors to the Howlett estate, Professor Xaiver arriving shortly after. Sage sat out on the doorstep, the soft snow breezing around him, and thought. "You look really familiar" Daken said, standing in the doorway. Sage looked up, startled, "You do too. But I come from another world so...you could be anyone from my past." "I lost my memories too, well, only for a while but they'd been gone. To be honest with you, I learned more about myself then than I knew already" Daken said. "What do you mean?" Sage asked, "If you didn't even know who you were then how did you know anything?" "I knew who I was, I just didn't know what I was, what I'd become. My father, Logan, helped me fix that" Daken said. "I wish I knew who my father was" Sage said sadly. "Maybe you'll find him, you never know what you'll remember. My mom, you've met her already, she woke up in the middle of te night after having a nightmare and she remembered everything" Daken said, "Don't give up yet kid." Sage looked after him as he walked away, "I won't."  
"He needs us Professor" Nikki said, trying to convince Charles differently. "He shouldn't be here Nikki, you're taking too much of a chance" Professor X said, "You can trust me to take care of him." "Charles I don't care what demension he's from he is still my grandson and I can't let him be on his own. Not now" Nikki said. Sage listened, she cared about him probably more than his family back in his world, why else hadn't they come when he'd been out there alone, half-dead? Connor was closer family, but he'd returned to his own family, his brother and what family remained for them.  
Laura looked out of the kitchen where Logan and Nikki talked with the professor, she stood closely behind, now staring at the boy not much older than herself who looked utterly lost in this unfamiliar world with people he knew but couldn't remember. She walked out, standing behind him, "What are you doing?" He started, "Oh! I'm sorry I didn't know..." he trailed off, wiping his eyes. "You miss your family don't you?" she asked, sitting on the arm of the couch, an invitation for him to sit. He sighed, "I can't even remember them and I do. How messed up is that?" "Not very" she said, "I didn't know Logan at all, and yet somehow he actually cared enough to take me in. Daken barely knew him and was accepted by him. Nikki wasn't even really like us, she was a really hard core villaness, probably worse than Daken had been, but he loves her all the same. You can just tell at some moments that the villianess thing never really wore off, she just took on a better way." "In my world she was never a villianess, she was a rogue for a while. Eluding slayers and basicly playing chicken with them across the globe until she met James. They fell in love, he ended up helping her escape the slayers in mutant territory, and she turned him. Connor told me all these stories about her, one about her even facing my world's greatest slayer, Mendoza, and living to tell the tale herself" Sage said, grinning at the memories of winter camps and stories.  
"Sounds like Nikki alright" Laura sighed, looking into the other room. He laughed, "Your world is like this too?" "No, there are no territories, we live where we please, go where we please and do what we please, sound fun doesn't it?" she said, chuckling. "Yeah, man if only my world were like that" he sighed. "What is it like?" she asked. "Well, half the earth is cold and barren, like your world's Siberia, or so Connor told me and the other half is hot and desolate, like your world's Sahara desert. The middle equator runs up the earth on either side, that's mostly where it's populated. People don't like the extreme cold of the extreme heat. I was found in the cold land, your world's Europe. The hot land starts close to your world's Iowa and moves out to the sea, the coast on the other side of the continent is really the only major population in Asia" he said, "Most people travel, living on ships of fifty or more. Whole clans are born and raised on the ships, but I wasn't. Vampire territory is where you'd have the East of Canada, and mutant territory is from your New York to your Tenesse, most people try to avoid those places. Eeryone else trys to go everywhere else." "Why?" Laura asked. "Because they're all afraid. The vampires rely on the animals, and the mutants hunt too. That was how they met" Sage said. "Nikki and Logan?" she asked. "Yeah, they met when he was hunting and she was hiding from the slayers. She didn't even know she'd gone past the territory border until she saw him. They say it was love at first sight" he said. "Sounds just like here" she said, "Only stranger." "Sage, come up and I'll show you your new room" Nikki said, smiling warmly. Sage grinned, hopping up to follow her. "She's a legend to the kid" Daken said, shaking his head, "I can't wait until he discovers comic books." Laura rolled her eyes, walking off after them.  
The End


	9. Part 9

**Harvest Moon (OS)**

The cool air felt incredible as Nikki and Sal raced through the trees in their wolf forms, the full harvest moon shining it's deep amber glow over the snow. Sal raced up a rock, baying loudly in tune with Nikki. His thick silver coat bristled as the howls of others like them cut through the air. Nikki streached, turning in the direction of the other howls and leaing to find their visitors. Sal whined, following closely. The pair were met with a large russet wolf, carrying a girl not much older than twelve on his back, a large grey wolf, a tan wolf and many others, but the largest was a huge black wolf none other than Sam. 'So, hunting in my territory eh Sammy?' Nikki thought, using pack mentality. 'Not hunting, visiting. We can make the trip easier during the harvest moon. You remember Renesmee' Sam thought, looking over to the girl on Jacob's back. 'Wow Nessie's gotten big' Sal thought, 'Hey Nikki if Tayla grows up that fast-' 'You are NOT even finishing that sentence or else' Nikki thought, a low growl backing up her point. Embry and Quil laughed, grinning huge wolfy grins. 'Enough' Sam commanded, 'Can we phase back to talk?' Nikki sighed, 'You can, I want to have a little fun first.' She trotted off in Jacob's direction, thinking something to him and he grinned in his wolf form, passing Nessie to Seth and standing with Nikki. 'What are you two doing?' Sam asked. 'Pack tumble!' Jake shouted mentally, charging at Sam. The others cheered mentally, piling on Sam while Nikki and Seth watched, laughing hystericly. "Okay okay not funny anymore!" Sam called in his human form. "Dammit Sam put on your pants!" Nessie called over to him, covering her eyes. Jake growled, his jaws snapping at Sam. "Alright! Alright! I'm going already!" Sam said, picking up his pants. Nikki his her muzzle in Seth's fur, waiting for his signal. 'Well now the others are morphing back and getting dressed, and I have a feeling Nessie's enjoying watching Jake' Seth thought, shaking with laughter. Nikki even giggled, nudging Nessie's foot. "What?" Nessie asked, blushing when she realized she'd been caught staring, "Oh." "Oh yeah, he's REAL impressive, just wish we hadn't had that affair when you were going to be born" Leah said. Nikki looked to Seth, 'Does she want to get her $$ kicked?' 'Leah's just like that, and Nessie probably won't-' Seth began, only to be cut off by Nessie lunging at Leah. Nikki chuckled, 'Probably won't?' 'Oh like you're always right' Seth thought, grabbing Nessie's shirt with his teeth.  
Nikki went off to change back, Sal changed right in the clearing, making Nessie blush and turn away, followed by Seth changing back. "So what's this I heard about a new pack?" Nikki asked, looking over to Sam. "There is no new pack with us, people are saying that about you" he replied, his gaze moving from Nikki to Sal and back. "Wait, they think WE'RE a pack? That's rich. There are only two of us" Nikki said. "Then they'll think you're mates" Sam said. Sal made a noise like a half-chuckle half-snort and covered his face with his hands while he busted up laughing. Nikki looked horrified, "Me and HIM?! There's an impossiblity." 'Yeah, I'm sure" Jake said, humming a love song. Nikki smacked him, "I imprinted on my husband you moron, and he imprinted on my daughter wether I like it or not!" They 'ooh'd as though there had been an isult given, but smacking Jake had been enough to send them into uproarus laughter. "So does that mean we are a pack now?" Sal asked. "No, it means Jake is an even bigger idiot than the rest of them" Nikki said, glaring at Jake. The pack busted up again, their happiness was contagious and Nikki and Sal laughed with them.  
As morning approached, Nikki snuck back into the bedroom, curling up with Logan for a little while longer.  
The End

**Halloween Forever!**

Chapter 1- The Alpha and the Slayer  
The Ordeal. She'd only heard that term once before in her life. "You can't be doing that Sam" Nikki said, "You'll be killing your pack." "Nikki I'm telling you, this is the only way" Sam said. "No, it isn't. Be fair please Sam, I've never actually begged anyone before but please, these are our friends. They're our family" she said. Logan leaned over, rubbing her shoulders while she sighed, party in defeat and partly in relaxation. "Well disscuss it more later, I have to get to a council meeting" Sam said, hanging up. Nikki shut the phone down on the receiver, leaning back into Logan's arms, "I'm really starting to hate him." Logan chuckled, kissing her neck as he rubbed her back, relaxing her, "What's the big deal about this Ordeal thing anyway?" "The adult male wolves fight for the role of Alpha and the women over sixteen fight to be the Alpha's mate. It's so stupid and degrading..." she trailed off, leaning back against him, "I've always hated it. The women act like the brides of Dracula with their mates, it's just...insane." He slid one arm around her waist, bringing her back against him fully and he gently kissed her neck where he felt her pulse, "I doubt they drank each others blood." She giggled, running her fingers through his hair, "Vampires are better with romance than lycans, we've always been one for a quiet night indoors than hunting under the moon, but it's all by one's preferance." He smiled, "What about a quiet night out?" She smiled back, "I'd like that. We need a break lately my love."  
The dark tinted windows of the old Rolls Royce prevented the moonlight from coming in contact with the car's occupants. Axel and the Five they called themselves, they were a small hunting pack of loup-garou come into the land where they'd settle for now. "Axel" Rafe said, looking into the back, "We're here." The desrted former La Push stood with empty houses, perfect for the wolves to live in peace during the day with their mates, but close enough that by night they could hunt upon the people of Seattle. Or Port Angeles, depending on how hungry they were. "Where are we anyway?" Finn asked, looking around, "All I see is a bunch of old houses." "The former La Push, a pack before us lived here" Axel said, walking from the car with his mates on either arm, "Now, this land is ours." Willem looked around and shivered, "Can't we go back?" "No. There is no back." Axel said, dangerously angry. "Let it go" Rafe whispered to Willem, turning his attention back to Axel. "We make our land here, now hurry up and find a place for the night. Tonight we make homes, tomorrow night, we hunt" Axel said, striding off. The slayer waited patently in the trees, "Soon Alpha boy, soon."  
Back in Canada, Nikki smiled at the thought of going out for a change. Logan pulled her back against him, looking her over in the mirror, "I don't know what I want more, dinner or dessert." He kissed her passionetly, pressing her tightly against him. "Well at least we expected that" Kim said, laughing softly. Nikki blushed lightly, "Hey Kim." The women hugged briefly, Gorge and Logan nodding to each other, "Thanks for watching the kids on such short notice" Nikki said. "No problem, Anna and Tayla get along great, so do Robert and Vincent and Marie and the girls." Nikki smiled, "I'm just so glad they have something to do when we're gone, that way I know they won't have time to destroy anything." Gorge almost started laughing, but the look from Kim stopped him. "I'm sure they'll be perfect little angels, just like before" she said, looking at Gorge. "What?" he asked. "Force of habit" she said. Nikki laughed, "Thanks again." "Oh no problem!" Kim said, hugging her friend again, "Just have fun." Nikki beamed, "Fun is an understatment." Logan gently tugged her hand, "We'll be back later." "Have fun" Kim called, winking. Nikki blushed and grinned, walking out with Logan. "It looks like the kids are going to be busy all night" Kim said, walking downstairs. Gorge grinned, "Does this mean what I think it means?" "Of course honey, we finally have time to watch that movie I wanted to see!" Kim said. "Movie?" Gorge asked. Kim turned on the TV, sitting down "Well don't just stand there honey, come sit. I might get scared." Gorge sighed, "Well it can't be that bad..."  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Change  
The sweet scents of the winter night flowed through the air, making La Push smell like home. "Axel's full of himself, why can't we go back if we want?" Willem asked, sitting on his bed in a ball. "We'll go back...someday" Finn said. Shots rang out through the small camp, Willem and Finn darted up in fright. Ulf knocked at the door rapidly, "Willem, Finn let's get out of here!" They ran out, racing through the trees alongside one another. One of the other boys sat hunched in the brush. Soft muttering alerted them to another presence, Rafe and Axel being dragged across the ground. "Sweet moon" Ulf said softly, looking st the bodies in shock. "We've got to get out of here" Finn said, racing off through the trees with the others following. "What if we get tracked?" Willem asked, frightened. "We won't we just have to stay hidden" Ulf said, leading the pack of four into the trees, away from humans.  
Logan smiled, gently stroking Nikki's cheek across the table. She smiled, catching his hand, "This is nice. We finally have some time alone together." He chuckled, "What do you want to do after this?" "I don't know, we'll see after" she said, smiling. He stood, taking her hand and leading her out to the car, opening the door for her. "I have an idea" he said, "How long's it been since you've gone to a drive-in?" She smiled, "Not since that late 30's. What's playing?" "Christine" he said. "Ah, a halloween haunted car classic" she chuckled, smiling brightly. The movie was pretty good for a fifties classic, and there were even a few times she'd jumped, and Logan smiled directly at her as the movie ended. He leaned over, gently kissing her neck, "Want to go home?" She nodded, "I have an idea now." He grinned, wrapping his arm around her as they drove home. Kim and Gorge had watched two movies by the time Nikki and Logan got home, Kim was dabbing her eyes with a tissue while Gorge snored uncerimoniusly on the couch beside her. The door shutting as Logan and Nikki walked in made Gorge awake with a snort, making Kim laugh beside her tears.  
"What were we watching?" Gorge asked sleepily. "The Notebook" Kim said, dabbing her eyes again. "Oh, and before that?" he asked. "Homeroom" she said, sniffing. "Yeah no wonder I fell asleep" he said, yawning and streaching. "Have fun?" Nikki asked, smiling brightly. Kim nodded, sniffling, "And you?" Nikki leaned over, hugging her friend, "One of the best dates of my life!" Kim giggled, blotting away a final tear, "I was watching Homeroom, then the Notebook and Gorge fell asleep." Logan chuckled, "I don't blame you." Gorge laughed, as did Nikki, "We went to dinner and went out to see 'Christine', it was incredible." Kim stood, "Well I guess we should go get the kids, come on honey." Gorge laughed, "I'm glad you had fun man, I spent the entire time dreaming of what's soon to happen." Logan grinned, "You have no idea." Nikki blushed, "I still have to put the kids to bed my love." "Well I'll be waiting" he said, kissing her deeply. Nikki sighed contentedly, "I'll be right back." Kim walked downstairs, Anna sleeping on her shoulder, "You don't have to. They went to bed on time like angels, as I said. Marie and Robert too." Gorge carried Marie and Robert in either arm, "We teleported here, at least we can 'port home without trouble." Nikki smiled, "Thank you."  
After Gorge and Kim left, Logan gently tugged Nikki up the stairs, grinning in anticipation. "So, what was your idea?" he asked, locking the door. "Come here and find out" she purred, laying across the bed. He grinned mischivously, beginning their passionet night.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Journey  
Vivian found the four boys huddled in the trees close to the new territory, "Willem! Guys what happened?" "S-slayer" Finn gasped, "He killed Axel and Rafe." Vivian gasped, "Where?" "In Washington, the old La Push" Willem said. "Gaberiel!" Vivian shouted, running back into camp. "Vivian, I heard, we have to go. The others have already been alerted, those four are going with them" Gaberiel said, "I'm going with them, you have to find someone else like us." "Please, Gabriel be safe" Vivian said, terror in her voice. "Of course" he said, kissing her cheek lightly. She took off into the forest without a second thought.  
Wild Child had arrived back to Alpha Flight earlier that day, sitting outside in familiar land felt good for a change. "Help! Anyone? Hello? Please help me!" Vivian called, stumbling through the trees. Kyle jumped up, running over to the distraught girl, "What's happening?" "Please, there's a slayer after us, please you have to help" Vivian gasped. "Wait, who are you? Who are 'us'?" Kyle asked. "My pack, please they're still out there" Vivian said, clinging to him. "Amanda, Vindicator, get out here!" Kyle called. Vivian smiled, looking up to him, "Thank you, you may have the appearance of Sabretooth, but you have a heart of gold like Wolverine." Kyle chuckled, "That's what I do."  
Lana walked outside to see Ash sitting with his back against the wall, a soda sitting beside him and a book in his hand. "Hey" she said. "Oh, hey Lana" he said, waving her over to sit beside him. "I need to tell you something Ash" she said shyly. He put down his book, "Go ahead." "I know you don't understand it, but my love burns like a thousand suns for you Ash, and I'm not sure if anything can change that" she said, looking away embaressdly. "Huh?" Ash asked, his eyes wide. Lana cracked up laughing, "I knew I could get you with that. What'cha doing?" "Reading" Ash said, grinning, "God you did have me going." She giggled, "Thank you." "Lana, go inside" he said softly, suddenly aware of eyes on them. "What's going on?" she asked, standing beside him. "Slayer" he said. ""Should we go get Logan and Nikki?" she asked. "No, go get your family and hide" he said. She raced inside, taking the steps two at a time to wake the others. "Hurry up! Please wake up the slayer's close!" Lana cried, pounding on everyone's doors. "Lana, what slayer?" Nikki asked, suddenly there. "Ash said for you not to come" Lana said, taking a step back. "Logan, go with them, I'm bringing Ash inside" Nikki said. Logan was about to argue, but she kissed him gently, "I'll be right back." Lana and Logan brought the family together downstairs, keeping them hidden from the slayer. Nikki went outside, pulling Ash back from the slayer's sword. "Ash, get back inside!" "No, I can't!" he said. "You have to, go! Go now!" she shouted, dodging blows herself. Against his better judgement, Ash took off running inside. The slayer struck hard, slamming Nikki hard and knocking her to the ground. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time vampire" the slayer said. "I've had so much pain in my life, and I know every single thing you could do to cause me more pain, and I don't care. The one thing you could actually hurt me with is something I'll never lead you to, something I'll never give up" she gasped, holding her side where he'd struck her.  
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to hit women?" Logan growled, his claws slicing through the slayer's blade. "Logan don't!" Nikki cried, reaching out for him. He went to her side, scooping her up in his arms. "I've got you baby, I've got you" he said softly, kissing her gently. "No, no it's impossible!" the slayer cried, "I am unstoppible!" "Logan, it's Mendoza, he's never been stopped before" Nikki said softly. Logan turned, holding her against his chest with one arm as he made a swift cut with the other set of claws. "You've got nothing to worry about now baby, I'm here" he said, holding her tightly. She sighed, "I love you." "I love you too baby, are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm perfect" she said, sighing. The vampire coven hiding in the trees laughed happily, racing off into the shadows.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Hellgate  
"You have got to be kidding me" Josh said, dropping the remote onto the couch. Vincent's eyes went wide, "MOM!" Nikki walked in, "What is...? Oh sweet moon." The path of distruction a rogue vampire coven had caused through Toronto was astounding, not to mention the hell they'd unleashed on the way. A resurected mummy, demons and who knows what else coming from the bowls of the underworld. "They set hell free" Josh said slowly in amazement. "No, not yet, but they're all too close" Nikki said, "If anything goes wrong I need you to help your older siblings, alright? There's too much to take care of. Your father and I are heading out, we need to stop them before they reach the hellgate, otherwise the world WILL end." Vincent wimpered, looking after his mom as she ran off to put the magical shield around the house.  
Nikki's feet couldn't've flown faster if she'd had her wings out, she made sure the shield was strong before she left, knowing without them it was the only protection their family had. She traced the edge of the spellbook with her gloved fingertips, feeling the lock her father had set there over a century ago. The silver key around her neck was the only thing that could unlock it, and with gentle care she did, the ancient book spitting dust as she opened the cover. Logan's hand covered hers, she knew how he feared for her and how badly they both knew this was going to end. "Don't be afraid" she whispered, entwining her fingers with his, "We belong together." A small smile crossed his lips for a moment, before he took her in his arms, "I know I can only do so much, but be careful out there when you have to do this." She nodded against his chest, through everything they'd been through this had to be the worst. He gently turned her chin up, pressing his lips to hers passionetly, and yet tenderly. "Be safe" he whispered against her lips. A soft sigh escaped her, "You just know how to make me melt don't you?" He chuckled, "When this is over, I'll be happy."  
The jet landed and she fought to hold back the power that just wanted to zap everything and go home. She had to do this right, either that or turn back now and that wasn't an option anymore. It had never been. Logan had lept into battle the second they'd landed, and she raced to the hellgate, spellbook in hand. A vampire swooped down, it's talons out. It caught her, sendng her back into the side of a car. It laughed manicly as it flew off, doubling back for more. Nikki huffed, getting to her feet and leaping up, running across the hoods of the cars instead of going around them and risking getting thrown again, with this she had a plan. At the last car, the vampire picked her up, and her claws shot out, cutting off it's talons. It cried out in pain, dropping her. She landed agilly, swinging to the platform of rubble where a building once stood. She saw the leader cutting his wrist, giving blood to the creature beyond the portal. "Asarath nel desperandum!" she shouted, her powers directed at the hellgate. "NO!" the leader roared, turning into half-bat form and hitting her hard, taking her off the ground like the others had. She groaned, getting off the hood of an overturned truck she'd been smashed itno this time, "This just isn't my day." The hellgate closed, and the destruction dimmed, leaving only the vampires. She laughed and took the automatic crossbow from around her back, turning it on the leader first. The creature gave an inhuman shriek, and she'd taken out most of them before one knocked the crossbow from her hands, "Not today human!" Nikki grinned, her wings ripping out through the back of her shirt, "Who said anything about human?" Focusing, mimicing the others, she lept into the air, wings beating and sent the other careening to the ground, a silver stake buried in it's heart. She gasped, returning to her original form and laughing almost insanely, "I-I can fly? How the hell...?" She laughed brightly, turning to Logan, who smiled in return at her, "I can fly! How did I not know this?" He laughed, pulling her into his arms and laughing as he held her tightly. She smiled, "Don't worry about me so much. I'm always with you, no matter what." He kissed her with a firey passion, moving down her neck and along her collarbone, "I know, but why would that stop me? I love you." She giggled, "You tricked me. Tease." "I tricked a vampire? I find that a bit hard to believe" he said, lowering his face until his nose met hers. She giggled, "Well you not only tricked me, you made me happy. There's two things a vampire's never done before. Alright I can't say that for all of us but still." He laughed, picking her up in his arms despite her protests, "I have something I want to try on the way home." "Oh? Do you now?" she asked coyly, grinning widely as he carried her off to the jet.  
The End

**Wolverina Noir**

Chapter 1- Sin City  
The lights over the magnificent Sin City itself, Las Vegas, was nothing compared to the light inside the infamous Luxor hotel, where millionares lined up to play the best there is, and go home with little money to spare. She was the best there is at what she does, and right now it was conning millionares out of their money. "Read 'em and weep boys, another full house" she purred, leaning back in her chair much to the dismay of the other casino patrons. Shouts of protest arose from the several rich men, but she only chuckled, "The cards don't lie boys." Little did she know the higher politics knew the cards didn't lie, just the dealer, and the hitman knew that too, but he also knew how beautiful they said she was. He looked over at the casino and knew which one she was just by looking, and all of his skeptic thoughts faded. "I take it you're Nikki?" he asked, standing behind her. "Who wants to know?" she asked, her mistic green eyes turning to him brefly, an air of curiosity crossing her. "I do" he said. She smiled, sending a strage feeling through him, fear? "and who might you be? I don't take well to mystery" she said, looking him over and by the look of it she liked what she saw.  
"The names Logan" he said, "and I know what you've been doing." "Another government cronie huh? Take your best shot handsome, I'll take an even better one" she said, her voice a low purr. He smiled, "Government ain't quite my thing babe, but I got a hit on you." "Well, any chance you can overlook that? Just a little?" she asked, brushing up against him on her way to the bar. He looked her over more throughly, watching the way her movements glided, and having thoughts about her that if his boss heard them he'd be the one shot. She turned to him, her smile making him forget compleatly about his assignment. "They're sending backup in two hours, if you want to live, you've gotta get out of here" he said. "I'm not leaving" she said, "At least, not without someone on my side." Her eyes went to him and he knew what she was thinking, "Maybe I could overlook the boss, just this once" he said, leaning closer to her. "I think I owe you now" she said, her efforts paying off, "and I know what a guy like you wants." "Who said you do?" he asked, his touch gentle as he brushed her hair back from her shoulder. She didn't reply, she just stared past him, "Looks like they planned on taking you out too."  
He turned, drawing the automatic from it's holster and taking a shot when he saw the backup team. The fired back, and Logan pulled Nikki behind the bar, firing over. She'd managed to get her hands on a shotgun, firing long-range and smiling ever so sexily as she blew away the smoke from the top of the shotgun. His arm incircled her waist, "What's a woman like you really doing in a place like this? Why not take a walk on the wilder side, without a leash?" She smiled, forgetting the scene of destruction they'd caused and she kissed him passionetly, "I've got something better to do tonight." He looked shocked, "Like what?" "Spend it with you, the wild side can wait a little longer" she purred, licking his neck inticingly. He grinned, "We might wanna take it outta here before the cops show up babe." "Don't worry about them, they couldn't find me if they tried. How else have I spent years in Sin City without being caught?" She tugged on his hand, leading him out into the warm air among the beginnings of the nightlife.  
"Where're we going?" he asked. "My place" she purred, gliding through intersections to another hotel. "So you just do your business there and come back here?" he asked. "Something like that" she said, walking into the penthouse, "Welcome to home sweet home." The lgihts went on and he looked around, "This is mafia issue blackmarket. Half o' this isn't even in the US of A yet." "I have connections" she said, laying across the couch and untying the neck of her slender red dress, "Weren't we going to do something else tonight than talk about old friends?" His grin returned and he slid off his jacket and fedora so she sould finally see him. She sighed, every inch of the man was pure muscle, other than his connections she couldn't think of a reason why a man like that would be single. He went over to her, picking her up in his arms and letting her dress puddle to the floor, "Shall we baby?" She sighed, finally content with the gifts of Sin City and smiled, "We shall."  
TBC

Chapter 2- Seeing Red  
Nikki awoke in the dark of night, her eyes resting on her lover staring out the window to Sin City. "You know it's not morning yet" she said, her voice a sleepy purr. He went back to bed, slipping his arms around her and holding her tightly, "I was just thinking, go back to sleep beautiful." She sighed, her consiousness fading, "You know, you're the first guy to actually stick around this long." He smiled, "Well start getting used to it, you're not leaving my side." She smiled in turn, "We make a good team." He agreed with a kiss, his tender caresses putting her to sleep.  
Not long after the next dawn, another fight broke out, this time it was worse. The ammo was running out quickly, but Logan seemed to be faring fine. She turned, using the knife on the end of the rifle as a weapon instead. A musled arm grabbed her by the waist, tugging her back inches from the muzzle of a revolver. "Keep it up renegade and your woman won't live long" the musclebound man said, his voice thick with an italian accent. Nikki grinned, turning the knife from the end of the revolver in her hand and stabbing him hard in the groin, "You made a big mistake assuming I was the one needing protection." With a skilled punch, he was down and out. The men looked to one another in shock as she picked up his gun, loaded it and turned back, "Who's next?" Logan couldn't supress a smile as she started firing, her skills matching his own. "Who's giving the orders here bub?" Logan growled, slaughtering all but one. "W-why should I tell you?" the man stammered. "Because if you don't you'll have a slow and painful death ahead of you, now talk" Nikki growled, pressing the knife close to his jugular. Logan grinned, "Nice job gorgous." She smiled back, "Anytime handsome." "It-it was Frank Castle alright?" the man stammered. "Of all the lousy backstabin' scum!" Logan growled, shooting the man. "You know him?" she asked. "Know and used to trust. Backstabbing ^%#* put a hit on me when he damn well knew I was on a case" he said, storming off. "Oh, I'm a case now?" she asked. He sighed, "You're not anymore, you became my partner when you started shootin' up the place yesterday." "Partner? That's it? I thought.." she looked hurt until she shook her head, "Fine, partner, we'll go hunt this Castle man and get it over with so you can return to your real life." Logan caught her arm before she could storm away, "You know I don't mean it like that." "You sure made it sound like it" she sighed. He chuckled, "When I kick Castle's backstabbin' $$, I'll have you help me and then I'm gonna prove to you exactly what I say." Nikki smiled, "Can't wait."  
Nikki smiled at Frank, her trap working so far, "What was your name again beautiful?" Frank asked, his arm around her. She tried to hide her distaste, "I'll tell you when we get there." "The mysterious type eh? I'll play along" he said, unsuspecting. 'Bad move Castle' she thought, opening the door to the wearhouse. He walked in, chuckling, "Hey weren't we-?" She spun him around, pinning him flat and putting her shoe on his throat. He choked, coughing. "I have a good mind to kill you Frank Castle, but I'm going to let Logan do it instead." Logan stepped out of the shadow, wrapping his arm around Nikki's waist, "Thanks babe. Miss me Frankie?" "Logan, I don't know what she's been telling you-" Frank began. "Save it, you'll have some explaining to do down under" Logan growled, firing. Frank fell back, for the most part lifeless. "Let's go baby, we've got things to do" Logan said, smiling at her. They retured to Nikki's place, carrying her straight into the bedroom.  
"Thank you" he murmered against her lips a little while later, holding her tightly. "For?" she asked. "Helping me" he said. "I'm your partner, it's what I do" she replied. "I want you to be more than that" he began, "You ever hear of Wild Bill Hichock and Annie Okley?" "You mean the cow..people?" she asked, intrigued. "Yeah, they were partners and they ended up having a life together. Okay I may be confusing them with someone else but..." he said, he looked down and took out a box, "I tried to find something as beautiful as you but I think the ring will be envying being worn by you." She gasped, smiling brightly, "Two days is all it takes to convince you...?" "No, I knew it the minute I saw you. I never thought I'd say it to a woman again, but I love you, an' I want you to be mine. I'm never gonna find a better lover, or partner, anywhere else. What do you say?" She grinned, "I was waiting for this moment myself, there isn't a force in the world that could stop me." He held her tightly, and across town, a few other things were happening.  
The P.I. Gorge Gargan walked into the hospital, seeing his latest client. "What was so urget you needed me now Mr. Castle?" he asked upon walking in. Frank coughed, his bandages bloody, "I need to hire you." "What for?" Gorge asked. "I need you to find someone for me, I have a favor to return" Frank wheezed. "Who?" Gorge asked. "His name's Logan, just Logan, and when you find him report right back to me" Frank said. Gorge nodded, walking out. He took a cigar from his pocket on the way out, searching for a match in his pockets. "Here" someone beside him offered. "Thanks" he replied. "I couldn't help overhearing, you're looking for someone named Logan" the man asked. "Yeah, what's it matter?" Gorge asked, suspicion coloring his tone. "I think we're looking for the same person, although I've been looking for him considerably longer" a chuckle followed. "What're you to him?" Gorge asked. "Hm, I don't know yet. If we cross paths, I mght help you out though" the other man said, passing Gorge. "You don't know how to reach me" Gorge said. "Oh, I do Mister Gargan, you're pretty renound here in Sin City. Outside, you're something of a legend" he said, walking off. The mystery man ducked down an alley, following the trail of the latest battle. He walked into the hotel, asking for Logan. "And who might you be?" the woman asked, writing down the penthouse number. "His son, Daken" Daken smiled, taking the woman's breath away.  
Logan couldn't believe his current stroke of luck, the most beautiful woman he'd ever met had accepted to marry him, he'd been literally getting away with murder, and not five seconds ago had his only son, who he hadn't seen in years, appeared at the door to ask for a talk. "How've you been dad?" Daken asked. "Good, you?" Logan asked. "Dad, I needed to talk to you for a reason. I need you to stop this" Daken said, "People are starting to connect things, there's a PI after you now too, not just the government." "Daken, you don't have to worry about me" Logan said, "I'm doing just fine. How's your mother?" "Dead" Daken said sadly, "That's the reason I came hunting you down, I can't loose both my parents over something stupid like this." "What do you mean?" Logan asked. "She got involved with the wrong people, and next thing I know she's telling me to get out of the house and shoving me out the back door while the government shoot the place up." "You're on the run?" Logan asked. "In a sense" Daken said, "Just say you aren't getting yourself killed." "I'm not. Stay here, with us" Logan said. "I'll put you even more at risk" Daken said. "No, you're my son and I'll be damned if I'm letting you go out there and face this on your own" Logan said. There was a knock at the door, "Hello?" Logan sighed, standing and opened the door. "Gorge Gargan, PI, you Logan?" "What's it to you bub?" Logan snarled. "Woah, wait a minute, I'm not getting in this for a fight. I was asked to find you by Frank Castle" Gorge said. "Dammit, Daken, Nikki get outta here!" Logan growled. "Why? What's going on?" Daken asked. Shots broke the glass of the windows, Logan pulling Nikki out and Daken with them. The gunfire stopped as suddenly as it started, the four out in the hall awaiting more. "Oh ^%*&" Daken said softly. Nikki gasped, drawing Logan's attention. Daken had been shot.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Gifted  
"Why..Why isn't it healing?" Daken asked weakly, holding his side. Nikki looked to both of them, "You're...gifted too?" Logan nodded, pulling Daken up, "We need to get out of here." She nodded, she'd been down this same road before, hunted to the point where the few belongings you had didn't matter anymore and all you had to do was up and leave to keep yourself, and in this case others, alive. "If I see Castle ever again I'm killing the sonofa-" Logan began. Nikki gently rubbed his arm, staying at his side. Daken stopped, falling to his knees and coughing blood, "Can't..keep going." Nikki steadied him by his shoulders, "It'll be okay, we're going to help you." Logan knelt beside them, "Can you make it to a car?" Daken shook his head, holding his side with bloody hands. "I'll get my car" Gorge said. Nikki and Logan both helped Daken down to the car, Nikki gasping at the sight she saw. The mercinaries had killed eveyone, making it look like the hotel had been a target instead of just them. "I swear I'm gonna kill Castle if something happens to him" Logan grunted. "Get in" Gorge said, pulling up. "Wait!" a voice called. A young girl, no more than sixteen shook glass from her hair and ran over to the car, "Remember me Logan?" Logan shook his head, making the girl pout. "Laura! Remember now?" she asked. "Kid I don't have time, if you know me and want to make it outta this then get in" Logan said. Laura smiled, "I was hoping you'd say that." The car sped off, going as fast as it possibly could.  
Hours later, and Logan sat at his son's bedside, bandages covered most of Daken's stomach. "You found me, what are you doing now?" Logan asked. "I staying. I get it's dangerous, but I want to meet this Frank Castle face-to-face, that way he knows who killed him" Daken said, smiling sadisticly. Nikki kissed Logan's neck, "The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree now does it?" "I'm staying too" Laura said. "Well good news for all of you, I found a place for you" Groge said. "Why the hell are you being so nice to us now Gargan?" Logan asked. Gorge held up drinks for both Logan and Nikki, "Raided the bar, figured you both'd want something. You might want to drink before listening." "Just give us a straight answer" Logan said, taking the drink gratefully. "I'm like you. Or at least I think. I've been for a while and I just got an office in New York...and I was hoping I could have you for contacts if things get messy" Gorge said. Logan nodded, "Eh, why not?" Gorge smiled, "Here's the adress to your new place. and for the record, you don't owe me." Logan gave Gorge a look that signaled both a new 'friendship' and that he better shut the hell up. Gorge laughed, walking out. "I'll be right back" Laura said. Nikki nodded, trusting the girl with the same power as the rest of them could handle herself. "Logan, Nikki" Frank said, standing in the doorway. "Castle, ya got some nerve showing up here" Logan growled, standing. Daken shot a hate-filled glare in Frank's direction. "So, this must be the son" Frank said, turning back to Logan from a brief glance in Daken's direction, "You must be proud." "What do you want?" Logan growled. "To apologize, I've been through hell lately and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. You just gave me somewhere to channel it" Frank said, "What do you say?" The blade in a strap on Frank's wrist flashed in the lght and Nikki stepped in front of Logan, "No!" She gasped and Frank drew back in fear, the knife bloody. She held the wound while it healed, slowly but surely. Logan growled animalisticly, "You'll feel so lucky if I don't come after you Castle. And I promise, keep hunting me and it'll happen one day soon." Logan gripped Frank's collar to get his point across. Frank nodded in fear, knowing that no matter what Logan was still the best there is at what he does, and backed off. Nikki stood, and with a fluid grace that could break a ballerina's heart, she walked over to Frank and swiftly slapped him across the face with enough force to break his jaw. Which it did. Logan chuckled as Frank held his face, mumbling curses. Daken began laughing, "Well you picked a keeper." Logan put his arm around Nikki's waist, "I know I did." He kissed her deeply, for once and forever happy at last.  
The End!

**Angels and Demons**

Chapter 1- A real suprise  
Daken hadn't been able to repair his relationship with Rachel yet, but that had given him time to explore some old flames...one in particular. He'd been out all night with Claudine, just having fun. They were offically together as of close to a week ago and Daken was loving every minute of it. Claudine snuggled closer to Daken in the car, a brand new Jaguar he'd only gotten not that long ago. "Listen, I was wondering if we could go to the villa in Panama for a little vacation. Could we?" Claudine asked. "Claudine..I never even took Rachel there" Daken said. "Well it's sort of our place isn't it?" Claudine asked, holding onto his arm tightly. "Well...sort of" he said. "Are we going to meet your family?" Claudine asked, "I've never actually met them." "Yeah, I figured if we were going off to Panama together then I might as well introduce you" he said. "You WERE going to take me there? Oh Daken!" she said, leaning over and kissing him deeply. He pulled in, walking her in the front door, "Hey, can everyone come down here a minute?!" Josh looked over the back of the couch, it seemed like he was permanintly rooted there lately, "Hubba hubba are we getting a new nanny? 'Cause I've been a bad boy." Daken looked at Josh in a way that if looks could kill, Josh would be dead.  
"Daken..? What the hell?" Logan asked in shock. Nikki came in from the kitchen, "Who's this?" "Oh, right. Mom you never met Claudine. She's the one I wanted to show up frist so you could get the unbiased welcome" Daken said to Claudine. She nodded, "It's great to finally meet you Mrs. Howlett, I've heard a lot of great things." Nikki smiled, "I'm glad to see he chose someone like you." "Darlin, she was in the Hellfire club" Logan said softly. "So was Daken, as long as she's changed I'm fine with it" Nikki said. "Well I've been on my own for a while now, Shaw can't seem to hold a team together. I was glad when Daken tracked me down, it felt good to talk to someone from the old days" Claudine replied, "Plus, he's just so damn sexy!" She kissed Daken lovingly, causing Logan to give Nikki a questioning look. Nikki just smiled, clapping her hands happily, "Are you staying for dinner?" "No" Logan growled low enough so only she could hear him. "Sure" Claudine said.  
Logan walked into the kitchen with Nikki, "You've never not listened to me before, what is going on?" "I could care less if she has a third eye and webbed feet, as long as he's happy I could care less if she's like us. I'm tired of seeing our boy as the odd man out, even when he was with Rachel it was still there. I'm glad he's found someone and this time she's more like him. Not that I didn't like Rachel, she was sweet but Daken needed someone who could understand him better and she doesn't know what that life is like. I do too" she said, cooking. Logan sighed, "Well...if you think so. I trust you darlin'." "Thank you, that's all I ask" she said. "But if this one turns out to be as insane as the girl Wade paired up with.." Logan said. "Then you're right and I'm sorry" she said, "but we won't know until we try right?" Logan sighed again, "I love you but god are you a stubborn woman." "Well thank you" she said, snuggling into his arms, "What if they end up like us one day?" "I'll be really suprised" Logan said, chuckling.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Flame  
After dinner Daken was completly regretting bringing Claudine to the house. "Your family is just..awsome!" Claudine said. "Wait, what?" he asked, turning to her. "Well yeah, I mean honestly? They are just incredible, you are so lucky they're your family" she said. He started laughing, "Oh you really weren't paying attention were you?" "To what?" she asked. "Well for starter when Josh asked if we were getting married and you were going to have an affair with him" Daken said. "That was cute, but he's a little young for me" she said, giggling, "All I wonder was why he didn't ask anything after that." She snuck a look at Daken while he smirked triumphantly, "What did you do to him?" "Kicked him" he admitted. She shook her head, laughing, "The family dinamic is adorible too!" He smiled, "So, now that we FINALLY have some privacy..." She smiled, leaning over to kiss him. "Woo!" Josh shouted. "Josh, get out of here you little-" Daken said, getting up. Josh ran off, frightened. Claudine laughed, "Daken, he's just a kid, as I said." Daken sat back down beside her, putting his arm around her and pulled her tightly against him, kissing her deeply. "Well hello" Aron said, walking out from the stairs and going back. "Will you get out of here?!" Daken shouted. Claudine giggled, kissing his neck, "Relax. They're only kids." He resumed kissing her, pulling her onto his lap. "Woah baby" Josh muttered upstairs. Daken chose to ignore him, laying Claudine back on the couch with him. "Oh $#^% Aron you were wrong they're doing it on the couch!" Josh shouted, running down the hall. "What was that about?" Claudine asked, panting. "Seeing what I can get away with" he said, grinning openly, "Now, how about we actually go into the private?" She grinned, giggling and let him take her off to his room.  
Logan was out in the garage, workng on his Masarati when he caught his wife's scent coming out to him. She slid her hands along his back, "Want to come in love? I have dessert ready for you." He turned, taking in her 'outfit', if you could even call it that, benieth the robe. "I figured if Daken and Claudine could have a sleepover we could have a little fun ourselves" she purred, kissing along his neck. "Oh holy $#^%! What is wrong with everbody in this house?!" Josh shouted, running away with his over his eyes. Nikki giggled, kissing Logan's neck again, "I kind of expected that." Logan gave a growl almost like a purr and caressed her back, "I can finish the car tomorrow." She sighed, her lips still moving along his neck until she'd kissed her way to his lips, "Ready, or do you need more convincing?" He kissed her back passionetly, carrying her upstairs, "Baby I'm always ready for you."  
"...and they were just about to...to...oh you know what they were going to do! But right on the hood of the car! Damn!" Josh shouted to his brother. "On the car?" Aron asked, "That would have possibilties..." "Damn you're one %^*#ed up dude, focus here, dad is getting some, Daken is getting some, what about us? We have needs too!" Josh said. "What the hell?" Aron said, "I have a girlfriend. What do you think I do when I go to the movies on weekends?" "You damn lucky ^%$*" Josh muttered, "Alright, it's offical, this sucks! I'm the hot one and I don't have a grilfriend! How screwed up is that?!" "Go out, get a woman and go..oh you know what" Aron said. "I can't believe you. The tame geek is having a better love life than me. What the %^$&?!" Josh said. "Watch the language will you?" Aron said, "I don't want to pick up on that." Josh knocked Aron upside the head and walked out, "A girlfriend...hey Laura is Cessily single?!"  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Family  
There had been some things Claudine had never found easy, finding herself head-over-heels in love had been one of those. Until now, that was. Daken had gone over to the side of the angels and left Claudine thinking, but when the big reunion happened not two weeks ago..something changed. Claudine smiled over to him, his arm wrapped around her in sleep. "Hey" he said softly, stretching out alongside her. "Morning" she said, a light blush coloring her cheeks. "Why are you blushing?" he asked, brushing back her hair. "It's not like I haven't watched those love stories before but..I don't really know how to live it." He smiled and chuckled, "I never got used to it myself, but I might get used to it after all." "Do you think your family likes me?" she asked. "I'm sure they do, but you're the telepath, you tell me" he said. "Hm, Josh doesn't just like me, he's close to obsessed with me. Your brothers don't seem to mind since they have better prospects in mind, or so they think. Your sisters are a little jealous of me but they're happy for you. And your parents..." she said. "What?" he asked. "They're just being parents, your mom wants you to be happy and your dad is..skeptical" she said, giggling. "Skeptical how?" Daken asked, embaressment becoming the main emotion. "Well..." Claudine giggled again, "He thinks pretty much the same thing every father thinks when his son brings home a woman like me, 'Is she using him or am I being paranoid?' Trust me, the things running through his mind are close to the same as your mom's but she could at least think the better of me." Daken sighed, "Well that's..like dad. He can be a bit skeptical of people." 'But what about your mom? Wasn't she a supervillian when they got together?" she asked, sitting down beside him. "Yeah, but he loves her there's something different with her and everyone else. She's not...like everyone else" he said. "Well, who's to say I can't be?" she asked. He sighed again, "I'm sure you can, but they don't know that yet."  
Logan gently kissed along his wife's neck, it had been one of those night where they hadn't gotten much sleep, but the harvest moon was changing everything. She sighed contentedly, snuggling closer to him, "Had fun?" He smiled, stroking her hair as he held her tightly, "You could say that." "Didn't need much sleep huh?" she grinned, wrapping herself around him like a blanket sleepily. He cradled her in his arms, kissing her gently, "Sleep darlin, I can manage on my own for a while." She smiled, "You're sure?" He chuckled, kissing her gently, "I'm sure." She started to fall asleep and he wrapped her up in the blankets to keep her warm. He dressed and kissed her again on the way out. "Dad, where's mom?" Vincent asked. "She deserved to sleep in for a change, I'm taking care of things today" Logan said, picking Vincent up. "Hey Laura, Lana come help with breakfast!" Vincent called. Logan ruffled Vincent's hair, "I've been taking care of myself for years, I can make breakfast." They walked into the kitchen and breakfast already sat on the table, "Who make breakfast?" Vincent asked. "Pancakes!" Josh said, cheering. Daken looked over ot Claudine, "You work fast." She smiled, "I thought there had to be some way to win your family over." "Ah family, hate 'em, love 'em, can't live without 'em" he sighed, looking over to them. "Okay, I'm not hearing destruction, what's going on?" Nikki asked, walking down the stairs in her robe. "Claudine took care of breakfast" Daken said, putting his arm around Claudine's waist. "Thank you Claudine" Nikki said, "You're a great addition to the family."  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Reflection  
Daken and Claudine had decided on something that because of the approaching Halloween, no one else in the house was going to want to be scared that badly. Claudine was actually scared, jumping every few minutes at a loud sound from somewhere. Daken laughed as she jumped into his lap, "Relax Claudine, it's only a movie." "I know, but it's creeping me out" she said, clinging to his shirt. He laughed, "Relax. You're the one who's always telling me to." She sighed, "Okay, I'll be right back." She walked out of the room, taking deep breaths and splashing her face with water, "It's just a movie. There is no tape when you watch it it kills you. There is no Ring." She looked into the mirror, jumping back in fright, "Hello Claudine" Sinister said back. "DAKEN!" she screamed, staring at Sinister's reflection instead of her own. "What the-?" Daken began, pulling her back. Sinister dissapeared in the mirror, leaving their reflections behind. "You saw that, you had to have seen that!" she gasped, her heart pounding hard against the inside of her chest.  
"I did" Daken said, "but he wasn't there. Before you even think it, that's not you. He's not there. He doesn't exist anymore." She clung to him in fear, trying futily to calm her pounding heart. His arms wrapped around her like they had the first time and she whimpered softly, "That couldn't have been real. It just couldn't have." "It's okay, he wasn't there" he said softly, rubbing her back soothingly. "What if it was?" she whispered, "What if he was really there? Oh god what if he's trying to take over me?" "Shh, Claudine I'm here. Don't be scared" he said softly, holding her tightly. "How can I not be?" she asked, "It's not good, it's Sinister. It's...it's not me. How is it I couldn't see myself?" Silent tears sreamed down her face and he said soothingly, "I see you. Look Claudine. Just look." Fearfully she turned to the mirror, laughing happily as she saw her reflection. "But I know it's going to happen again" she said, tears still streaming from her eyes, "He's going to try to take over. Just like Cyber took over that kid, that Milo kid. That poor Milo kid." Daken caught her before she could fall to her knees and pulled her tightly into his arms wile she sobbed. "Claudine, look at me. Just look at me. I'm not letting anything happen to you" he said softly, "Never." "But what if you can't save me?" she whispered sadly. "I can and I will" he said, "As long as I'm alive I will." "Daken no, don't even say that" she said softly in fright, "Don't even think it." "Of course I'm going to think it, I know it" he said.  
"Why now?" Claudine asked aloud, "Why now?! Why does he have to come when things finally get good?!" "Claudine-" Daken began. "No, this is the first time something good has ever happened to me and now Sinister shows up deciding to take it from me!" she said, "I-I just can't..." Tears filled her eyes as she was close to crying again, and he pulled her into a warm embrace, "I won't let him hurt you Claudine. I'll protect you." "You don't have to" she said softly. "No, I do. Because I care about you, so I will" he said. "Please, Daken if he does come back..." she began. "Than he won't get anywhere near you. I'm going to protect you Claudine, and there's nothing that can possibly change my mind" he said, guiding her lips to meet his. "There's one thing we need though, if Sinister is using power from the other side there's only one thing that could bite it back" he said. "What?" she asked. "Nikki's magic" he said. For the first time Claudine was sure, without a doubt, that there was someone who loved her. And possibly would through this.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Sinister  
Claudine was running, fast. Sinister's evil laugh following her where ever she went. She stopped at a cliff, turning around. "You can't escape me Claudine, I'll always find you" Sinister said, letting out an evil cackle.  
Claudine jolted up in bed, tears streaming down her face as she shouted "No!" She curled up, sobbing into her hands. "Claudine" Daken whispered, pulling her close. "He's back" she whispered, "I know it." "He can't be, he's dead" he said softly, rubbing her cold hands. "Daken he's back. I can feel it" she said. "You're so cold all of a sudden, come here" he said softly, taking her in his arms. "What happened?" Nikki asked. "Sinister's back" Claudine said softly, horror in every word. "Do you want me to find out?" Nikki asked, sitting down beside them. "Sure" Daken said. Nikki focused her powers, searching for Sinister. "Oh!" she gasped, starting. "What?" Claudine asked. "She's right, some how he's back" Nikki whispered. "No, it's not possible" Daken said, "He's dead." "Death means nothing to someone that can bring another back. Or one that can bring himself back" Nikki said. "He brought himself back? How could he do that?" Claudine asked. "He can't, but someone else who took sympathy on him could" Nikki said. "You two stay here, this won't be good."  
"Logan, something's happened" Nikki whispered. "What?" he asked sleepily. "Sinister's back." He awoke with a start, "What?" "Sinister is back, and we have to go find him before he finds us" she said, "He's going to come after Claudine." "Where is he?" Logan asked. "Not too far from here" Nikki said. "How far's not too far?" he asked. "Less than two miles" she said. Logan got up to get suited up and go after Sinister, "Why her? What's she to him?" "I don't know yet, he's got some sort of block that keeps my magic from getting to him" she said, dressing quickly behind him. He quickly pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply, "That's for coming to get me before you left." She nodded breathlessly, "Remind me to give you something for that kiss when we get back." He smiled, offering her his hand from the window. "Trying not to wake the kids?" she asked, smiling. He tugged her out, the moonlight turning her skin to a marble-esque color, "You could say that. You could also say it's because I wanted to do this." He picked her up in his arms and lept down agily, kissing her briefly before sniffing the air and running off after Sinister with her at his side.  
Nikki climbed a tree, hiding in the branches as they spotted Sinister. Logan hid just below her, hunched on the ground in waiting. "Sinister" Logan greeted casually, leaning on the side of the tree. "Wolverine, how suprising" Sinister said, "What brings you out here?" Nikki looked down in shock, darting out quickly and twisting Sinister's hand, "Not today." He dropped the blade, "As always a plesant suprise to see YOU Nikki." "Drop dead" she growled, moving to Logan's side. "I may" Sinister said, coughing, "Which is why I needed Claudine's help." Nikki walked forward a few steps, "What happened to you?" "When Romulus brought me back, my body had gotten sick. My body was dead too long. I just need some way.." Sinister began, coughing again. Nikki looked back to Logan, and sighed in apology, "I call myself a hero, but I'd be the same person I was if I let you die here and now." Sinister wheezed, "Thank you. You truly never were...like the rest of us." "Logan, we have to take him to Xaivers, he's theirs to deal with too" she said. "I'll get the jet" Logan said, "Wait here, and be careful." Sinister coughed, falling to his knees, "You always were...as loyal as you could be Nikki. But you were never...truly like us. You were...good." "No, I was like you. I am like you. But I could admit I was a good person that did what they needed to do when the time came" she said. "You are loyal...so do what you need to do. The time is now. I'm...begging you now" Sinister said. "Nathaniel, do you know what you're asking?" she asked. "Yes, I know you were loyal to me, and your loyalty brought me peace of mind. I am asking one last thing of you my loyal old friend..." Nikki sighed, "I'm sorry. I don't know if I can do that." "Nikki, my old friend, I ask one last thing, please spare me from a slow and painful death" Sinister said. Nikki sighed, "Oh I can't believe I'm doing this..." Her claws came out and Sinister gasped, "Thank you my old friend..."  
Moments later, Logan stepped out of the forest, walking over to her, "He's dead." "I know, he asked me to kill him. He ordered me dead years ago and yet with his final breath he called me his old friend. His loyal old friend" she said. "Why was Claudine afraid of him?" he asked. "I don't know. He never told me." Logan leaned down, taking her in his arms, "Are you alright?" "I was his loyal old friend, and yet he asked me to kill him. God I can't believe it!" "What are you going to tell Claudine?" he asked. "Exactly what happened, and hope she understands" Nikki said, standing. "I'll meet you back at home, I have an old friend to bury."  
TBC  
Chapter 6- Legacy  
Nikki slid in through the window agily, dropping herself into Logan's arms. "It's so ironic it's depressing" she said, walking to the private bathroom. "You actaully buried him" Logan said. "Yeah" she said, "It was the least I could do for him after that." He gently rubbed her arms, "Want company?" "Maybe in a little bit" she said. He sighed, leaving her alone. She leaned against the counter, tears rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them away with her mud covered hands, collapsing to her knees and curling up. Logan was beside her in a moment, rubbing her arms and stroking her hair. "Logan, it's not any different. He wasn't family and he wasn't one of us, but he used to be family to me, or at least as close as I could get" she whispered, her voice breaking. "Darlin, I'm not saying you shouldn't be upset. But there's nothing in the world I wouldn't have done than make it so you didn't have to kill him. As much as he begged, you listened to him. You did the right thing. And the worst part was that if you hadn't you might have been more guilty for making him suffer" he said softly, holding her tightly, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."  
Claudine stood beside Daken, and they both heard Nikki and Logan, "Oh man. She actually killed Sinister? He begged for it? Oh man" Claudine said softly, "Your poor mom." "You can't be scared anymore though, and she'll be fine. I know my mom and she'll get through this. There's nothing that my mom can't honestly do, she's just like that" Daken said, sitting beside her. "What do you think happened to Sinister, I mean that never happened before?" she asked. "I don't know, but Romulus had something to do with it so..yeah I'm blaming Romulus" he said. Nikki walked in, her hiar still damp from the shower. "Hey mom, are you alright?" Daken asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. What do you want for breakfast since it's this early already?" Nikki asked. "I already made something, I hope you don't mind" Claudine said. "Thanks" Nikki said, her eyes full of unshed tears.  
"Oh! I'm sorry, are you okay?" Claudine asked, rushing over. "I'm fine, I'm just...I probably shouldn't be taking it this hard huh?" Logan looked over to Daken, nodding in understanding. "Listen, if you don't want me here right now" Claudine began. "No, you're part of the family now Claudine, you're always welcome here" Nikki said, sadness in her eyes, "I never ment for you to feel unwelcome." "No, you didn't. I'm sorry, I'm just screwing up everything today" Claudine sighed. "No, it's not you, I'm just a little..oh who am I kidding I'm just acting insane today" Nikki said, smiling and chuckling. Claudine smiled back, for the first time in god knows how long, she belonged to a family. And it was something she liked.  
The End  
**Blizzard (OS)**

The snow whipped around outside the Howlett estate, and even the inside of the mansion was cold. The feeling of dread hadn't lifted from the grounds since the snow had begun, but the youngest of the family felt no dread, only the exitement of more snow and the need to go outside. "C'mon Sal pleeease!" Tayla whined, clutching Sal's hand. "No, it's late and it's really bad out there. If I took you out and you got sick or something your mom would kill me" Sal said, prying her loose. She huffed, walking out of the room, "Fine." He sighed, she got her temper from her parents obviously. Tayla put her snow clothes on herself, and went out in the snow. She cheered, dancing around in the cold wind and blowing snow. "Sal, where's Tayla?" Nikki asked, looking around the rec room. "In her room I think, she got mad that I wouldn't take her out in the snow" Sal said, still watching TV. Nikki went upstairs, looking in Tayla's room, "Sal, she's not here!" Sal ran in, "What? She has to be, she..oh $#^%! She must've gone outside!" Nikki took the steps two at a time, pulling on her coat and running outside, "Sal, keep everyone else here, I'll be back!" "Tayla! Tayla Raven Howlett where are you?!" she called, running through the almost knee deep snow.  
Tayla was getting cold, but the snowman was almost done. The wind was loud and noisy, making it the only sound she could hear. There was something glittering in the snow a few feet from her, so she walked out, brushing the snow away and staring to pull on it. It wouldn't budge. She pulled harder, and finally pulled it free. Ice. There was a loud crack and the snowman fell through the ice, the cracking sound getting closer until she could feel the water through her boots. "Sal! Mommy!" Talya cried, falling into the water. She could feel the icy water soaking her clothes through her heavy snow clothes and she pushed against the water. "Mommy! Daddy! Sal!" she shouted. She saw something huge and white at the edge of the lake and she went quiet, staring in fright at the huge creature. A wendigo, like her father told her stories about, was sniffing along the edge of the lake. "Tayla!" she heard her mother cry. "Mommy over here! Help! Mommy!" she cried. "Tayla!" Nikki shouted, running over to the edge. She held out her arm, leaning out over the unstable ice, "Tayla, honey come here. Can you?" "Mommy, look out!" Tayla cried. The ice cracked and Nikki fell in herself, swimming over until she had Tayla cradled against her. "Tayla, honey, hang on to me okay?" Nikki said, holding Tayla with one hand. The wendigo roared, smacking at the remaining ice. "What's it doing mommy?" Tayla asked, scared. "It's trying to get out here, the wind changed. It can smell us" Nikki said. She gripped a piece of ice on the edge, hearing the ice crack as it broke away. "Oh god" Nikki gasped, trying to grip the other ice. "Mommy hold on!" Tayla cried. "I can't" Nikki said, reaching out and trying not to slip off the ice. The wendigo slammed it's hand hard into the water, churning waves. Icy water crashed over them both and Nikki coughed. "Mommy why can't we get out?" Tayla asked. "We're too wet, the ice is too slipery" Nikki gasped, "You can probably get out Tayla." "No, not without you mommy" Tayla said, clutching her mom's neck tighter.  
"Nikki!" Sal shouted, "Tayla!" The wendigo roared, slamming it's fist into the water again. "Sal!" Tayla gasped, trying to reach out to him. "Sal get over here and take her!" Nikki cried. Logan went over to them while Sal phased wolf, leaping at the wendigo. "Daddy!" Tayla cried, clutching Logan's neck while he pulled them both out. He pulled them both tightly against him, "Are you both okay?" "I'm fine" Nikki panted, holding onto him tightly. "I'm okay daddy, go help Sal please!" Tayla said, looking over to Sal. Sal finished off his fight, driving the wendigo out to the trees and running over to Tayla, standing on two legs and taking Tayla in his furred arms. Logan held Nikki tightly against him while they went back up to the house, the cold wind chilling them even more. "Mom!" Vincent gasped, jumping up and running over to her. Victor and Kitten both looked shocked, Victor moving over to her quickly, "You alright?" She nodded, cold. Tayla reached out for her mom, and Nikki took her into her arms, holding her tightly. "Never...ever go outside in a storm like this again, got it?" Nikki asked, holding her daughter tightly. "Okay" Tayla said, warming up against her mom. "Tayla Raven Howlett when you're both warmed up you are in so much trouble" Logan said, taking Tayla into his arms. "I love you daddy" Tayla said, "and I'm okay." Logan sighed, "I love you too, but you are still in so much trouble." Sal phased back, standing off to the side. Laura hugged Nikki as she sat on the couch, warming up in the heat. "Mom, are you sure you're okay?" she asked. Nikki nodded, peeling off her wet gloves, "I'm fine. Cold, but I'm fine." The snow didn't settle down, but the mansion had started to warm up in the rest of the night, all because of one blizzard.  
The End

**Eclipse**

Chapter 1- The Family Business  
Nikki sniffed the air, searching for one scent. The thrill of the hunt had invigorated her kind since they'd first walked the earth millions of years ago, but this hunt was nothing like theirs. Her hunt was to keep her skills sharp and her family strong. 'Maybe if my family'd done something together ONCE then dad might not be dead and the rest of us might not be spread out around the globe' she thought ruefully, the wind acting to her advantige. She agily lept from tree to tree silently, not even the sound of wind rushing around her giving her away. Daken waited in the small clearing, sure she wouldn't be able to find him. He jumped, feelng a hand on his shoulder, "Holy $#^%~~ How did you find me?" She laughed, "You're good, I had to wait for the wind to change directions before I picked up your trail again." "God, you scared the hell outta me" he said. "Boo!" Sage shouted, jumping out of the bushes. "Nice try kid" Daken said, ruffling Sage's messy black hair. "I don't get it" Sage said, walking after him. "Do you remember anything about your past yet Sage?" Nikki asked, walking alongside him. "Not much, but a few things" Sage said, looking at Daken who'd gone ahead, out of earshot. "In my world, he's my father, but I still can't remember my mother. I remember we were all the good guys, warriors, renegades. We ran from the law, but they had all been corrupted by our world's leaders, the Volturi. I don't remember anything else" he said. "Daken was your father?" she asked. Sage nodded, "I know that much. I do remember a few things about my time with him, like the times we weren't running...when I was little we never got involved in it. He and I used to play catch on the front lawn. My mom always had to call us inside, because we'd be out there, talking and throwing the ball back and forth." He sighed, "What I wouldn't give for that right now." Daken looked back, his glance went to Nikki before settling on Sage, asking for a moment alone. Nikki walked ahead, leaving them to their conversation.  
"What was I like in your world?" Daken asked, walking beside Sage. "Well, you are and were and probably always will be the same, you're a lot like your dad in this world. In my world he's the same too. What did you think you'd be?" Sage replied. "I thought I might be ike I used to be here" Daken said. "No, you're not. You never were. Listen Dad, I mean, if I can call you that here..." Sage began. "Yeah, go ahead" Daken replied, letting Sage continue. "You were nothing like that. You can't be now anyway" Sage finished. "Why not?" Daken asked. "Because, you're dead" Sage said, looking away to keep himself from crying. "Sage..." Daken put his arm on Sage's shoulder reassuringly, "How did I die?" "Aro sentenced you to death, and Mom hid me. She joined you and...she died too" Sage said, sniffing. "Who was she?" Daken asked. "I don't remember. I can't even remember her..." Sage said. "Did I love her?" Daken asked. "Love? You were beyond love. You died together. When you both died, you took her hand as you died. You told me I didn't have to worry, because they didn't know I existed. They did and I ran. Weapon X caught me and..." Sage doubled over, clutching his head. "Sage?" Daken knelt beside him. "I remember" Sage said, "I remember everything." His eyes filled with tears and he sat, "They're all dead." "Who?" Daken asked. "Everyone. Mom, you, grandma, everyone. All the mutants. Every single thing that isn't human" Sage said, "That was why Connor and I ran so fast. They were hunting us after they overthrew the Volturi, we were the last of the inhumans" Sage said, "That was why we jumped into the timewarp. We knew it went somewhere else, somewhere inhumans existed." "Sage, why did they hunt you?" Daken asked. "Because we were different. They were scared and there weren't enough of them" Sage said, looking up, "They killed everyone." Daken akwardly hugged Sage, acting as fatherly as he could. Sage sniffed, "You don't have to." "Yeah, I do. From another world or not, you're still my son, and I still don't want to see you unhappy. Just like my father wants for me" Daken said. Sage sniffed again, standing up, "We should go back, huh?" "Probably..when winter's over, why don't we play catch?" Daken asked. "Sure" Sage said, "I'd like that."  
TBC  
Chapter 2- A New Start  
Daken walked back with Sage, letting Sage head off to his room like usual. "So what was that about?" Claudine asked, snuggling against his side. He wrapped his arm around her, "Well, you might want to sit 'cause this is a really long story." A few minutes of explaining later, and Claudine nodded in understanding, "So your kid from an alternate dimension actually acts like your kid in this world all because he got his memories back." "Yeah, pretty much" Daken said, sighing wearily. "Did he ever tell you who his mother was?" she asked. "You" Sage said, standing at the top of the stairs. "Me?" she asked. "Yes, you" Sage said, "Who else could he love that much?" Claudine looked to Daken, he looked away for a moment, "Sage, I have loved someone else before." "I know, Rachel. Laura told me, she said you really loved her" Sage said, "That's why Ben's around." Claudine laughed, "So much for a little kid. I thought you were more...innocent than that." "Innocent? What's that?" Sage asked. "Innocent is when you're good, you don't do anything wrong. You're uncorrupt and all that" Claudine said. "Oh. Then a lot of innocent people died in my world, my family included" Sage said. Daken sighed, "We're your family Sage." "I know, but it's not the same. It will never be the same..." Sage said. "We can try" Claudine said softly, smiling. "Trying's good" Sage said, unsure of what else to say.  
Laura stood at the top of the stairs, a small smile on her features. She didn't expect to be owed for doing one little nice thing, but seeing them like a family made her feel...better. "Hey Laura?" Josh asked out into the hall. "What?" Laura asked, turning around. "Get the kid off my gutiar" Josh said. Laura walked in the room, smacking Josh with one of his rolled up 'Playboy's and walking out with Anita Marie. "You're welcome!" She called over to Josh. "Yeah..thanks!" Josh replied, unrolling his Playboy, "You didn't want to be rolled up did you precious?" "I can hear you!" Laura called. "Good, now me and my woman will be off-" Josh began, only to be smacked in the face with a pillow. "Get your frilly feathered crap out of my room, it's destroying the manly-ness!" Josh shouted, throwing the pillow out. Laura tossed the pillow right back in and giggled evily. "I'm going to fart on it!" Josh called out. Laura stormed in, grabbing the pillow and smacking him in the head seeral times with the same rolled up magizine. "Ow! Love hurts" Josh said. Laura gave him a look and walked out, leaving behind a pink feather from the pillow. "Thanks Aleasha" Laura said, returning the pillow. "No problem, anytime you want to smack Josh you know where to come" her little sister said, smiling brightly.  
"Laura, can I talk to you for a second?" Claudine asked, standing in the doorway to the room Laura shared with Lana. "Sure, what's up?" she asked, sitting upright. Claudine sighed, sitting down, "I wanted to thank you. If Sage hadn't told us..maybe things wouldn't have worked out the way they're starting to." "Starting to?" Laura asked. "Well, we're getting more serious than just...than just the title of boyfriend and girlfriend. I think it might actually be more than that" Claudine said. "I thought you knew that already" Laura said, "Haven't you noticed every time he talks about you, the way he just lights up. I'm glad he has you, I mean it. Hes my brother..and I want him to be happy." "He told me about Jared, I hope you don't mind" Claudine said, "I'm sorry about that." Laura looked over to Anita Marie's crib, "I have more than memories to remember him by." "Her name, Anita Marie, you named her what he would've chosen didn't you?" Claudine asked. Laura's carefully set mask of emotion crumbled, and tears gathered in her eyes, she nodded. "Laura.." Claudine began, "I don't know what to say." "I loved him" Laura said softly, allowing herself to cry. "I never thought I would love anyone like that but he wasn't like every one else. He was different. He...He was mine." She tucked herself up in a ball, sitting there and allowing the emotions to flow out like water from behind a burst dam. Claudine rubbed her back, "I know. I'm sorry. I know what you mean about love, finally having someone that's yours and never being able to imagine life without them once you have them. It's hell when they go away too, you never know how you'll manage day to day. And then, sometimes, they come find you again. I dunno, maybe he'll find you someday. Reincarnated or something like that." "What about the day of the dead? De Dia Los Muertos? Would that work?" Laura asked. "I don't know, I'm not Mexican" Claudine said. Laura laughed softly, "I think I have an idea."  
Nikki went from one thing to another in the kitchen, the scent of the food gently wafting out of the kitchen. "Mom?" Laura asked. "Yeah Laura?" Nikki asked. "What's all this?" Laura asked, sniffing the sweet scents of the food. "It's for De Dia Los Muertos, I'm going out to my family's cemetery in Dublin with my family. Of course all of you are coming too but I have to start now otherwise I'll never be done." "Where is Jared buried?" Laura asked. "Oh Laura" Nikki said, hugging her sadly. "I know you miss him. He didn't have anyone else to be buried with so...his family and mine are close together. All in Dublin. You can be with him, you don't have to stay around my relitives, I'm not a huge fan of theirs myself." "You mean it? You swear?" Laura asked in shock. "I mean it, I can't tell you you can't go visit him. You love him, nothing can change that, not even death" Nikki said, "I know how you feel." Laura smiled, "Everyone seems to lately. Thanks mom." "Anytime, and we leave for Dublin the morning after Halloween, so warn your bothers not to get themselves sick on candy" Nikki said, reassuming the parental role. Laura smiled, walking off. Even without him, there was nothing that could change the fact that her heavy heart got a little lighter.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Love and Heartache  
Logan gently brushed his fingers along Nikki's collarbone, sending shivers up her spine. "You're cold" she said softly, catching his hand in hers. His lips pressed to her neck, letting her turn to him, "They're all asleep?" She nodded, giving him a gentle kiss, "How was work?" "Every kid at the mansion offically hates San Fransisco. They heard that we have snow up here and they're all complaining that they'll have to spend Chrismas in the heat. They want to go back to New York, can't say I blame them either" he said, taking her in his arms, "How was your day?" "Incredibly boring, I guess the bad guys are snowed in because I haven't had to go out once today" she said. "Why'd you wait for me?" he asked. "I missed you" she sighed, gently rubbing his hands, "and I knew you'd want to see me when you got home." He chuckled, kissing her neck, "You know me too well." He practicly made a beeline for the bedroom with her in tow, kissing down her neck and along her collarbone. She smiled, kissing him passionetly as their night began.  
Down the hall, Laura was packing two days ahead for De Dia Los Muertos. She saw the small framed picture she hadn't looked at since Jared died and she held it to her chest, the cold silver against her heart. She sat back on the bed, biting her lip to keep from sobbing. The last thing she wanted to explain was why she was up so late crying. She traced his features in the picture, tears flowing from her eyes. "Why?" she whispered. "Why does it have to be everyone I love?" She took the locket in her hand, looking at both the pictures of Megan and her blood mother. A few years ago she would've tried to distract herself from the pain surging through her heart, now she barely found the strength to lay down before sobbing restlessly into the pillow. Megan was the only one that wasn't dead that she'd been mourning over, that was it. Megan hadn't seen her in years anyway, there would be some real change between them. Laura looked across the room to the mirror and finally noticed the changes. Her eyes weren't dull and haunted, they were alive and full of relentless emotions. Her hair had seemed to just hang before, now it moved with the slight breeze of warm air from the heater as if it had a life of it's own. She seemed so much more alive, even though she felt dead inside. Every feature had changed in some small way. Just by looking at her anyone could tell she'd been smiling more, laughing. Something before she never could've done. "I don't want to die" she whispered, reaching out and touching her reflection. She realized she'd gotten up and walked over to the full-length mirror on the wall. "Laura?" Lana asked sleepily, looking up, "What're you doing?" "Nothing, go back to sleep" Laura said, walking back over and putting the things in her bag before tossing it under the bed and crawling in her own bed, "Goodnight Lana." "Wait, what did you mean?" Lana asked, sitting up. "About what?" Laura asked. "That you didn't want to die, what did you mean?" Lana asked. "I'm different now, before...I guess it was like I was dead. And when Jared came along that changed but now...I feel like I'm dying again. And I don't want to. I want to stay how I am now" Laura said, curling up on reflex. "Oh" Lana said softly, "You can you know. You just have to try to get over him. If he died maybe he isn't your other half." "Don't. Just don't" Laura said softly, "Now go to sleep." Lana layed back down, "I'm sorry Laura. But he's not here anymore." Laura sighed, looking at the wall, "I'm sorry too."  
Daken looked over to Claudine laying beside him, "What're you thinking?" She smiled, "That you've been holding back compared to tonight." He chuckled, "I meant aside from that." "Then nothing really, just a few random thoughts here and there" she said, "But what about Laura, I mean she's...I don't know, I guess she's depressed still." He sighed, "Well, I'm sure she'll get over him one day. One day she'll wake up and relize that she's spent too much time brooding over one guy and move on with her life, like everyone else." "Not everyone else. You can't tell me you don't still have feelings for Rachel" she said. "You're a telepath, you can read my mind, tell me" he said. "I know you do, and you probably always will. But I have a place with you now too, and you know that. But if she needed anything you wouldn't hesitate to jump through hoops for her. What about me?" she asked. "I would brave the flames of hell for you, and if Rachel asked it of me her too. I can't help it, she was the first person I really loved" he said. "So back in the Hellfire club, that wasn't love?" she asked. "It was..to a degree. I don't know, I mainly just wondered why the hell it was a woman like you was looking for a guy like me. I was kind of second guessing my luck" he said, chuckling. "Well you didn't have to. I guess it was just pure...animal attraction" she purred. "There's that bonus of being a feral I was looking for" he said, grinning mischifously, "Now, where did we leave off?"  
TBC  
Chapter 4- All In Time  
Laura had remembered hearing the arguements Megan's family had gotten into and Megan had considered that normal life. But for once, Laura wished she had Megan's normal life when she woke up to the picture sitting on her nightstand. "Laura? You up yet?" Lana asked sleepily, streatching and rubbing her eyes in the bright morning light. "No, I'm asleep" Laura said, wrapping the covers around herself. "Well I'll meet you downstairs then" Lana said, "and don't forget, whether you like it or not we're going trick-or-treating tomorrow. All of us." "Okay" Laura said, pretending to be sleepy. Lana walked out and she took out the locket again, allowing this pain to course over her heart. She stood and walked over to the mirror, fastening it around her neck. She sighed, staring at her reflection one last time and walked downstairs. The morning seemed just like every other, everyone laughing and talking while they ate breakfast. Not rushed or hurried since they were sticking around again today. That was when Laura noticed something she hadn't thought of, that a real relationship was more than a couple.  
She looked over to Logan and Nikki, she knew how much they loved each other and Nikki had even admitted that once the couple had come to be Logan had become her best friend, and Logan had admitted the same, just not in so many words. She wondered for a moment if Daken and Claudine were going to be like that, but with Jared she'd only thought of keeping things from him, not telling him everything as he'd done with her. She wouldn't have been able to. He wouldn't have understood. Then she realized it, maybe Lana was right. She couldn't spend forever crying over one guy. The moment she thought it it seemed pointless, but the idea grew. "Okay, what's with the look?" Josh asked, scooting his chair back. "What?" Laura asked. "The grin, the twisted freaky evil grin, are you planning on killing me or something?" Josh asked. "Please let her be thinking of Domino, because if she doesn't I will" Nikki said. Logan rolled his eyes, "You look happy today Laura." "I guess I am" she said, smiling. "Well, good. It's a nice change" Nikki said, smiling back. "It's no change, I'm going to be. Maybe not every day but a lot more now" she said. "When you said she'd wake up one day and relize I didn't think you were going to be literal" Claudine said. "Huh?" Laura asked. "You were our topic of conversation last night, and I didn't think it was actually going to happen either" Daken said, chuckling softly. "Well there's an unexpected twist, you didn't think you were going to be right this time" Josh said, earning a smack upside the head. "First Aron now you? What is this, 'Smack Josh Day'?" "If it is, I want to contribute" Laura said, smacking Josh too. "Ow, okay I get it! Cripes you people are violent" Josh said, "I'll go somewhere I'm wanted." Nikki sighed and kissed Josh's head, "You're wanted here sweetie, you just need to stop getting in other people's business." Laura started laughing and the others looked at her in shock.  
"You...you laughed" Aron said, "I was starting to think it was impossible." "Yeah well, that's just you then" Vincent said, "I knew Laura wasn't out of it!" "Thank you Vincey!" Laura said, ruffling his hair. "Okay, I spoke to soon" he said, slinking into his chair, "She's just scaring me now." "Okay...and the normal freaks me out once again..." Josh said, walking out. Daken chuckled, "Good luck." "With what?" Vincent asked. "Getting yourself out of this one" Daken replied, walking out with Claudine. "Out of what? Daken, out of what?! Oh sweet niblets" Vincent said, looking over to Laura. She smiled, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." "You say that every time you hurt me, mom? Help?" Vincent asked, falling flat out of his chair when he leaned back. Logan lifted him up, chuckling softly, "She's just freaking you out Vincent, believe me, the teenage girls over at the X-Mansion do it all the time." Vincent nodded, looking to Laura and running out of the room. Nikki giggled, smiling to Laura, "They'll get used to it, trust me." Laura smiled, Halloween was going to be different this year, she wasn't going to worry about what lurked in the dark, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. For once, she sat back and let things go the way they were ment to.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Halloween At The Howlett Mansion  
Halloween. A much awaited day among the Howlett kids, and a day that ment finally being what you truly were when it came to the leder Howletts. Nikki sighed, it was truly a beautiful day. She thinned out her hair, making the red waves fall managibly over her shoulders. Logan knocked on the door to the bedroom, "They're already ready for trick-or-treating, should I tell them to wait another minute for you?" She grinned a fanged smile, "I'm sure people will think it's the best costume of the year anyway as it is, but they just don't know it isn't a costume." He looked her over, sheer gypsy clothes covering her every curve, only solid material where it was needed. "Why haven't I seen that outfit before?" he asked, running his hands over the sheer material around her shouders. She grinned, "You are now. We should go, before the witching hour comes upon us." He looked at her backside, barely covered by the crimson silk covering the essential places and he sighed, "Later I want to see more of that outfit." "Oh, you're going to" she flashed a bright fanged grin, "From now on."

Daken's jaw dropped when he saw Nikki glid down the stairs. He blinked furiously and looked back, "Holy $#^%." Claudine looked over to Nikki, "Nice choice. Very 'queen of the undead'." "Okay, let's get outta...Mom what the hell are you wearing?!" Josh shouted, stepping back, pillow case for candy in hand. Aron rubbed his eyes, "I'm not sure it's going to be fun anymore." "Why not?" Nikki asked. "Because, dad's gonna be too busy fighting off the idiots that think they're gonna get lucky with you then we're going to have to help. PLEASE put something else on!" Josh said. "How about this, since Laura's oldest that wanted to go with you, she'll lead you guys around and we'll follow at a distance. But we aren't leaving you alone" Nikki said. "Okay, but if you two end up off in the woods Laura can lead us home" Aron said, walking out with the other kids. They quickly covered the first few blocks, the next few equally as fast. "They're getting hard to keep up with" Logan said, looking to his wife jokingly. "It's Halloween, they're kids, what did you expect?" she asked. A scream came from down the street.  
Nikki looked over in shock, her eyes widening at the sight. "Logan, find the kids and get them out of here" she said softly. "What's going on?" he asked, catching her arm. "Something more powerful than me" she whispered. "Stay here, please. I'll be right back" he said softly, kissing her gently. She kissed back, letting him go off to find the kids. She saw the creature, it had powers like her but it's appearace was unlike anything she'd ever seen. She growled and lept at it, morphing her wings. It's claws ripped out and she reinforced her skin with her magic, making her skin gold. The creature's claws ripped through her strong gold wings and she fell back, an inhuman screech coming from her. "What are you?" she hissed, touching her shredded wing and wincing in pain. "I am your worst nightmare crossbreed, and I will make the likes of your kind extinct" it growled, picking her up by her throat and throwing her back as hard as it could. She groaned, colliding with a building, her already shredded wings almost breaking. She gasped, a soft, tearless sob coming from her chest. "Crossbreed, your time is up" it growled.  
"Leave her alone!" Logan growled, leaping on its back. "Logan" she gasped, her voice weak, "My wings." Logan slashed at the creature's back, stabbing it deeply. It roared and threw him off, clutching it's back, "I'll...get you back crossbreed." Logan went to Nikki's side, holding her gently, "My god." She gasped, "Don't! No don't!" She fell against him, unable to hold herself in that form with her magic anymore. "My wings" she gasped, "It hurts so much.." He lifted her, supporting her against him and she whimpered, holding onto him tightly. "Mom! What happened?" Laura asked, reaching out but drawing back when she saw the blood dripping from Nikki's broken wings. "But, I thought the adamantium was on all of your bones" she whispered in horror. "They are, my wings can grow from me, but they weren't there for the bonding process. They aren't like the rest of me" Nikki said, her voice weak. "We have to do something" Aron said, "At the rate her blood's flowing she's not going to last long, not to menton she might not keep her wings as it is." "No, I won't loose my wings" she said softly, gasping against the pain in her wings.  
Later, Logan sat by Nikki's side while Carlisle finished bandaging her wings. "The damage was pretty severe, but she'll get to keep them. She had terrible blood loss, but she should be alright." "Will she fly again?" he asked, stroking he back of her hand. "It's impossible to say for now, but I wouldn't plan on it" Carlisle said, "She should be very careful until her wings are healed." Nikki turned, burying her face into the pillow, her soft sobbing the only sound signaling she was awake. "I'm sorry" Carlisle said softly, walking out. "Nikki" Logan whispered, stroking her face. "No, it can't be happening. Have you ever felt what it's like to fly? I can't loose that freedom, I just can't" she sobbed, pain flowing up her back. "Rest darlin, just rest" he whispered, kissing her gently. "No, Logan I can't! I can't loose this! Not when I only just got it!" she sobbed, standing up weakly. "Nikki, please rest darlin. You need it" he said softly. "No, I have to be able to fly, I HAVE to" she said, wiping her eyes and walking to the window. "Please Nikki" he said, "Don't do this." She stood, walking out on the roof, "I have to." She stood at the edge and jumped, her wings cutting through the air easlily. She cried out, dropping to the ground. He lept out after her, landing agily beside her, "Darlin, are you alright?" "No, I can't fly. I can a little, that makes me feel a lot better, but I still can't" she said, horrified. "You will fly again, I know it" he said softly, kissing her gently.  
TBC  
Chapter 6- De Dia De Los Muertos  
Facing her family while she couldn't fly was going to be the hardest thing Nikki would do. Logan held her hand supportivly while the jet landed at the house in Dublin. "What am I supposed to tell them?" she asked, sighing. "I'll be with you" he said softly, kissing her gently. He touched her bandaged wings gently, carefully smoothing her hair against her back. She sighed, kissing his neck, "Thank you." He picked up their bags and walked off the jet with her, her bandaged wings folded against her back. "Nikki! Oh it's been so long darling!" Isabelle said, hugging her tightly. Nikki winced, "Hello grandma." "Isabelle can't you see you're crushing her? Hello Nikki" her grandfather said, prying Nikki free. "It's nothing, it's just my wings aren't totally healed yet" Nikki said, making herself sound brave. "Healed? From what dear?" her grandmother asked. "Sweet Moon, Nikki? Is that you little sister?" Marcus asked, embracing her tightly, "Oh wow you've grown!" "Marcus" Nikki growled, half in embaressment and half in rage. "I know, I know, it's just that I haven't seen you since you were a little tiny kiddo" Marcus said, grinning much to her annoyance. "Gee, thanks for the insight" Nikki said sarcasticly, rolling her eyes. Her wings ached dully, the bones still not quite set and the bandages still holding them together. "Can you let go now?" she asked. He stepped back, "Now what was it about your wings?" Logan's arm wrapped around her waist. "They got shredded" she admitted sadly. "How?" Marcus asked. "Some creature said it was the crossbreed's worst enemy and attacked her" Logan said, "It could've killed her." "The Farlos?" Marcus asked, "You battled a farlos and lived?!" "What the hell is a farlos?" Nikki asked, her wings twitching in anger. "The only creature that's more powerful than us" Isabelle said. The grim conversation was unset for the cheerful mood of the day, the kids running around between the tombstones as if it were a playground.  
The celebration lasted all day, and most of the reltives heard the story through the grapevine and only the younger kids went up to her and asked if she could tell the story. Logan and Nikki went to their room to unpack some. "How does it feel?" he asked, gently unwinding the bandages from her wings. "It feels better than it did, but it still hurts" she said, leaning over and kissing him gently. He gently ran his fingers over the still healing wing he'd just unwrapped, touching the thin covering of skin she'd healed in the past day. "How badlly does it hurt?" he asked. She sighed, sitting back, "Not too bad, and that feels nice." He smiled, "Then this one can be without bandages." He was gentle in touching her wings, afraid to hurt her. She layed back, smiling contentedly. "They're almost fully healed. I think in a while you'll be able to fly again" he said, smiling and kissing her deeply. "Can I retract these back now? I'm really getting sick of these things getting in the way" she asked, kissing him back. He grinned, "If you want to." She reverted to her full human form and resumed kissing him, sighing happily as they just layed together. He inhaled her sweet scent, holding her against him. "I think we needed a moment together like this" he whispered, kissing her gently. "I love you" she said softly, snuggling into his arms. "Nothing in the world can change that." "And nothing in the world can change my love for you darlin, you know that" he said softly, giving her a gentle squeeze. She rested against him, "We need to be back at the celebration later." "I know" he said softly, "But until then we have free time right?" She smiled, knowing exactly what path his thoughts had taken and kissed him deeply, "Yeah, we do."  
TBC  
Chapter 7- The Healing Process  
Nikki sighed as dawn broke the edge of the cemetery, signaling the near close of the celebration. When she and Logan had returned, it had been nightfall, and like her other relitives, she'd stayed up the entire night in celebration. Logan lay his head on hers, his arms still wrapped around her while they sat on the picnic blanket spread out over the cool ground. "Tired yet?" he asked. "A little, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to nap again before we head home" she said. He gently kissed along her throat, his warm breath like flame so close. She sighed contentedly, laying back against him, "I could stay like this forever." "So could I, but we both know we're not lucky enough to be able to" he said. Most everyone had returned to their own business after the stories had been told of one another's lives, but the select few, most of which were Nikki's older sisters, still gossiped amongst each other. James and Victoria walked over to them, sitting down beside them, "It's extraordanary they can keep that up all night and still have things to talk about" Victoria said, looking over to the women gossiping like teenage girls. "You've never listened to it though have you?" Nikki asked, "I know I was never like that, it's all 'School! Hair! Boys! Clothes!' It makes me wonder what happened to all the sanity they had when they were younger." "You evesdropped?" James asked. "No, I've heard Rosalie say the same thing over and over and over again, god does it get annoying" Nikki said. Logan chuckled, "I have a feeling that Laura may be the only sane teenage girl here." "Yeah, me too. Mostly because I'm related to them so I KNOW how insane they are, one day and anyone could figure it out" Nikki said, rolling her eyes. Victoria laughed, "Well that's been proved." "How so?" Nikki asked. "Everyone in town, notheless all over Romiania know not to go near the pass, that's to close to the casle for them, but here, they just avoid us, how suprising" James said sarcasticly, earning a soft smack from Victoria.  
The day was mainly uneventful, and there had been no problem returning home. There was one thing, however, Nikki HAD to do. She stood at the edge of the roof like she had two nights ago, this time with her wings unbandaged and extended, and she lept. Her wings cut through the air easily, and she laughed, spiraling into the air in joy. The freedom of flight hadn't been taken. She soared over the treetops, allowing the moment of joy to last. She laughed and smiled, her eyes landing on the half moon above her. She heard a familiar sound, close to the same she'd heard on Halloween and she went lower, using her magic to disguise her scent and the sound of her wingbeats. A soft scream followed by a child's wail and the monster's growl confermed her worst fears. There was another of her kind, and it was about to die. She saw him. A little blond boy probably not even six yet, with wide, fearful blue eyes and muddy overalls. The creature stalked twoards him, blood on its claws. A werewolf's mutalated corpse was not six feet from the creature, a vampire's not four. A stab of pain hit her heart for both the little boy, who'd probably lost his family, and the two dead who's only crime was creating another like her. The thoughts brought back images, memories of her father's death. Rage filled her previously pain filled heart and she swooped down, taking the boy in her arms and flying off, putting him down close to the mansion before going back to face the creature. It leered, it's fangs showing as she landed, retracting her wings. "Crossbreed" it growled. "Let's finish this fang face" she growled, her claws popping out. It roared, it's roar matching hers as she lept at the creature, claws extended, ready for a real fight.  
TBC  
Chapter 8- Rematch  
Nikki darted forward into a crouch, dodging the creature's first blow. Her claws sliced deeply into it's stomach, nearly evescrating it. It roared, swiping a clawed fist at her, she wuickly ducked to the side and struck her other set of claws into it's leg, severing the femoral artery. It fell to one leg, her attack was swift and terrible, brutal and unexpected. She retracted her claws, she didn't need them to finish this off. She lunged and it caught her adamantiumized fist, shattering it's own hand before almost casting her to the side. Her foot darted out in a spinnng kick, the creature falling to the ground as she regained her footing in the backswing of the kick. "You are much like him crossbreed" it growled, beginning to heal. "Who?" she snarled, her control on the rage slipping. "Romulus" it growled. She gave a primal roar, the name setting her off and her claws burst from their sheaths, her vision blurring and going red. She slashed at the creature, not giving it any time to heal and with the rate she was killing it, it's healing factor would be overloaded beyond repair. She was going to kill it. Her claws peirced it through a few times, completely slaughtering the creature. Blood covered her body and dripped from her lips as she rose up from her kill like an alpha wolf, almost howling at the moon in a cry of feral victory, her claws out to the sides as if she were darling the other preditors to try to take her kill. With a final howl, her claws retracted and the feral rage began to fade, her human side begging to return. Exaustion took the place of rage as she dropped to her knees, worn out from the battle and dropped to the ground. She'd never felt more or less human at the same time, her thoughts were suddenly clear without worry of loosing control with the animal sated, and vibrant with the thoughts of what she'd done. Her eyes fluttered closed, unable to stay open much longer.  
Logan heard the feral howl, knowing it as a cry of victory. At the same time, he was relived to know she was alright, and anxious to get there and make sure she really was alright. He walked into the clearing, seeing her sleeping peacefully. He wondered for a moment exactly what had caused that, the uncontrolable bloodrage and how easily she'd fallen into a restfull sleep after. He scooped her up in his arms, tenderly kissing her lips and carrying her back in the direction of home. Her eyes fluttered open slightly, "Hey." "Like that back there?" he asked. "I don't even remember doing it" she said softly. "I'm not suprised, you went completly feral" he said, putting her down on her feet. "What happened anyway? What did I do?" she asked. "You killed it. For some reason, I wanted to see that" he said, chuckling softly. He kissed her neck, the metalic tase of blood coming off on his lips. "You know, having you covered in blood is suprisingly sexy" he almost purred, licking the blood off her collarbone. She purred softly, "I didn't think it would be. Feral instints then I guess?" "My feral insticts are telling me we should probably continue this at home" he said, kissing her neck again. She pouted and he chuckled, lifting her up and hitching both of her legs around his waist, "I didn't say we could have a little fun on the way there." She actually gave a purr, kissing him passionately as he pulled her up into his arms, her arms slipping around his neck and he started for home, before their feral instints told them anything else.  
In the morning, Nikki sighed, another Monday. Logan chuckled, gently caressing her cheek, "I already called Cyke, we're not going in for a while." She smiled and snuggled against him, "Can I ask you something?" "Sure darlin, anything" he said, stroking her hair. He'd been pretty suprised the first thing he'd been able to convince her to do was get the blood off, but of course, there had been the always fun twist. "Why'd I go some crazy last night? It was almost like I couldn't control it anymore" she asked. "It was the last night of the harvest moon, all ferals actually go feral then" he said, "I know I did last night too." "What about the kids?" she asked. Logan chuckled, "At least half of them woke up unexpectedly to howl at the moon last night. And I have an idea of how Daken went feral, but believe me, it's not an idea I wanted." She giggled, "He's not a kid anymore you know, he's allowed to have his own fun." "I know, but I didn't want to be able to HEAR it" he said. Nikki broke down giggling, "Please tell me this insanity is ending soon?" "One more night darlin" Logan said, almost sadly. "Call Cyclops back, tell him we're not coming. I have a lot I want to do before things go completely normal again" she said, "and I'll start by letting you have fun too." He kissed her gently, "I already had all the fun I wanted." "Well then, what's to stop you from having more?" she asked, grinning slyly. One more day, but it was gonna be a long one.  
The End  
**Something To Think About (Wolverina's POV, OS)**

The soft glow of the moon is white now, that ment the harvest moon was over. I looked over to Logan, even when he sleeps he still takes my breath away. How I'd become blessed enough to have a man like him fall in love with me I would never know, but I was grateful every moment for him. Through everything we've been through together, everyting we'e gained, and lost, it tested our bond and proved just how strong it really is. I'd known how life without him had been, I didn't have much to live for back then. Now I do. I gently kissed his cheek, standing and slipping on my robe to go check in on the kids. They were the only thing other than Logan that ment something to me. It would hurt if some of my other family died, but I would be nothing without my own family. The one I'd helped create. I stood in the room of our youngest, Shawn, Tayla and Gabrielle. Shawn and Gabby already had little beds, and Tayla was outgrowing the cradle, so she'd need one too soon. Sal would be more than happy to let her sleep where he did, I know he would sleep on the floor if he had to for her. That was just how it worked once you've imprinted. My little ones were growing up, one day to stop aging themselves and stay eternally young. I smiled, tucking them all in a little warmer, just in case.  
Laura and Lana were old enough to take care of themselves, that I knew, but it was always nice to be needed. I put another blanket over Lana, watching her come out of the huddle she'd wrapped herself into. Laura was cloe to Anita, as a mother always was with her first child. Laura was probably the only one that could really understand what I do for them, why every dicision is made. It was really something to understand. I stood, smoothing out the blankets and walking out of their room. Aleasha and Leah were next, the girls always opted for sharing a room while the boys wanted their privacy. I tucked both in under another blanket, how they thought it was still summer I'd never know. My girls, one at an age of the beginning of teenager-influanced life and another still too young to turn off Big Bird. How their lifestyles co-existed in this room was beyond me, but I'd never really understood the interactions between sisters myself. Mine had always been too busy with themselves to notice me, exept Artimis, but she and I were closer in age. I always understood guys better after that, my brothers and I had been extreamly close since I was born. I knew my family was nothing like that, noting was ever going to take a sudden turn like that for us. I wouldn't let it.  
Vincent's room was next, my little almost-superhero. Before he'd even been born he'd saved me from myself, which I was still grateful for. It seemed like a fair trade, being grateful to my family while still being a mom. Mother, caregiver, whatever it was for a title it still meant pretty much the same thing: driver, the one that picks up groceries, goes to every baseball game, carpools for sleepovers. Thank god for the big house. I smoothed out his hair and went into Josh's room, something he would probably throw a fit over if he were awake. He was the teenager of the family, although he hadn't been a teenager in a long time. Next time he went out with his friends I was going to be cleaning that room, the things tossed everywhere was enough to give a neat freak a heart attack. His gutar sat next to him in bed, a habit of never putting ANYTHING away gone bad. There weren't even blankets on the bed, where they'd gone I had no idea. I sighed, even my misunderstood teenager had managed to bring some of the thoughts to the surface. At least his brother cleaned his room. I kissed Josh's forehead and shut the door, a sock with something in it getting caught in the door. I really didn't want to know.  
Aron was asleep too, his room impecable as usual. One of the benifets of him knowing to clean his room was no socks full of god knows what getting stuck in the door. It almost looked as if everything was polished to perfection. So that was why he tried to stay out of Josh's room. I chuckled, tucking him in a little tighter and left the room. I didn't need to check in on Daken, I knew he was responsible. If only Josh would be around him a little more. If there was one thing to make a vampire feel old, it was having a grandkid, from an alternate demension or not. Sage was asleep, it seemed like I was the only one with a bad habit of staying up late. I tucked the blankets a little tighter and walked back into my room. The people who said a mother's job is never done were right, but they hadn't met my family now had they? There was a whole new meaning to a mother's job, and half of that meaning was the mother's side job of saving the world at least once a day. Side job? You may ask. Well it is, because being a wife and mother is the only full time job I have, and it's the one that comes with something better than pay or recognition, it comes with pride. And I have a lot of that, after all with a big family it's the more people to be proud of. and that I am.  
Fin

**Murderworld**

Chapter 1- The Beginning  
Nikki's head pounded as she awoke, looking around and seeing her family near. "Logan? Logan where are we?" she asked. He looked around, "I don't know." "Welcome to the new and improved Murderworld Wolverine, Wolverina and family!" a voice shouted through the loudspeaker. "Mom?" Vincent asked, getting closer. Nikki stood, pulling her mask over her face, "Stay close okay." "Arcade, what the ^%$# is wrong with you?!" Logan growled, stepping in front of them. "Oh, don't worry Wolverine, this wasn't my idea nor my money that funded this little experement, you can thank your old pal Romulus for that" Arcade said. Daken growled, "Get us out of here or I'll cut your head off myself!" "You have twelve hours Wolverine clan, I think you'll do well all things condiered" Arcade said, "Have fu-un!" The Murderworld started, and they ducked to the side. Sal had the little ones in his arms as he morphed wolf, putting them on his back. "Get back!" Nikki shouted. Josh ran off, "We have to get out of here, let's find the exit already!" "Josh, get back here!" Nikki shouted. They began to follow Josh, fighting off the things Arcade had created. "Hey, it's over here!" Josh shouted. They sprinted to the door, and the floor caved in from under them.  
They landed in a dark room, lights flicking on in pathways down the hall. "Welcome to level 2 Wolverine clan! Hope you make it out this time" Arcade said, alughing evily. "Which way is out?" Vincent asked. "Mom, I want to go home" Tayla sniffled, tears gathering in her eyes. "Oh Tayla sweetie we're going home soon" Nikki said softly, "I promise." "Mom, look!" Aron shouted, the walls beginning to close in on them. "How're we supoosed to get out of here?!" Josh asked. "Just run for it we'll find it!" Aron said, racing away. "Aron! Josh!" Nikki shouted after them, they ran in the other direction. Josh jumped back, as did Aron, "There's nothing down there!" They raced for any possible exit out, the walls crushing together behind them. "Here! The door's over here!" Vincent shouted, banging on the door. Arcade laughed through the loudspeaker, "I see you've made it out of level 2, well level 3 won't be so easy, and it's the last level." The door opened and they raced out before the wall could crush them.  
Level 3's floor began to cave. Logan and Nikki held the kids back as the floor gave way to lava, and only a strip of floor remained. "Logan, what the hell is wrong with this guy?!" Nikki asked, "We have our kids here for god's sake!" The floor started sinking, "Mom! Hurry, we've got to go!" Josh said. "Josh don't you dare" Nikki warned, stepping forward edgily. Josh stepped back as the flame shot up, "Mom, wait." "Josh get back here now, I mean that!" Nikki called. "Josh, get over here now" Logan warned. "Wait, just let me test it" Josh said, edging forward. "Josh!" they both shouted. Josh jumped across, laughing in relief, "Come on, it's okay!" Sal jumped forward, over the lava easily with the little ones holding onto his back. Vincent went next, Sal picking him up half way across and pulling him across. The floor was getting lower and the remaining Howletts would have to go all at once. Nikki picked up Leah, Daken and Claudine holding hands while Ben held Daken's neck. Laura held Anita tightly, and Lana stayed close. Sage stood close to them, getting across with Laura, Lana and Anita. Daken, Claudine and Ben went across next. Logan picked up Aleasha, holding onto her while he held Nikki's hand. Aron edged across with them, occasionally holding onto Nikki's arm for support. They went across and part of the floor caved in. "No!" Nikki shouted, grasping for Aron's hand. Aleasha darted forward, grasping for his hand while Leah reached out for him. Nikki went to the edge, "Aron?!" The ground rumbled and Logan pulled Nikki back, "No, wait!" she shouted.  
Arcade's laugh broke through the silence, "Well that was more of a count then Romulus had expected." Nikki dropped to her knees, tears flowing from her eyes. "That was 3, well Romulus only guessed one if I was lucky, and with 11 hours and 45 minutes to go, oh what a heartbreaker!" Arcade said. Nikki sobbed brokenly, Logan holding her tightly. "No" she sobbed. "And look what else we have, more lava! None of you are making it out of here, I can be sure of that. Nikki growled, "Sal, take as many of them as you can and try to climb the wall, everyone else, get back against the wall." Tears still flowed from her eyes, dripping into the lava and sending up boughts of steam. "Nikki, what're you doing?" Logan asked. She turned gold, slamming her fist into the lava. She gasped, the lava almost burning her despite her magic and the metal bent, punching a hole in the floor. She dropped to her knees, despite the pain in her hand the pain in her heart throbbed more. "How?! How did you do that?!" Arcade thundered. Logan slashed though the door, into the control room, "This is over Arcade!" "But, look Wolverine, I was only getting paid for this" Arcade said, knowing if he would be able to bargain his way out of this one it would be a miricle. Logan slashed Arcade deeply, "I don't care. Three of my children are dead now, why do you think I care if you were just 'getting paid'?!" Laura looked sadly to the others, putting her free arm around Lana. Sage was in Claudine's free arm, the four ducked together. Josh stood akwardly with Sal, looking at his mother sobbing brokenly. "There's nothing left" she sobbed, curling into herself. Logan went over to her, holding her tightly, "We're taking them home, after that we're hunting down Romulus." Nikki nodded, unable to speak. He couldn't feel any less miserable as she still held him, unable to move yet. He buried his face in her hair and cried with her, true pain coming through.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- The Hunt  
Arcade's jet landed back at the mansion, the only signs there had been intruders were the covered scents that hadn't awoken them. Now there were two rooms empty and the sun was just breaking over the horizon. "Go back to sleep if you can" Logan said, "Kitten'll be here today, alright? We've got a few things to take care of." "Did you kill Arcade dad?" Vincent asked. Logan looked ashamed as he picked Vincent up, "Yeah, but don't go thinking it was right, because it wasn't. He was going to kill all of us, and that's the only time when killing someone is right. Revenge was part of it, but that hasn't gone full scale yet. Now try to go back to bed, alright sport?" Vincent nodded, letting Logan put him down and scurrying off after Josh, "Josh, can I stay with you tonight?" Josh nodded, although he and his brother fought he still regretted not being able to do anything. Logan looked to Nikki, she'd stopped crying but her arms were wrapped around herself as through she were going to break apart at any given moment. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her begin to cry again, "We have to do something, we can't just stay here and take this anymore." "I know darlin, but what're we gonna do?" he asked. She drew back, "You're asking me? Why don't we do what we'e been planning to do, let's finish this. Let's get the blade and hunt that no good ^%&# to the ends of the earth if we have to." "Nikki, we can't just do that" he said. "What? You were going to get Victor and go track this b$%&# anyway, so what's to stop us now?! He's already gone too far more than once!" she growled, tears of rage flowing down her cheeks.  
"He's powerful Nikki, don't you think he'd expect that" he said, taking her in his arms again. "But Arcade didn't get a chance to deliver intel, what if Romulus thinks Arcade's just having his own way with us? Killing us slowly and painfully? Do you really think he'd interupt that?" she asked. "Knowing of that sadistic &^%$ I'd think not." "Exactly, so why not strike when he least expects it. He gave Arcade twelve hours, we still have eleven. We can find him and finish this. Arcade said he would kill us in twelve hours, I'll be sure to kill Romulus in three" Nikki growled, going to get the blade. "And what's the plan, O fearless and sexy leader?" Logan asked, glancing after her. "We find and kill Romulus, go home and take a nap. That's about it" she said. "What's this, girls gone wild?" Victor asked, grinning. "Stuff it blondie, let's move" Nikki said, stalking out in a killing mood. Logan sighed, "Just follow her, she has a plan." "Oh this oughta be good" Victor said, following the two.  
Nikki made quick work of hacking into the GPS's mainframe in Arcade's jet, and searching for a hidden location. She retreved the memory of all deleted locations, and they were all the same one. "I have the coordinates, let's go" she said, starting the jet with the directions programmed into it. "Well nice work runtett, can I ask what started this little insaity bout?" Victor asked sarcasticly. She growled, stalking over to him in the most preditory way possible, "I just lost three of my children tonight Victor, don't give me that bull$#^%!" Logan wanted to start laughing, before she'd been so afraid of him and now she was in his face as if he were her annoying little brother. "Back off frail, I didn't do nothin' to you" Victor said. "Make me furball" Nikki growled back, her claws almost coming down. Logan did laugh then, "This is so ironic." "How so?" Victor asked. "Because, my woman's a helluva lot like me and, well, it's nice to know I can love that kind 'o woman" Logan said, striding over and kissing her gently. The GPS beeped, the electronic voice confirming they were close to their destination. "Saddle up boys, we're paying a visit to an old friend" Nikki said, grinning evily.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Romulus  
Logan, Nikki and Victor followed the worn paths outside Romulus's base. Nikki sniffed the air, grinning evily as she caught Romulus's covered scent, "It's time to get our payback, ready?" Logan nodded, taking her hand in his own and Victor grinned, showing his sharp canines. "Let's go" she said softly, and cut a small path through the electric fence with her magic, not to trigger the alarms. She kept them cloaked from all eyes, keeping the cameras and other things in the dark as much as the humans around them were. Victor reached out, about to slit a guard's thraot when Nikki stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder in a silent warning. Logan picked the lock on the door with his claws, inching the door open and ducking inside. Nikki sniffed, "Wait." She took out a makeup compact and blew acroos the top, showing the infared beams for the alarms. She grinned, "And I got that from Mythbusters too." "How the hell are we supposed to get across? I don't fly" Victor said. "You don't have to, just anchor your claws into the wall or the celing and swing for the other side" Nikki replied, getting a boost from Victor leaning down.  
"Wha-? Frail get the hell off me" Victor growled. "If you say so" she said, anchoring her claws into the celing and agily swinging across the beams, checking for more before waiting for them. Logan followed her lead and Victor grunted, "Damn you're heavier than she is runt." "Deal with it furball" Logan growled, choosing another spot close to hers to follow and landing beside her easily. Victor growled, "And how am I supposed to get across?" "Use the wall genius" Nikki said, starting to walk off. Victor scaled across, stepping to the other side, "Make me do something pointless like that again frail and I'm going to-" "What? Come on big guy, what's your threat now?" she asked, "I'm really getting tired of this Vic, just shut up and deal with it for a little while alright? That's it, then we're done." He sighed, "Fine, you're still tap dancing on my last nerve though." Logan rubbed her back as they went down a corridoor, following the covered scent. "Are you alright darlin? I didn't expect you to go through with this back there" he asked. "I'll be okay" she said softly, pausing for a moment, "If anything does go wrong in there..." "I'm not going to blame you for it. I love you, and I know you want revenge, so do I. So why not finish this while we're here?" he asked, kissing her gently. She gave a small smile, walking off in the direction of Romulu's scent.  
"I was wondering when you'd come" Romulus growled, turned from them. Nikki could barely hold in the emotions threatening to overwhem her, fear, rage, sorrow, "You killed my children." "Yes, and?" Romulus growled, not even turning to her. "and?" she growled, "AND?! You act like that isn't enough for you!" She lept at him, fury taking over, "You've targeted my family all my life! If it wasn't for you my children would still be alive, all of them! and you say 'and'?!" Her claws were mercilessly slashing deep wounds to the elder lupine, tears running down her face and mixing with blood. "You killed my family and that's all you hae to say?!" Romulus caught her wrist before her claws could strike him again, "They would have died anyway foolish child." "No, not for a long time they wouldn't have" she sobbed, slashing hoplessly at Romulus. "It still would have hurt you nonetheless, child don't you think I'm sparing you future pain?" Romulus asked, like a chiding father. "No, you've kileld my family and you're saying you spared me pain?!" she roared, resuming her attack. Victor joined her, his claws shredding Romulus's back. Romulus roared in rage and threw her back, her back slamming into the wall, "I have had enough of you!" Logan went to her side, helping her to her feet and kissing her gently, "We're going to win this." "Logan, how am I not suprised to see you here" Romulus said, throwing Victor back. Logan stepped in front of Nikki, "We're going to finish this Romulus." "No, that we aren't" Romulus growled, a flash of helicopter lights coming through the compund's window. "You'll be lucky if you even make it out of this one Logan. I'm sure neither of them will" Romulus said, looking to Victor and Nikki before the window was smashed in by the helicopter, Romulus getting inside and taking hold. Victor lept at the helicopter, but Nikki saw the missiles first, "Victor, WAIT!"  
The sudden blast of nitrate engulfed the room in flames, Logan getting Nikki back against the wall before the flames could reach them. She coughed, the air choaked with a thick chemical smoke, it would be enough to kill the humans in the compound that was for sure. Victor hauled himself up, his clothes torn and charred as he healed up, "Wanna get outta here before he drops the other ones?" Another blast of chemical smoke and flame came from another part of the building and Logan pulled Nikki up, "Vic's right." "How? The other way is blocked" she asked. Victor stumbled over to where the helicopter had made a hole in the side of the wall, "It's a far drop into a pretty deep lake, but I think we can take it." Nikki coughed, holding onto Logan for support, "Then we'll take it." Victor lept first, the water would probably help him right then. Another blast rocked the building, pieces of flaming debris falling to the floor, "Ready darlin?" Logan asked. Nikki nodded, holding onto him and they jumped together. The icy water swirled up around them and Nikki gasped, breaking the surface and shaking her now wet hair back from her face, "Now what? Our only lead is getting destroied."  
"Not quite" Logan said, looking over to the building. It almost seemed like the rest of the building was repairing itself, only one section still aflame. "huh, looks like you're coming back without me then, 'cause I'm not getting my $$ burnt like this twice" Victor said. Logan pulled himself ashore, pulling Nikki out with him and laying on the ground, "We'll find a way. We're gonna finish this, and we'll find a way." She lay against him, "Logan?" "Yeah?" he asked. Tears streamed down her cheeks, "What about them?" She couldn't say their names yet, it was too soon. Still even thinking about them, anything about them was enough to make tears run down her face and her healing heart break a little more. "They're with the rest of your family now darlin, they've got something better than this now." He kissed her gently and sat up, holding her tightly and letting her cry out her pain against his shoulder. Things weren't going to go back to the way they'd been for a while, that much they all knew. But at least they'd tried, something that would happen again, maybe with a little more success.  
The End

**Venom's Little Camping Trip (OS)**

"I'm telling you Gorge your dad tried to crawl into bed with me!" Nikki said, walkng down the steps in the X-Men's new base behind him. "I don't think so Nikki, he's--right there" Gorge said, stopping. Venom went up to Nikki, holding onto her leg, "Hello sssexy." "Get the hell off me Venom before I cut something very important to your being male off" Nikki said, her claws coming down. "Fiesssty, I like it" Venom growled, his tounge flicking out. "Dad" Gorge sighed, covering his face with his hands, "She's my friend remember?" "Yess, but she's also very-" Venom began. "Finish that sentence, I dare you" Nikki growled, her claws going to Venom's throat. "Get off my wife ya little insect" Logan growled, pulling Venom off Nikki's leg. "But sshe's-" Venom began. Logan growled, his claws inches from Venom's face, "Want to finish that?" Venom shook his head, "Greedy ^&%#." Gorge looked at his father, "What is wrong with you?! She's married!" "Yess, but that doesn't matter all alone in the foresst" Venom said, slinking closer to her leg again. "Venom, down boy" Nikki said, sitting on the couch with her legs up off the floor. Venom stood onto the edge of the couch, "Up Nikki dear." Logan's claws shot down again, Venom winced and fell back, "Mommy." Nikki giggled, "Nice shot." Gorge looked at them both, "Yeah, I understand it now. Dad, go home, please." Venom sat, "What can I sssay? She's irrisissstible." Nikki smacked Venom on the head, drawing her hand back before he could bite her. "I'll take care of him, just go ahead and get out of here while you can" Gorge said.  
Later, the Howletts had stayed at the mansion for the night and Venom, never one to sleep when she was around, snuck through the halls to the room she was staying in for the night. He saw her covered by the blanket and started to tug it aside. Her eyes opened and she kicked Venom back, "What the hell were you doing?!" "I like what I sssee" Venom said, looking her over again. "Venom" Logan growled, his claws coming down on one hand while one arm wrapped around Nikki's waist, pulling her back from Venom. "What? I can't help how ssshe makes me think" Venom said. Logan stepped out of bed, making Venom look away and his claws went righ through Venom's groin. Nikki chuckled as Venom limped off, "That might help." Logan went back to bed, "That'll stop him for a while." Venom looked over to the closed door and whimpered, maybe she was a bit out of his league. "Dad go back to bed!" Gorge called out of his room. Venom gave a sound like a grunt and a sigh and went back to his room, muttering along the way.  
"Well I'm glad you ould stay here Gorge, but next time could you please keep Venom locked up, or on a leash" Emma said. "Hey Emma, why was the drawer open this morning?" Scott asked downstairs. Venom ran off, out the door and out to the gate. Nikki started giggling, "Yeah, I had a feeling he wasn't going to heal from that."  
End

**Losses**

Chapter 1- Reflection  
The nightmares had started again, but this time they were different. All because of Arcade. In the dreams though, it wasn't just herself Nikki had to worry about, it was Vincent, always in the background while she tried to distract Sabretooth's attention from him. On several nights, she'd woken up crying instead of screaming when Sabretooth had gotten too close. But the nightmare of this night was even worse than the others. There was a river of blood in the dry, dead landscape around her. She kept calling for someone, anyone to help her. Hands rose out of the blood, pulling her in. She knew them, and didn't fight them, she didn't need to. She did blame herself, and it would be impossible for them not to blame her on the other side. Logan shook her awake, but suprisingly she didn't awake with a start like she usually did, the tears just continued to stream down her face. "What happened?" he asked, holding her tightly in his arms. "They blamed me, and I don't blame them" she said softly, tears running down her face.  
"Don't blame yourself" Claudine said, standing in the doorway, "You were dreaming loud enough to wake the dead." "How can I not? I couldn't do anything" Nikki said softly. "Exactly, you couldn't that didn't mean if you could you wouldn't have" Claudine said, sitting beside her, "Listen, you're a good person Nikki and a great mom, don't think because a few bad things happened that you're the worst. I mean come on, do you realize at least they're not screwed up? If they ended up like Jason then you could say it, although his mother never did, but you aren't. I would've given anything to be them when I was their age. Because they have a mother that loves them, and if something does happen you actually feel guilt instead of treating eerything like it's normal when it's not. I've been listening to your dreams Nikki, you're probably the best mother a kid could find, because you act so selflessly with them. You would give up everything for them and you know it. Would a bad mother really do that?" Nikki sighed, "No, she wouldn't."  
Laura walked in, rubbing her eyes, "What happened? I heard voices." Logan looked away, "Who got you that?" Laura looked down, blushed and shut her robe, "I'm old enough to go shopping by myself. and I like it." Logan put his face in his hands, it was another of those 'dear god she's growing up, this is my worst nightmare' moments. Nikki giggled, "I think I get the point of view now. Laura, please go get some real clothes on before your father has a heart attack." Laura nodded and left, Claudine giggling and following, "Go back to sleep, things will get better now, even if I just have to give that lesson a little tap now and again." Nikki smiled, "Goodnight, both of you." Logan sighed, "Can we please go back to bed now?" "Of course my love" Nikki said, kissing him gently. She looked to the mirror across the room, her reflection didn't hold as much hoplessness now. Things were going to get better, that was sure.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Adventure and Family  
Morning brought the bright winter light streaming through the windows, waking the Howletts and on the other side of the mansion, the Creeds. Years ago Logan never would've thought it would be possible for him to get along with Victor Creed, but ever since Victor came back it was getting a lot easier. Victor had never thought it to be possible himself, but now with Logan as a teammate, things were...different. Logan walked downstairs to see Nikki and Kitten talking, like they did before. Kitten was bouncing one of her two little pride-and-joys, Darren, the son she had with Victor, on her hip while Erica sat at the table with Gabby and Shawn, who had both grown out of being considered babies anymore. Gabby sat with her doll, fussing with its hair every five minutes and Shawn sat trying to catch the little marshmallows that were floating away in the milk with his spoon. Vincent padded downstairs next, followed by Josh. "How'd you sleep honey?" Nikki asked, setting breakfast in front of Vincent. "Okay, but I got scared and had to go in with Josh again" he said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Kitten sighed one of those 'aww-isn't-that-cute?' sighs and looked over to Nikki. "Josh, can you move in with your brother? Just for a while?" Nikki asked. Josh sighed, "'Kay." Lana and Laura came down, dressed and ready and Lana was already talking a mile a minute while Laura took care of Anita.  
Sage walked down, standing in the doorway to take in the scene, with Benji running in and jumping onto Josh's lap, starling him awake, "Unkie Joshie!" Lana started giggling, hiding her face behind her hand and even Logan chuckled. "Uncle Josh" Josh corrected, handing Benji off to Logan. "Gam'pa unkie Joshie's tii-red" Benji said, hanging onto Logan. "Yeah, and you're making grandpa feel OLD" Logan said, chuckling. Daken lifted Benji from Logan, "Thanks dad, he's just Taz today aren't you?" Benji laughed, Taz being one of his many nicknames. Claudine sat down with the others, smiling after Daken. Victor walked in last, seeing the Howletts and his family already there. "Mornin' beautiful wife o' mine" Victor said, kissing Kitten tenderly. "Well look who woke up on the right side of the bed this morning" Nikki said, chuckling joyfully, "I think the sun's put us all in a good mood." "How's the Tazmanian devil doin'?" Victor asked, grinning at Benji. Benji laughed, reaching out for Victor. For some reason, Benji loved tugging Victor's hair and Victor let it slide since he considered the kid so adorible. Claudine looked over to Nikki, happy to see the more cheerful side had returned. "You're in a better mood" she said. "Thank you" Nikki replied. "For?" "Saving me. From myself I mean." Kitten looked to them both, she knew exactly what Nikki ment, although she'd never admit it. A lot had happened in the ten years without her godmother, but they were closer in kinship than Nikki knew. "What's the matter Kitten?" Victor asked, wrapping his arm around her. "Huh? Oh nothing, I guess I just got so caught up in remembering some things that I zoned out for a minute" she said, blushing. Claudine couldn't help it and took a breif look into Kitten's mind.  
Kitten in a dark room. A familiar presence to Kitten. Something terrible happened in there, but more than once. Pain and fear, trying to block it all out. Crying, something wrong...can't be happening. Something blue. A baby, a little girl. So tiny and innocent. The presence again, tracking her down, the baby girl dying. So much loss, so much pain. Tears, blood, running away from the presence. Sam... Claudine gasped, the memory fragments coming together. "What?" Victor asked. Claudine blushed, "I...I'm sorry, you just looked so..I'm not going to tell anyone." Kitten looked miserable, "That was a long time ago. I'm better now. Just..leave it okay?" Claudine nodded and looked to Nikki, giving her an 'ask-her-yourself' look. "Kitty, can I talk to you for a minute?" Nikki asked. Kitten nodded, handing Darren off to Victor and walking out beside her. "What happened? What did Claudine see?" Nikki asked, "You know you can trust me." "I know" Kitten said softly, "I try to forget it." "I've told you everything, now please, trust me enough to tell me" Nikki said. "It was a long time ago, before I came out here. Things went too far, I got in a bad relationship. I hated him, but at the same time I loved him. I had a baby, a girl, and he found out. He got so angry I'd never told him..he killed her. And I lost it, I killed him and dad found out. That was why I ran, I knew he'd turn me in for killing him. But it was only fair, a life for a life. It doesn't matter does it?" Kitten asked. "I know, that's why you understand this isn't it? Because of her?" Nikki asked. "Samantha, her name was Samantha" Kitten said, walking back in after brushing stray tears from her eyes.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Secret  
"Why didn't ya tell me Kitten?" Victor asked softly, sitting with her. "Because, I thought since you were a hero and I'd killed someone..." Kitten began, looking away. Victor started laughing, "That's what that was about? Kitten I'm not one to judge. I'm not exactly a pure angel myself, well actually I'm 'bout the farthest thing from it you could find with the good guys." He kissed her gently, reassuringly, and smiled at her, "You don't have to worry about what I think of you, Freddy and Jason combined didn't put a dent in my record." Kitten giggled, "For some reason I find that...I don't know if there's a word for it. But it's a good thing, not at all like I'm sure you would've expected." Victor chuckled, stroking her cheek gently, "An' I'm sure, knowing you, it is. I can't do wrong in your eyes can I?" "No, you can't" Kitten said, "'Cause who you used to be isn't who you are now. I love this you Victor, there isn't anything in the world that could change that." He leaned closer to her, pressing his lips to hers gently, "We're married and I still feel like a teenager whenever I get close to you." There were giggles in the hallway and Victor threw a pillow at the door, two shrill teenage girl shrieks were heard and running footsteps. "That oughta keep the teenagers outta here for a while" Victor said, kissing Kitten's neck. Nikki had told her about Victor once, and Kitten found it hard to believe that the Victor Nikki had known and the gentle, playful Victor she knew and loved could be anywhere near the same person.  
Erica sat watching TV while Shawn and Darren wrestled with each other, Vincent watching the two to make sure they didn't get hurt. Tayla and Gabby played dolls, and Josh was playing some video game on his cell phone. Laura walked in and put Anita with the girls, sitting beside Lana on the smaller couch. Sage stood in the doorway to the kitchen, watching the TV from a distance while Benji slept in one of the chairs. Daken and Claudine were in the rec room, taking some time alone together while Kyle and Amanda were out on a date. Logan stood behind Nikki in the kitchen, kissing her neck gently while she made lunch. "It's nice isn't it?" she asked. "What?" he asked. "Everything getting back to normal, I'm glad the bad guys are taking a vacation" she said, smiling. "We're going to need another job then won't we?" he said, kissing her neck again. "Right away? Sweetheart, you're already on the Avengers, the X-Men, X-Force, and your solo career, not to mention the family, you're in over your head at times love. Don't even think about it" Nikki said. He chuckled, "Sometimes I wonder how you know all this and then I remember, you're my wife. You know everything about me. I still don't understand how it is you can know everything about me and the kids but...somehow you do." "I didn't understand either, but my mother told me it just came with settling down. I guess it did" she said, kissing him gently. "A nice, quiet day, I could get used to this" Logan said, relaxing in a chair while she put his lunch in front of him. "So can I" she said, giving him a gently kiss before going to get the kids for lunch time.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- The new cub  
Kitten sighed, laying on Victor's chest, "We should do that more often." Victor chuckled, he enjoyed the quiet times with his wife and agreed, they had to do that more often, especially since the kids were going to bed earlier now. He deeply inhaled her scent, catching a change. "Victor?" she asked. He sniffed her again, smiling, "Feel any different Kitten?" She gasped, a smile crossing her features, "A cub." He grinned, "So you're happy? You're ready again?" Kitten grinned, kissing him gently, "Of course. Darren's almost a year old, so after this we might want to slow down a bit." Victor kissed her back, pressing his hand to her stomach, "We've got to tell the others." She smiled, resting on his chest, "I wonder what the reaction will be this time." "Nikki gave me the whole story, I know you lost a baby. I won't let that happen again" he said softly, holding her tenderly.  
Logan caught the scents of Victor and Kitten coming down the stairs, and he shifted Nikki in his arms. "What?" she asked, kissing him passionetly. "Vic and Kitten are on their way down" Logan said softly, holding her against him. Kitten squeezed Nikki, gently placing her hand on her stomach, "I need to tell you something." Nikki's eyes widened, "I smell it, a baby?" Kitten hugged Nikki again, and Logan looked over to Victor, "Congrats Vic." Nikki smiled to her husband, happy he was being nice. "So, I gotta ask, how long'd it take before you smelled it?" Logan asked. "About three hours" Victor said, grinning. "Boys, you have to disscuss it?" Nikki asked. "Like you gals don't have talks about us in bed" Victor said, making Kitten blush. Nikki gave Victor a look but Logan sat back, comforable, "If they're talking Vic it has to be a good thing. They're bragging about their men, aren't we lucky to have them?" Logan pulled Nikki into his arms again, kissing her deeply and holding her tightly. Victor grinned, taking Kitten in his arms and kissing her gently, "You're even more delicate now baby, I'm going to take care of you." Kitten blushed lightly, "What're we going to tell the kids?" "That they're both going to be big siblings" Victor said, holding Kitten lovingly.  
Vincent sniffed the air, his head turning to the side, "Victor and Kitten are coming, but there's something different." "What kinda different?" Erica asked. "Kitten smells different, like there's something with her but not there" Vincent said. Shawn looked at Vincent, "Like Tayla?" "Hey" Tayla said, smacking her brother. Gabby giggled, "Like Shawn too." "How?!" Erica asked, fed up. "Mommy SMELLED different when Shawn and Tayla were gonna be born, then her tummy got big and they got dropped off by the stork" Gabby said. "No, they come from the baby store" Shawn said. "You don't want to know where they come from" Vincent said, looking like he'd seen a ghost, "Josh told me and you don't want to know and they don't come from a bird or a store." Kitten walked in and Erica jumped up, "You're gonna have a baby?!" Victor started laughing, picking up Erica, "Yeah she is, you're still oldest though." Vincent cleared his throat, looking at the TV. "I thought you only wanted to be considered runt's kid" Victor said. "Well that was before there was a compititon involved" Vincent replied. Victor chuckled, "Alright, she's second oldest." Darren cooed, Victor picking him up too, "Looks like I'm working double time now." Kitten giggled, kissing him gently, "You don't have to already." "No Kitten, I'm going to. I'm gonna treat you like the queen you are, let me handle everything" Victor said. "Wow, you sound like dad when all of them were on the way" Vincent said, looking to his little siblings. Victor sighed, "At least there isn't that many of you." A pillow flew down the stairs, smacking Victor in the head. Vincent laughed, "Nice shot mom!"  
TBC

Chapter 5- Acceptance  
"You look better" Kim said, seeing Nikki in the rec room playing with Tayla and Gabby. "Hey Kim" Nikki said, "It's gotten a bit better. I can think about them without crying now, but that's about it." Kim went over, sitting in one of the chairs, "Are you sure you're alright? When Karrie lost her baby a few months ago she was just...I don't think there's a word for it yet. and you've lost three.." "Kim" Nikki said, her voice getting more desperate, "I said it was getting better, I didn't say I still don't start crying whenever I think about then, or when I had to pack up their things so I wouldn't start crying if I opened the door to their rooms..." Tayla hugged Nikki, sensing that the tears were about to begin, "Don't cry mommy." Nikki gave Tayla a gentle squeeze, taking Gabby in her other arm, "I can't bear this anymore Kim. It's too hard. I won't let anything happen to them now, but I can't protect them forever. and that scares me Kim, I can't loose any of them." Kim sighed, "I wish I could tell you not to worry, but it's not easy. I can see you give them as muc freedom as you can, and especially now it won't be easy, but you have to trust them Nikki. Trust that you've raised them well enough to know how to defend themselves. The girls were too young, I know that. Too young to be taken and too young to learn this. You want them to grow up normally, I get that, but just consider training them a little. They don't have to be killing machines, but they need to learn how to fight back." Nikki held her girls protectivly, "I'll do that Kim. I need to teach them how to use their powers anyway. Just do me a favor, if I start loosing it, I want you to be honest with me and tell me. I need to get myself back together, it won't be easy and it won't be fun but it has to happen." Kim smiled, "You want honesty? You've been miserable for weeks, you need to stop blaming yourself. You couldn't have done anything, and even if you had you might've died for them. Which would you rather have, maybe not even all of them, or your life?" Tayla looked up at her mother, waiting for an answer. "I don't know" Nikki said softly, "I would give up everything for my kids, my life included. But you're asking me if I would've willingly given up my life to not save them all. I don't know, I would've loved to have been able to do something but...I can't bear to see them in pain either and by dying I would cause that. I still don't know Kim, how would I?" Kim sighed, "I don't know either when you put it like that. But I know you Nikki, you're gonna get through this. One step at a time." "Yeah, they say there's five steps to grieving: anger, loss, denial, depression and acceptance. I'm sure I've gone through four of the five already" Nikki said. "So which is left?" Kim asked. "Acceptance, oh no. Don't you go all fourtune cookie on me woman!" Nikki said. "Am I?" Kim asked. "Oh, you are good" Nikki said, chuckling. The women had a short staring contest before they both disolved into giggles, perhaps acceptance became easier.  
Logan and Gorge sat upstairs, talking over a couple of cold ones. "So, how're you taking it?" Gorge asked, taking a long drink. "I wish I could tell you. Until Claudine talked to her a couple of nights ago she always woke up in the middle of the night, either screaming or crying. It breaks my heart seein' her like this...but I think it's getting better. She's not crying as much and..I think it was a good thing having Sage and Ben move in one of the rooms. Josh moved in with Vincent for a while, poor kid's haing nightmares about lava monsters now." Gorge chuckled, "I was a lot like that when I was his age, although mine came from watching horror movies not living them." Logan's middle claw came out and Gorge laughed, "Just saying." "Yeah well it ain't right. Kid's stronger than you think he is. He's even protected Nikki before, he's always been the one to get her though this kinda stuff. I mean...yeah he's better at this than I am, pretty pathetic huh?" "It might have something to do with the fact that he was raised by a pansy-$$ed fencer and Nikki's hardcore 'I'll-kill-you-if-you-look-at-me-wrong' trapeeze artist best friend. Yeah, he's had a real normal childhood, and then he gets tossed into this, I'm suprised the kid doesn't need therepy already." "Nah, he's just like me, there ain't nothing a few hours in the Danger Room can't cure" Logan said. "No, he just can't project his emotions due to the lack of respect he'd gain from his male peers, aside from that he's just wonderful" Laura said. Logan looked over to Gorge and back to Laura, "When'd you become a shrink?" "It's not that, it's tipical male behavior commenly called 'machoism'" Laura said, grinning, "It's in the dictionary." Gorge started laughing, "Oh man and I thought my kids were something!" Logan gave Gorge a look that could peel paint and took a long drink, "Teenagers. Sometimes they scare the living $#^% outta me."  
TBC

Chapter 6- Choosing Sides  
Sebastian Shaw led the Hellfire guards to the new Xaiver mansion, knowing that Wolverine and his family would be there. That ment it would be easier to find Daken and Claudine to resume his coup d'etat of the Hellfire club. "Find them and at whatever means necessary" he said, the guards moving to their inteneded postitions. Josh sniffed the air, stood and turned, "Daken, that smell familiar to you?" Daken sniffed, standing with Claudine, "Josh, get them to the danger room. After that go warm the others." "Daken, what's going on?" Josh asked. Claudine stood with Daken, "You're not going alone." "Yes I am, I have to. I can't let you go out there" Daken said. "I've handled them before" Claudine said. "I know, but I won't let you. Stay here, protect them" Daken said. "Why?" Claudine asked. "You're the most stubborn woman I've ever met" Daken said. "Why?" she repeated. "Because I love you!" Daken said, tired of playing games. Claudine sighed, "Fine, I'll stay here as long as you promise me one thing." "What?" he asked. "That you'll come back in one piece" she said. "Don't worry about me" he said softly, taking her face in his hands. "I will anyway" she said softly. He kissed her lovingly, holding her tightly in his arms for a moment, "I'll be back soon." "I'll be waiting" she said softly, letting him go. Josh stared at them, a mix of emotions crossing his mind, "Holy $#^%." "Just go listen to your brother" Claudine said, a dreamy sigh escaping her. Josh shook his head, pulling Vincent up, "Get Gabby, I got Tayla and Shawn." Vincent nodded and they ran out of the room twoard the danger room.  
Nikki, Logan and Laura were already in the battle, Lana going to the danger room as they fought when Daken arrived, his claws bursting through one guard's skull. "Finally" Logan said. "Well excuse me I don't see you not taking your sweet time when you have to convince your girlfriend to stay out of this" Daken said. "Less banter, more fighting" Laura said, her foot claw going through one's chest. "Nice shot Laura" Nikki commented, kicking one hard. "Daken, look out!" Laura shouted, her foot claw swinging around to meet the attacker behind Daken. "Where the hell's Shaw? I wanna claw the coward a new one myself" Logan growled. Daken sniffed the air, "He went inside!" Laura and Logan kept up the attack while Daken and Nikki went back, hoping that it wouldn't be too late.  
Shaw went through the empty corridoors, knowing the mutant students would be in the danger room. So where were the Howletts hiding? Tayla, Gabby and Shawn were inside the danger room with Lana and Josh while Vincent stayed outside, acting as lookout for the others. "Oh $#^%, Josh lemme in! Leeme in!" Vincent shouted, banging on the door. Shaw lifted him up by his collar, "Where are the others little boy?" Vincent slashed Shaw across the face, his claws sharp, "I'll never tell you ^%$&!" "Such a young boy and such rude language, you must be Wolverine's boy" Shaw said. "What about it bub?" Vincent growled, standing in an attack stance like Logan taught him. Shaw pointed the gun in Vincent's direction, "I hope you inherited the healing factor boy." Nikki slashed Shaw's back, knocking the gun from his hand and raced over to Vincent, "Oh honey! Sweetheart are you okay?" Daken stood over Shaw, "Where's Claudine?" "I don't know, she stayed behind and started fighting the soldiers" Vincent said. Daken leaned down, pulling Shaw up by his shirt, "If you don't tell me where she is I will make you wish you were dead you &^%$ing %$^&." Shaw nodded, "You're strong boy, but not strong enough." Daken's claws went down to their full extent, almost in Shaw's eyes, "Now what do you think..bub?" Shaw nodded carefully, "I'll take you to her, no tricks I swear." Daken threw him down, "Now, or I swear you're going to die." Shaw stood, leading Daken out. Shaw went to the helicopter, "She's in there, now let me go." "I don't think so" Daken growled, turning his claws on Shaw. "But I've not tricked you have I?" Shaw asked, stepping back. "If you've done anything to her, you will die. I promise it" Daken growled, "Now open it."  
Daken retracted his claws, a low growl escaping his throat, "Run all you want Shaw, I'm going to hunt you down." Shaw raced back twoard the battle as Daken went inside the helicopter, taking Claudine in his arms. "Claudine, wake up" he said softly, gently stroking her cheek. She stirred, holding her head, "What hit me?" He sighed, kissing her tenderly, "I'm here now, you're alright." Her arms wrapped around his neck, "I still worried about you." "Don't, because it's you I have to worry about right now" he said, carefully carrying her off the helicopter. "I love you too, you know" she said. He smiled, "I knew." He took her inside, he had to make sure she was alright. The students were returning to thier classes as though nothing had happened, Logan and Nikki kissed passionetly while Josh, Lana and Laura scrunched up their faces. "Aren't you glad we didn't bring everyone?" Logan asked, holding Nikki tightly in his arms. "Well, I know one thing. Kim was right, they're going to learn how to fight. With the exeption of these three, they already know" she said, looking to Laura, Josh and Vincent. "Thanks mom" Vincent said, hugging onto her waist. A swell of motherly pride washed over her, "I'm proud of you swetheart, all of you. You handled this very well all things considered." Logan kissed her gently, "They're our kids darlin, what'd you expect?" "I don't know, but then again, how can we expect anything with a life like ours?" she asked. "Amen to that" Logan said, kissing her again.  
The End!


	10. Part 10

**Running With The Wolves (OS, Nikki's POV)**

Sal sat outside, looking out at the scenery. He'd grown up so much since we'd first met. Back then I never thought he would be part of the family, back when I never though he'd be anything like he was now. "Hey Nik" he said, not looking back to me. "Hey Sal" I said, sitting beside him. "Why are you out here?" He looked over to me, his dark brown eyes aged with wisdom of battles long past, "Thinking. Why?" "I just wondered" I said, shuffling my foot in the snow. "I don't know who I am anymore" he said, sighing softly. "First I'm Sal Angel, Quiliute. Then I'm Sal Angel, the Quiliute werewolf. Then I'm Sal Angel, werewolf savoir and best friend to the wife of Wolverine. THEN I'm Sal SILVER FOX, Blackfoot/Quiliute werewolf who imprints on his best friend's daughter when he's been in love with his own best friend since he first met her." I sighed, "It's never easy." "Damn right" he muttered, looking to me sadly as he brushed back his hair from his face, "I'm sorry." "Don't" I said softly. He took my face in his hand, just like he used to and said, "I'm scared." "Why?" I asked. "I can't feel like I used to anymore" he said softly, "I used to always know what I felt, but now the only thing I'm sure of is that I love Tayla. But I can't have her yet. I don't know, nothing makes sense anymore." He let his hand fall from my face, "I still love you, just not the same." I couldn't help it, he was too close to me. He was my friend, he'd brought my family together when I only had one thing to live for. He'd been there at my darkest times, when I had nothing to laugh at or smile about, and he changed that. "You're Sal Silver Fox, that's true but you're always going to be my best friend" I said, my hand on his shoulder. He turned to me, a smile on his lips, "Thanks." His arms wrapped around me in a crushing hug, something I'd missed since he'd become a soldier. He'd changed as much from the friend I'd started to have. That was when I realized it; he grew up. When I'd first met him, he was the most innocent of boys, still a kid at heart. But I'd been the one to change him, I'd been the one to bring him into the wars and the battles. If I'd just stayed out of the poor boy's life he would still be so innocent. "I'm sorry" I blurted, still wrapped in his crushing hug.  
"What for?" he asked. "For making you change, for making you grow up" I said, the words flowing now, "If I'd just let you be you never would've had to have any of this happen." He laughed, his laugh vibrating through his chest, "If you'd stayed out of my life do you really think I would've been happy? From the minute I saw you, even though I knew you were going to marry Logan, I loved you. I knew in my heart we were meant to be in each other's lives, and it happened. You can't apologize because I would've been in this anyway. I joined the pack, I did most of this on my own. Don't blame yourself for me being stupid enough not to know the real me. But I do know. I'm Sal Silver Fox, Wolverina's best friend." I smiled and allowed myself the moment to not be an adult anymore, it was too stressful. I just stayed like that for a moment, wrapped in my best friend's arms, not a care in the world. That was, until he leaned down, quickly capturing my lips in a tender, passionet kiss. "Sal?!" I gasped, falling off the stone bench onto the ground. His thunderous laugh filled the outdoors with vibrations of sound, "Relax, I'm not still in love with you, I'm just trying to see what I can get away with." He pulled me onto his lap and I gave an evil grin, "Well then, I have something I want to get away with too." "Sweet" he said. I smacked him, hard, upside the head, "Not for you." He laughed, "Probably should've seen that coming. Oh well, then this'll be all the more fun." "What?" I asked, shocked. He better not- he did.  
He picked me up, slinging me over his shoulder and walked twoard the trees. "You know, my foot has a nice vantage point to right where you don't want it to go" I growled. He tossed me over his back, forcing me to grab hold of his neck so not to fall. He wrapped both my legs around the back of his waist, "Now do you?" I growled, one teeny-tiny little 'snikt' wouldn't hurt, would it? He laughed, taking both my hands, "I'm not letting you 'snikt' me so just hang on for a minute." I growled again and he laughed, diving into the trees and phasing wolf. I realized what he was doing, it was a run. I clung to his fur, silver with the shadows of the trees and the night turning it glowing white against the black. I smiled, forgetting my worries and feeling the cool winter air coursing over us. What was I doing? I might as well phase well I was out here. I tugged his fur gently, letting him slow down. I walked back to the path, tossing my coat on the stone bench, along with my other clothes as I phased. He didn't need to worry about what he was wearing, jeans were meant to be torn and he'd already thrown off his shirt, giving me a nice little heart attack at that. I chuckled in half-wolf form, considering what the suprise might be if I came inside like that. Sal stood at the treeline, a soft whine escaping his muzzle. I smiled a wolfy grin, morphing fully and bounding off through the trees after him. Our footsteps thudded against the ground, leaving large wolf tracks as we raced to the cliffs, the bright moon in the sky. We raced to the very top and I climbed a rock, standing on two feet and howling with all the air in my lungs, a peircing cry that swept over the forest like the fallen snow. Sal bayed loudly at my side, his voice changing pitch as he ran out of air. I still held my note. The call of an alpha wolf, something I never thought I'd make. I was the alpha of my little pack and I knew it. Probably over Uley's pack too. But there was just one thing I wanted to do before I went home to be 'human' again: I wanted to run.  
The End  
**Runs With The Vampires AND The Wolves**

Chapter 1- Wolf Girl, Vampire Girl  
Renesmeee raced through the forest, Jacob at her side. "C'mon slowpoke, aren't you trying to beat me?!" Nessie called over her shoulder. Jake jumped, tackling her to the ground and licking her face. "Aw Jake, stop it" she said, scratching his side. He morphed human and layed on top of her, kissing her passionetly. "Jake, what if my dad's lstening?" Nessie asked. Jake chuckled, "Then he's in for the suprise of his life." "NESSIE!" Dilina shouted, running over, "Woah-kay, didn't need to see Jake naked." Nessie jumped up, "Dilina what are you doing here?" "JACOB BLACK!" Edward thundered, "PUT SOME GODDAMN CLOTHES ON! You're in front of my ten year old sister and my daughter mutt!" Nessie giggled, and Jake morphed wolf, thinking some very rude thoughts to Edward. Edward zipped over, smacking Jake with a rolled up newspaper, "Bad dog." Jake growled, biting Edward's arm. "Boy's break it up!" Dilina shouted, smacking both Jake and Edward. "Ow!" Edward said, "Strong little person." Dilina glared at him, getting ready to say something worse than Jake's thoughts when Alice streaked through the trees, stopping at the four, "Guys, somethings wrong. There's something blocking my vision of Nikki and her family." "Okay, and...?" Edward asked. Alice smacked him, "She's your sister too Edward." "Not by my choice" Edward mumbled. Dilina smacked him, "You didn't choose any of us now shut up and deal with it! Go ahead Alice." "Okay, ignoring the demonic mood swing there, Nikki might need us. Let's go already!" Alice said.  
Canada-  
"Ohmigod ROBERT PATTINSON!" Nikki shrieked, jumping up and down with Laura. "Huh?" Logan asked. "RPATTZ IN CHICAGO EEEP!" Laura cried, jumping up and down. The doorbell rang as Nikki and Laura zipped up the stairs to change and pack. "What's with them?" Claudine asked. "Somebody named Robert Pattinson is in Chicago and Nikki's going to go see him" Josh said. Claudine shrieked, jumping up and down, "ROBERT PATTINSON?! OHMIGOD!" She ran upstairs after them and Logan sighed, leaning over and opening the door, "Who is it?" "Alice, now where's Nikki?" Alice asked, zipping in. "Some Twilight thing" Logan said, watching the news. "Twilight? What's a Twilight?" Alice asked. "You! Edward! Cullen people! OHMIGOD EDWARD CULLEN!" Laura shouted, jumping on Edward as he walked through the door. "What the-?" Nikki asked, walking around the corner with her Twilight shirt on and a Twilight themed bag over her shoulder. "Laura, you're breaking my brother." "But he's...oh my god. That was so screwed up on so many levels!" Laura said, "He can NOT be my uncle, not someone this fine!" Nikki busted up laughing, "Edward? gasp Fine?! gasp NO WAY!" Dilina stood in the doorway, "Who's she?" "Dilina Cullen, and you...why are you wearing Twilight stuff?" Dilina asked. "Um...you can get off me now" Edward said. Laura laughed insanely, "Do I have to?" Edward looked over to Bella, mouthing 'Help me'. "Get off my husband. Now." Bella growled, actually scaring Laura, "Okay, chill. If you ever want to ditch her, you know where to call." She winked at Edward and strode off upstairs. Dilina just stood there, shock evedent, "She scares me a little." "What are you doing?" Alice asked. "Um...going to meet one of the hottest guys on earth?" Nikki said, blushing slightly. Logan looked up, his eyes full of jelousy, "Not alone you're not." There was another knock at the door, and Alice opened it this time. "Sorry, my car broke down can I use your phone?" someone asked. "Oh my god" Nikki whispered. "It's ROBBERT PATTINSON!" Robert blushed, "Yeah, that's me." Edward looked at him and stared in shock, "Dude, you look like me." "Wow, dude you look like me!" Robert said. "You play me on TV" Edward said. "Not TV, movie actually, wait, you're the actual Edward Cullen? Cool" Robert said. Nikki sighed, "and I'm his sister, Nikki, but you can call me..whenever you like." Logan growled from the other side of the couch. Dilina giggled, "Wow. You're hot." "Thank you" Robert said, running his fingers through his hair. "Can I...touch it?" Nikki asked, looking longingly at his hair. "uh..sure" he said. She slid her fingers through his hair, sighing dreamily. "Damn prettyboy actor" Logan muttered. Nikki sighed, "Are you going to Chicago?" "um..maybe?" Robert said. Rosalie walked in, sighing dreamily, "Nobody told me HE would be here." The Cullen men all stood together, pouting and giving looks of anger, "I agree with Logan." Jasper said, watching Alice fawn over Rob. "Seconded" Edward said. "Third-ed" Emmett said. Dilina looked to them, "So what, he's HOT!"  
TBC  
Chapter 2- The Secret World  
Emmett huffed, incredibly jelous. Rosalie and the other women were STILL fawning over Robert, and more than once had Logan threatened to go over there himself. Of course, Edward HAD to be the gentleman and said they woud come back to them when they were ready. "I'm really getting sick of this" Jasper said, looking over to Alice and the women. Emmett heaved a sigh, "I hate him." Logan looked to either of them, "Yeah, well you can sit and cry over it, I'm goin' to get my woman back." Edward stood at the same time, "You can't murder him Logan, you'll just be signing your own death warrant." Logan sighed, sitting down, "And why would that be?" "Because you and I both know you're no match for all of them" Edward said. Emmett gave Edward a look, "We're men and they're women, if we all stand together..." "We're screwed" Edward said, sitting down with a sigh. Giggles came from the other room and the Cullen boys sighed, Logan growling in anger and flexing his fists, "If this doesn't stop in ten seconds..."

Robert stood against the counter, chuckling and smiling, Rosalie and Nikki on either arm. "Thank ladies, now, I'd like to invite you to Chicago with me" Rob said, smiling. Rosalie dropped to her knees, grinning stupidly, and Nikki almost fainted, "Of course." She smiled at his dazzling smile, almost fainting, "Wow." Robert leaned over, hugging Nikki. She gasped, hugging him back tightly. He laughed, his smile still dazzling her, "Would you mind?" His voice, velvety and the british accent making Spike's look like nothing. She nodded weakly in encouragement and his lips pressed to hers tantalizingly, brushing feather soft against hers. Rosalie screamed, jumping up and down. Dilina almost fainted and Alice actually did. Robert's kiss was nothing like Logan's, his lips gentle against hers. She felt lightheaded, Robert Pattinson was actually kissing her. This was the strangest day of her life, but then again, in a pure fangirl moment, she couldn't fight back the though that maybe, possibly, she was enjoying it. He flushed slightly and Bella stood behind her, almost touching her back to keep her up, "Okay, fangirl moment." He laughed, and Rosalie ran out, screaming fangirlishly. "Talk about dazzling, I thought your brother was supposed to dazzle, you most defently do" Robert said softly. Nikki listened, "Well that's not gonna be good." She heard Logan's growl of rage through the door and suddenly Jasper raced in, "You might want to sneak him out of here." Nikki looked to Bella, "Will you?" Bella nodded, offering Robert her hand. "I'll see you in Chicago Rob" Nikki said, blushing slightly. "See you there" he said, a dazzling grin crossing his features.

Logan stormed in, "WHERE THE HELL IS HE?!" "Logan, relax. He left" Nikki said softly, kissing him gently. Logan sniffed her, "You smell like him." She sighed, "He kissed me. I had a fangirl moment, I'll try to control myself next time." He sighed, rubbing her back and holding her tightly, "He better not get any ideas about you." She chuckled softly, kissing his neck softly, "Relax, he's a bit young for me lover." He smiled, "How old's he anyway? 20?" "22, but he looks so hot doesn't he?" she sighed, "Sorry, he's cute but he's too young for me. After all, he's twenty and I'm over a century old." "It worked for Bella and Edward, and Bella was younger" Alice said. Logan growled and Nikki giggled, "There's no way I could actually fall in love with anyone else but you my love." She kissed Logan gently, brushing her fingertips along his cheek. "Aww!" Bella sighed, standing in the doorway. "Where were you?" Edward asked. "I took him to Chicago. We'll go whenever" Bella said. Logan had his arm wrapped protectivly around Nikki's waist, "Hey Bella, can you do me a favor?" "You are not letting my wife hang on Robert Pattinson's arm" Edward growled. "Well I'm not letting mine" Logan growled back. "Boys relax, if we've got to take one for the team then we gotta do what we gotta do" Rosalie said, fluffing her hair and Alice fixed her lip gloss. Emmett and Jasper looked to each other, "Hell no!" Renesmee looked to Jake, "I'm not doing it." Dilina looked around the room, "He's too old for me." "Oh come on, we'll behave" Bella whined. "There are two more options" Edward said. "I agree with Emmett and Jasper!" Daken called down, "Claudine is not going with him!" "Neither is Laura" Logan said. "Please!" Bella said. Nikki looked to Logan, giving the big, wide puppy dog eyes, "You know I love you. I'll control myself, I promise." He sighed, "Darlin', you know I can't resist those eyes. Alright, you can go, but I'm goin' too." "Of course" she said, grinning, "Let's bring everyone!" Rosalie clapped, "Can I watch the little ones? Please!" "Okay..." Nikki said, a bit suprised at her sister's reaction. "Thanks!" Rosalie said, "Now let's pack up and move out troops!"  
TBC  
Chapter 3- The Twilighters  
The mall was packed, two lines forming to get into the Hot Topic across the hall from where Dilina and Nikki stood. The camera crews came by, shooting glimpses of everyone and Nikki cheered, "Oh we've got to get in there!" The coveted 500 wristbands had been sold out since two in the morning and Dilina and Nikki stood in the incredibly long line. "Okay, I'm done waiting. I'm looking in the window" Nikki said, walking over, her bootheels clicking on the floor. Dilina followed, glancing over Nikki's shoulder. A fangirl 'eep' escaped her, "I can see the top of his head!" Dilina looked over her shoulder with a bunch of other people at their side. After the countdown the people had started surging into Hot Topic, ready to be dazzled. They came out crying or gasping for air or just having the most royal fangirl freak-outs the two had ever seen. The two waited, looking in until Nikki finally sighed, "Let's just go wait for the Q&A, we'll still see him." After another news station got everyond on film downstairs, the two settled less than ten feet from the stage, their eyes wdie and breaths coming in quick gasps. They stood for over an hour, but as the screams signaling Robert's arrial filled the room, it was suddenly so worth it. Within the first five minutes the camera was already full, but that didn't stop them from watching him smile and look in their direction a few times. Eery time someone called out 'Edward' he'd run his fingers through his silken hair, causing a few dreamy sighs here and there. He read a sign made by the fans and spoke, but even ten feet from him they couldn't hear him. The screams were so loud no wonder he was nervous. Dilina hopped, "I can't see! Here, take a picture!" Nikki held the camera phone over the crowd, taking a perfect shot of him. The Q&A lasted about twenty minutes, but it had been so worth the wait. The two waited until they'd seen him depart before breaking down into fangirl screams. "Guys! Guys!" Dilina's friend shouted, running over, "I have video, and pictures!" The three hugged and jumped, screaming like teenage girls at a rock consert, although this was considerably better. "Okay, we have got to get copies of that!" Nikki said. Kamera showed them the video, dreamy sighs escaping them both, "I don't know how to copy it." Nikki sighed, "Well we're going to find it on YouTube. Dilina...we're gonna be on YouTube!" More fangirl screams followed, the momentary insanity continuing. (end part that was real life, LOL)  
Across the room, Victoria leaned on the wall, hyperentalating like many of the fangirls there. "Did we have to come here?" James asked, "I think the screaming permanantly damaged my hearing." Victoria let out another fangirl shriek, James covering his ears, "No, that did." She dropped back into his arms, grinning mindlessly, "We have to do this more often." "Can it be something without this many screaming fangirls?" he asked, "You know, like a hunt maybe?" "We always hunt James, but this was a once-in-a-human-lifetime oppertunaty, just like the time we stowed-away on the Beetle's private jet. That was so cool!" Victoria said, gushing over the 'old days'. James sighed, "I just hope the rest of the family was sane enough to stay away from this." The fangirl screams in the parking lot signaled differently, Rosalie showing awsome shots from her camera phone. "Nikki!" Victoria called, running over. They hugged and had a fangirl moment, the shock crossing their faces as the limo pulled up close, "Nikki?" Robert's velvety voice asked. Nikki nodded weakly, dazzled yet again. "I wanted to thank you for coming, and for the other day" a light blush colored his features as he spoke, "I hope we'll meet again." She nodded weakly, grinning mindlessly and wordlessly waved after him. Victoria turned to her in shock, "You met him? When?" "When Edward came over" Nikki said softly, her breath coming in short gasps. James looked over to Logan, "We probably should put them on a leash, they put us on one." "Yeah well...I actually agree with you right now" Logan said. "Okay, but my collar has to match my clothes" Victoria said. James's eyes bugged out, a though crossing his mind that Edward picked up on and flinched, shivering and turning away, "That I really didn't want to see." Nikki giggled, "Well, I will on one condition." Logan turned to James and grinned, "and that is?" She leaned over, her lips close to his ear as she whispered. Edward clutched his head, "Dear god STOP THINKING SO LOUD! and stop thinking THAT!" Bella broke down into giggles, "I think we've just found a weakness in you Edward." "No...but I'm offically disturbed" Edward said softly, before getting in the car.  
Maybe it was the luck of the Irish or something but this was surely a sign, good things were in the future, and that was always welcome.  
The End

**Yellow Eyed Demons**

Chapter 1- The Hunt  
The cold wind whipped through the dark forest, how anything could come out in the below zero weather was unfathomable, but not to some certain creatures lurking beyond the trees. A group of human teenagers wished they hadn't gone out in the weather, camping could've waited until spring. The creature stalked through the forest, its yellow eyes hungry as it watched the humans. One by one, the teenagers began disappearing, until one was left. "H-hello?" she called out, her way blond hair being whipped around in the wind. "Is anyone out there?" She hugged herself tightly, her jacket not providing much warmth against the elements. An inhuman sound came from the trees not far away, "Jake? Matthew? Erin? Come on guys this isn't funny" she said, backing twoard the truck. A pair of yellow eyes flashed in the shadows and she screamed, backing up. A sudden flash in front of her, pushing her back as the inhuman thing screeched in pain. Nikki crouched in the snow, her claws out as she faced whatever the hell the thing was, leaping for another strike. "Watch out!" the girl shouted, the thing trying to bite her. Nikki's claws made quick work of whatever it was, killing it in a few strikes. The girl was backed against the car, shivering in cold and fear, "Who are you?" Nikki asked, her melodic voice taking a softer, more motherly tone. "J-Jenna" the girl said. "Jenna, you wre out here with others right?" Nikki asked. Jenna nodded, "What did it do with my friends?" "I hate saying it, but their probably dead" Nikki said softly, "Where are you from Jenna?" "Utah, I came up here with some friends for Thanksgiving break since we decided to go on a trip and..." Jenna's eyes filled with tears. "You wre just going to stay out here" Nikki said, partly a question. Jenna nodded, "It destroyed everything when it took Matthew." Nikki offered her hand to the girl, "I'll find you a place, just go home and try to forget this ever happened." Jenna nodded and stood, watching as Nikki walked around the side of the truck, "Jake had the keys."  
Nikki's claws shot out, picking the lock, "Get in, I'll drive you to the city." "How will you get back?" Jenna asked. "The same way I got here" Nikki said. "Who are you anyway? And how'd you kill that thing?" Jenna asked. "You could say I'm an extermanator, I kill pests like that for a living. It wasn't full scale like the other things I've fought but..it was bed enough" Nikki said. Jenna looked over, spying the dogtags, "Were you in the army? Doesn't that mean you were...?" Nikki tucked the tags in her shirt, "It doesn't matter." "One said Logan" Jenna said softly, "Who is he?" "He's my husband" Nikki said, "You guys down in the 'States know all about him." Jenna sat quietly for a moment before looking back, "You never told me your name. The tag says 'Wolverina', what kind of a name is that?" Nikki sighed, "My name's Nikki, if you have to know. Just try to keep it on the down low that you got saved while up North?" "Why? Are you a vampire like the Denali coven?" Jenna asked. "Oh great, another Twilight fan. Forget the ideas okay, it doesn't matter" Nikki said. "Why doesn't it?" Jenna asked. "You ask a lot of questions for someone who should probably be in shock right about now" Nikki said. Jenna smiled, "My friends always said I was the weird one." "What's the deal kid? You keep asking me about myself and you don't give a damn whether I'm actually helping you" Nikki asked, "You never even cared if I was the superhero or the bad guy." "I can tell you're not the bad guy, the bad guy is never nice" Jenna said. Nikki started laughing, "Yeah right. The ones that get closest to you are the ones that can kill you the easiest. Remember that." The truck pulled in at a motel and Nikki got out, "Stay outta trouble kid." "Thank you!" Jenna called after her, but she was already gone, racing through the trees at a speed that would put her brother to shame.  
She'd been hunting when the girl had been to close, if the demon hadn't had been there the scent of human blood would've been too overwhelming. The entire time she'd been trapped with the girl had been bloody murder, the scent had been too close for too long. her fangs elongated, and she lept at the first thing she saw, a full-sized deer. Her fangs were absoultly leathal, one strike killing the massive creature. A hand on her shoulder broke her from the feral state, her eyes lightening as she turned. Logan chuckled, "Didn't miss too much this time did I?" She stood and wiped the blood from her lips (okay for some reason my laptop is going nuts so bear with me I cant do any punctuation exept quotes and the stuff on top of the keys) "Sorry" she said softly  
He smiled "No problem" She walked over to him kissing him gently "We need to get home" He nodded "Lead the way"  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Sided Family  
Back in Chicago, the Cullens had found the same things and driven them away. "You're the reason these things are here!" Emmett shouted at James, being held back by Rosalie. "You think I brought them here?! They're killing our food source for pete's sake!" James growled, getting close to slapping Emmett hard. "Boys, quit fighting!" Rosalie said, "Why would James it would have to be Laurent?" "Why blame me?" Laurent asked. "Because you come from down in New Orleans, you have the voodoo thing going on" Rosalie said. "If Irina were here she would side with me" Laurent said softly. "Well she's not now is she?" Emmett taunted. "What'd he do to you yellow eyes? You might be related to them" Victoria said. "OKAY!" Bella shouted over them, shutting them up. "I get it, I don't exactly like James's coven either but they didn't do anything." "Who said?" Emmett asked. Edward nodded, "There's always the possiblity Bella love." "They didn't do it so agree with me or you're sleeping on the couch tonight" Bella growled. Alice giggled, "I saw it, they didn't do it." "I agree with Alice" Jasper said. "Oh come on! Does no one agree with us?" Emmett asked. "I do" Carlisle said. "James and his coven have proven themselves untrustworthy before, we can't be sure to accept them now."  
"But that's not fair!" Renesmee shouted, "They didn't do anything!" "Nessie we don't know that" Rosalie said softly. "Jake saw them, Laurent isn't like James and Victoria but they aren't bad either! They only kill what they need, and I think they know more about love and living life to it's fullest than you do!" Nessie shouted. "You live for years in one place doing the same damn things you did in the last with the exeption of me. Well I don't care! I agree with them, if your going to travel go do something new in each place! Don't sit there for two years with school and work and all the boring crap it is you do, go live your life before you die!" James laughed, patting Nessie on the back, "Nice speech kid." "Keep away from my daughter" Edward growled. Nessie stood beside James, "I know you agree they didn't do anything, but face it, maybe they're not the bad guys. Maybe they just can't help it like you can't help living a boring life. You act like you never got turned, you act like the same boring humans around you! Well forget it! I got these powers for a reason and it wasn't to sit on my $$ and watch life go by!" "I agree with her" Victoria said. "Welcome to the coven kid, you belong with us" James said. Nessie smiled and shook James's hand, "My pleasure." "You are not going with them" Edward said. "I am, but not alone. Jake's going with me" Nessie said, "And I dare you to try and stop me." Edward stood, unable to fight back against the little girl he'd written lullabys for, the little girl who read book after book and slept in his lap when she was little. "Nessie, don't do this" he said softly, trying to convince her. "I know you love me dad, but I'll come back one day. Just let me go now, I'll come back" she said. Bella looked from one to another, "You can't just go, Edward she can't just go!" Nessie walked over, hugging her mother and then her father breifly, "No, I need to be on my own for a while. Who better than someone I can learn from?" James smiled, patting her head, "Go get the wolf boy, we'll be out in a minute." Nessie ran off to find Jacob and James smiled at Edward, "Don't worry, you'll know where to find us."  
James knocked at the door, leaning on the doorframe. "James, what're you doing here?" Nikki asked. "We're going to be living not that far away, just wanted to say 'Hello' before we moved in" James said, hugging his neice gently. "Oh, where?" Nikki asked. James looked down the path, "Not far, about two miles into the forest, in that clearing you used to hunt in." Nikki smiled, "Well come by every once in a while okay?" He smiled, kissing his neice's forehead gently, "Okay." He zipped off and she eased the door shut, smiling lightly. "Who was it?" Logan asked. "James, he's moving in not that far away" Nikki said. He smiled, kissing her neck, "Well maybe James and Vicki will understand they can't visit at night." She giggled, turning to him, "I think they understand, they won't be either."  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Recon  
This all seemed like something out of a bad dream for Edward, his perfect little daughter getting raised by the most psychotic, sociopathic, sadistic killer he'd ever met. Putting worst enemy at the top of that list too, James was a force to be reconed with and Victoria was no joke either. Edward sighed and slung the bag over is shoulder, if Bella knew he was doing this he would get more hell than he was about to incounter, and that was bad enough. He'd left her a note as he always did when he would be away for a while, the first time he'd eer had to do so was because of James. He gently brushed Bella's hair back, "Soon Bella love, we'll have her back. Hopefully James hasn't gotten her into too much trouble yet."  
Canada-

"Woo-hoo!" Nessie shouted, clinging to James's back on his motorcycle with all her strength. James rounded the curve into the driveway sharply, making Nessie shout in joy. "That was awsome!" "Alright kid, now down to the real business, what'd your pops teach you about fighting?" James asked, kicking down the kickstand and brushing the dirt off his leather jacket. "Not to do it" Nessie said. James started laughing, "Don't fight? Kid what are you gonna do, sit and watch? Follow me, I'll teach you a thing or two." "Sweet" Nessie said, jogging after him. Jacob was waiting in the yard in his wolf form for her, he lept at her feet like a playful puppy. "Not now Jake, I'm busy" Nessie said. He romped inside, changing human and putting on some pants before walking out back to see James and Nessie fighting one another, James giving her pointers to counter and probably win it too. Then, abrubtly, James stopped speaking, he whipped around with all the force of his body to dliver a kick that would kill a human. Jake growled loudly and Nessie ignored, the play fight had become serious and she was going to win. She countered James's attack with one of her own and lept at him, her strength far greater than a human's. She had James on the ground in a few swift movements, and she stood with her foot on his chest, grinning, "How's that for a girl?" Soft applause came from the treeline, "Nice. Bravo" Daken said. "Good form, speed, agility. You've got the whole package huh kid?" "Thank you" Nessie said. "You want a real challenge though?" he asked, grinning himself, "Try fighting me." Nessie took her cue and lept at him, her moves countering his own. A few days with James and she'd picked up more than she'd needed, enough to last in a fight with Daken. His moves were overpowering hers at times, but somehow she managed to recoer herself and get back into the game. He laughed, a sound she'd never heard before and he swiftly kicked her legs out from under her. She fell to the ground in the same position James had been in moments before and she huffed, "I was winning." "Actually, I knew every move you were about to make. It's so basic it's...amusing. Have him step up your game a little, you DO need a challenge" Daken said, pulling his cousin to her feet, "and I wasn't going easy on you, I'll admit that. Just try not to be as good as me, because one day you'll still be the same as now and I'll still be able to knock you flat." She growled after him as he walked off, "How the hell does he do that?" "What?" James asked. "Get in your head like that?" Nessie replied. "Years of practice kid, that's what it takes" James said. Jacob looked to her, "You alright?" "Fine, but one day I'm gonna whoop my cousin's $$ and laugh at it" she snarled. "He's a Howlett, you're a Cullen, you're evenly matched if I do say so myself. You'll end up canceling each other out as one massive cosmicly powerful being," "What?" she asked, giggling. "Nothing" Jake said, "Nothing at all."  
"Seriously?" Nikki asked, laughing. "Honest to god mom, the kid's good, but not as good as me" Daken said. Nikki sighed, "Watch it, there might be someone someday who will own you. And badly too, so just be glad you are as good as you are now, because there might be someone out there who's better." "I doubt it" Daken said. "Go find your father and see if you say the same thing when you come back" Nikki said. Daken laughed but went off anyways, he was always in for a good sparring match.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Realization  
Nessie's swift kick knocked James to the ground. Again. This had been amusing for the first hour, but after three and a half it was getting very old.  
"We're not playing this game anymore Renesmee" James said, standng and brushing himself off.  
"Well then how am I going to learn anything?" she asked, pouting a bit.  
"It doesn't work on me kid" James replied, walking inside. Nessie sat on the ground sadly, nothing was working out the way she'd planned.  
"Got something on your mind?" Jacob asked, sitting beside her.  
"Oh Jake!" she said, throwing her arms around him and leaning on his warm chest, "I want to learn something else but James isn't etting me anymore."  
Jake laughed, making Nessie lift her head from his vibrating chest, "It's not funny."  
He gasped in laughter, "Yes it is. You're whooping him Nessie, and he's just getting %^$$ed because you're two years old and kicking his $$!"  
Nessie looked at him, "So what if I'm two? That hasn't stopped anyone before."  
Jake gently took her cool face in his warm hands, "Ness, you know the day you were born I loved you. I'm waiting, that's it."  
"Edward's not around, you don't have to wait anymore" she said softly, reaching over and placing her hand over his heart.  
"He may not be, but I still will. You might not want me in the long run Ness" he said.  
"I will Jake, I know that" she said. Her eyes shimmered, a few stolen kisses had never been enough. Being away from Edward though, could acomplish something.  
Logan's strikes matched Daken's side by side, they were both wearing out but neither would forfit. Logan dodged another of Daken's well placed kicks, coming up on the backswing to spin a well placed roundhouse that Daken agily dodged.  
"Getting tired?" Logan asked, panting himself.  
"Not yet, you?" Daken asked, leaning on his knees for a moment.  
"Me neither" Logan said, feircly swinging. Daken caught the punch in his own hand, spinning around and just barely missing. His hand hurt a bit, adamantium on bone was not a fun way to get hit.  
"Still keeping up old man?" Daken asked, this might get interesting. Logan caught a well placed punch and Daken grunted, annoyed at the fact he'd missed dodging that.  
"Yup" Logan said. Daken growled, fighting more fiercely and making every shot blend into the other. Logan's moments stayed more erratic, moving fluidly every few shots. Daken realized his mistake then, the fierce fighting along with the fluid movements was wasting his energy, while Logan still had plenty left. Logan swung around, careful not to make the hit hurt too badly and sent Daken falling to the floor, panting heavily.  
"$#^%" Daken muttered, "How'd you do that?"  
"I didn't go easy on you that time" Logan said, grinning as he emptied his water bottle over his head.  
Daken chuckled, lifting himself up, "Good thing Nikki wasn't here huh?"  
"She might give me hell for this anyway" Logan said.  
"No, I meant the water bottle thing" Daken said, "You never would've heard the end of the gushing. It's...disturbing, to say the least."  
Logan laughed, "Try listening in when she's talking to her sisters." Daken actually looked scared at that, walking out alongside his father.  
"Renesmee Carlie Cullen?!" Edward gasped, stopping in mid-stride. Nessie gasped, putting her shirt over her chest, "DAD?!" Jacob laughed, "Well that's a nice hello pops." Edward's face was slowly turning red and Nessie leaned over to Jacob, pecking his cheek lightly.  
"Run in the house" she whispered, "I'll keep him out here."  
Jake grinned, "Anything you say." Edward's face was an unhealthy shade of red, something that wasn't normal for him or frankly any vampire she'd ever seen, "What are you doing here?" That was when he exploded.  
"RENESMEE CARLIE CULLEN I COME DOWN HERE TO FIND YOU SLEEPING WITH THAT ^%&$*&^ MUTT?!" he roared, the color draining from his face.  
"Well obviously we wren't sleeping" Nessie said, rubbing her neck. Edward almost had a heart attack, "We're going. Now."  
"You can't make me" Nessie said, standing in her place.  
"Oh I can, and I will. Now come on" Edward said.  
"Prove it" Nessie challenged, leaning into an attack stance.  
"Renesmee-" Edward began, only to have Nessie's foot slam into his gut and send him back onto the ground.  
"I'm not leaving my Jacob" she growled.  
He fought back, going easy on her, but her strikes were quick and powerful and unlike anything he'd ever seen.  
"Nessie stop this!" he gasped as she knocked him back again.  
"No" she growled, reading for a killing strike.  
"Nessie what are you doing?" Jaob asked, running out and holding her back.  
"Jake lemme go! I'm finsihing this dammit!" Nessie growled, squirming in his grip.  
"Nessie, this isn't you" he said softly.  
"What if it's who I wanna be?" she growled.  
"Trust me, that isn't who you want to be." Nessie spun, seeing Daken at the treeline, "What're YOU doing here?"  
"Watching. I'm not judging you at all, but I was like that once. and I look back and know that...I hate myself. I came really close to getting what I wanted at the time...and it blinded me. I had people that cared about me but all I did was throw them away. You can't do that Nessie, you're still a kid. You need them as much as they need you" he said, "and I never realized that."  
Nessie shook out of Jake's grip and went over to Daken and hugged him tightly, "Thanks."  
"For what?" he asked, akwardly hugging her back.  
"For stopping me from doing something I'd regret" she said.  
He didn't know what to say back, but let her go. She went up to Edward and stood, "I'll go back, but one on condition. Jake and I can have a mature, phisical relationship without you butting in on EVERYTHING."  
Edward looked to Daken, "Kill me now, I heard nothing after 'physical relationship'."  
Daken laughed, "Sorry, not happening."  
Edward looked distraught, "You really are an evil little boy."  
Daken smacked Edward on the way past, "So are you."  
Edward put his head in his hands as Jaken and Nessie nuzzled each other nose-to-nose and giggled.  
"Oh lord why me?" Edward lamented. James stood in the doorway, watching them outside and videotaping it.  
"James, what're you doing?" Victoria asked.  
"Just the coolest thing to go up on YouTube EVER" James said, laughing.  
"I swear there are times when I'm sure I married a teenager" she said.  
He turned the camera to her and grinned, "Well I am getting a few thoughts I'm sure a teenage boy would have about you."  
She grinned, "Shut off the camera." He did and followed her in, leaving Edward to deal with them himself.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- The Day All Hell Broke Loose  
Nikki leaned over, sniffing the air around the 'murder' site.  
"What is it?" Logan asked, behind her.  
"Well..somehow 'it' was Dark Wolf. I know that smell..but I can't place it" she said softly, sniffing again.  
"Romulus?" Logan asked.  
"No, but close...Clara?" Nikki said softly, thinking aloud.  
"Who?" he asked.  
"I met her once, back when I first joined the team. She was..I think she was Romulus's daughter" Nikki said, horrified, "but she was...I mean I think she's Victoria's daughter."  
"Victoria? As in the Victoria that is madly in love with James?" Logan asked.  
"Yeah" Nikki said, sniffing again, "That Victoria."  
Clara stood not far away, the small bundle in her arms begging for it's mother. After the loss of her own child to the creature she'd killed she'd vowed to kill it. The kill would mimic her father's, hopefully taking him from the throne and replacing him with herself. The day would come for her too, and she needed an heir, someone like the mutant child in her arms.  
"Hush now little one, this will all be over soon" she said softly and began to walk in the other direction.  
"What do you mean?!" Victoria shouted, her rage shining through.  
"She's still alive" Nikki said calmly, "But you know if we can't reason with her..what we'll have to do." Victoria looked strickenly at her neice, the young woman wasn't much older than she was but she'd been a daughter to her all her life.  
"I don't know if I can" Victoria said softly.  
"You must" Nikki said.  
"Alright, we'll go" Victoria said.  
"Wait" Lana said, running up to them.  
"Lana, what's wrong?" Nikki asked.  
"Just a few miles into town someone gave birth to a mutant baby and the baby was taken, I think the Clara chick took him" Lana said.  
Nikki looked to Victoria, "We have something else to worry about now Vicki."  
Victoria sighed, "Let's just go and get this over with."  
Clara tested her skills, her father's power had been nothing compared to hers. She reached out mentally, looking for someone who had been close to Romulus.  
"Hello mongrel" she snarled, throwing down the mental barriers that controled Daken's rages.  
The sudden snap in his personality had frightened Claudine, "Daken?"  
He raced outside, catching the familiar scent of Romulus, not quite but close.  
"Daken? Where are you going?" she asked, following him out.  
He turned, a low snarl ripping from his throat and his claws shot out.  
"Daken?" she asked softly, backing away a step.  
He growled, advancing on her until her back was pressed to the brick and his claws inches from her skin. She whimpered in fright as he leaned closer to her, sniffing softly. He let out his held breath, relaxing his posture some. He turned swiftly and charged in the other direction after the scent.  
"What's happening?" Logan asked.  
Claudine stood against the wall, shock and fear making her every nerve a live wire, "I don't know."  
Logan ran after him, catching up quickly, "Daken where are you going?"  
Daken growled, slashing at Logan to get out of his way.  
Claudine gasped, this wasn't what was supposed to happen! Daken's defenses were down so she slipped into his mind, trying to pull him from the rage. Images of his past, thoughts, everything rushed at her in a swarm as she fought to find him in the mess. She fell over, holding her head, too much was coming through. Then, as if by magic, she felt him return to himself, "Claudine!"  
She felt the tension in her mind slip away as he took her in his arms, "Are you alright? Claudine?"  
She looked up, one emotion was on his mind, love.  
She sighed, smiling, "I love you too."  
He looked a bit confused, "How'd you know?"  
"I read your mind" she said softly.  
He smiled, "Then I'm gald you know, I wanted to tell you."  
Victoria and Nikki crept through the empty halls, following the scent.  
"Victoria, you go for the kid and I'll go after Clara" Nikki said.  
They split up and went through the winding hallways, Victoria reaching her destenation first.  
The child cried softly and Victoria moved to it's side, cradling it gently, "Come little one, we have to go now."  
"I don't think so mother" Clara said.  
Victoria turned swiftly as the smell of blood filled the air. Nikki was behind Clara, her claws covered in blood.  
"Nikki? How?" Victoria asked.  
"Because, there's something else we have to worry about" Nikki said.  
"What?" Victoria asked.  
"Carlisle just called, Wade's in Chicago" Nikki said.  
The End-for now.


	11. Part 11

**Wade Dances With Wolves (Ending from CWP's story)**

The four raced through the trees and caught the scent of smoke on the wind. Their panic increased as they shot through the trees at top speed, the rush of green behind them.  
Nikki stopped in her tracks near the edge of the trees, she grinned and raced forward to her family standing by the tree's edge. Laura picked up Anita and squeezed her gently.  
Nikki raced over to the kids, letting Vincent jump up on her and squeez her neck, "Mom, you're alright!" Josh hugged her tightly alongside Lana and they crowded to their father next.  
Daken embraced both Sage and Ben and looked up, Claudine stood by the trees, smiling slightly, "Are you alright?"  
He stood, striding over to her and pulling her into his arms and holding her, "Now I am."  
He pressed his hand gently to her shirt, feeling the scars from his claws through the fabric, "I'm sorry."  
She smiled, relaxing into his arms, "Don't be. I like being yours, it's almost like I'm..marked."  
The shouts of the angry townspeople filled the air and the happy reunion was cut short, the elder Howletts picking up the little ones and running off, Sal hadn't let go of Tayla, Gabby and Shawn once.  
Vincent carried Cadie, the puppy, in his arms while he was slung across Josh's back like his backpack, which was slung over one shoulder.  
"Where are we going?" Josh asked.  
"We're going to go find Wade the ^%&$ing moron and go make him make nice with the humans" Logan said. Nikki chuckled, "and I thought my kind was judgemental of them."  
Logan stroked her cheek, "I am your kind now, remember?"  
"Please, can we forget the mush now and focus on killing Deadpool?" Josh asked.  
"We're not killing him, but by the time we're done with him he's going to wish he was dead" Nikki grinned evily and stalked ahead, a plan forming in her mind.  
Wade was packing up, leaving the Howletts to be finished off by the angry villagers.  
"Huh, kinda feels like 'Dracula'" he muttered, slinging the bag over his shoulder, "Oh well, better for the people anyway."  
Suddenly he was jerked back, the glass of the windowpane shattering around him as he dropped to the ground.  
"It's not your blood I'm intrested in now Wilson" Nikki hissed, her voice vampric.  
"As much as I think Logan's a lucky man, I don't think so Dracula!" Wade said, drawing his gun.  
She cut his hand off and dragged him away as he tried to reattach it.  
She slammed him into the rock cliffside again, "TELL THEM THE TRUTH!"  
Wade shook his head, "Keep doing that, see how long it takes me to pass out."  
Nikki punched him hard, he slammed back into the cliffside yet again.  
"How about now?" she asked.  
"O-kay" Wade said. He shouted in a sudden burst of pain and crumpled over, "OKAY! OKAY! I'M GOING!"  
Nikki looked over to Claudine, grinning, "Welcome to the family."  
Claudine blushed and smiled, following them and Deadpool.  
"PEOPLE OF THE CITY!" Wade shouted, standing on a stool, "I WAS WRONG!"  
Several suprised murmers were raised and Nikki poked him, "Continue."  
"I SHOULDN'T HAVE BLAMED THEM FOR THAT, I PROVOKED THEM. THEY ARE GOOD FRIENDS AND snicker I NEVER MEANT FOR THEM TO GET IN TROUBLE" Wade said and added to Nikki in a whisper, "Happy? I read exactly what you wrote."  
She dragged him offstage and slapped him hard, "You are a &^%*ing idiot."  
"Yeah, you're welcome" Wade muttered, rubbing his head.  
"I forgot something" she said, turning back to him.  
"Oh sweet, my 'thank you' kiss" Wade said, puckering up.  
Nikki grinned and her claws came down with a 'snikt' and went directly to his crotch, "Thank you."  
He doubled over, and said in a high voice, "You're welcome?"  
The End  
**Choices**

Chapter 1- Immortality  
Logan sat on the window seat, watching the sunrise after coming home the night before. When his family had been threatened again, he'd taken some things into consideration, some things he'd hoped would stay buried. The younger ones were going to end up with powers like their mother's, that he was sure of. Lana, Laura and Daken weren't going to be as lucky.  
"Logan? Sweetheart what're you doing up?" Nikki asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.  
He looked back to her and walked back over to the bed, sitting down beside her.  
"Go back to sleep darlin, I'm just thinking" he said softly, laying down with her.  
"What about?" she asked.  
He thought for a moment, "Just considering things."  
"Like?" she asked.  
"I know you don't want to loose any of them..so I started thinking" he began, not knowing where to continue from.  
She turned to him, "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"  
"I might be, what're you thinking?" he asked, gently stroking her cheek.  
"Are you asking me to turn our children?" she asked.  
He held her tightly, "Before you can say the word 'monster', just realize how well I turned out."  
She scoffed, "That's not what I'm talking about Logan, I can't do this to them."  
He kissed her gently, beginning to soothe away her worries, "You're not doing anything to them that hasn't already happened to them to an extent already."  
"Logan, they aren't mosters. Not like me" she said softly.  
He turned her face to his and gently stroked her lips, "You're not a monster."  
"There are times when I'm sure of it" she said softly.  
"No, you're not. Forget it darlin, you aren't. There are times when I think I am, but then I look at you and I know there's no way I can be when I have a woman like you loving me. If I was, you wouldn't love me" he said softly.  
"Maybe I would" she replied.  
He held her tightly, "That's not what I'm getting at. You're not a monster, no matter what anyone thinks, you're not a monster."  
"Why do you want them to know what this is like? It's bad enough most of them will someday" she said.  
"Because it's not so bad when you get used to it" he said.  
She sighed, nuzzling into his neck, "Fine, maybe. I'll think about it."  
Not long ago, Daken never would've thought he could've been like this. He'd slept peacefully and awoke with his arms wrapped around Claudine. When they'd first met, he never thought he'd fall for her. After he'd almost killed her he never thought he'd see her again. When they'd met up again, he fell for her somehow. Maybe it was the way she'd smiled that first day, or maybe it was how she'd been so shy around him, something he knew wasn't in her personality.  
"Daken?" her soft voice asked.  
He smiled, gently pressing his hand to her cheek, "I'm here."  
She smiled back, streatching and kissing him gently.  
"So, what did you want to do since we have the whole weekend to ourselves?" he asked.  
"Do we have to get up yet?" she asked, laying on his arm.  
He chuckled, "No, I don't mind sleeping in."  
She lay against his side, content to be with him for a while.  
Outside, the vampire staggered through the trees weakly and halted at the edge of the trees. He looked up the hill, shielding his eyes from the sun as his black hair whipped around his face in the wind and saw the mansion resting on the snowy hilltop.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Valek  
The vampire's name was Valek, and he made his way into the mansion in search of the prey of his hunt. The two girls in the room he'd climbed into both had claws, making their blood more for his healing than to sate the thirst that ran uncontrolable.  
He fed off another two, and knew they were turning, but he didn't care, he only wanted his prey. He caught her scent and made sure she knew he was there, waiting for her.  
He heard her soft footsteps on the stairs, and smiled as she walked into the dark rec room.  
Claudine scanned the room mentally, and gasped, he was right behind-  
Valek's hands gripped her arms, turning her to face him, "Hello my dear Claudine."  
She twisted in his grip and he easily broke one of her arms, making her cry out in pain. She sent a mental blast his way and he grunted against her powers, throwing her against the wall. She crumpled to the floor like a rag doll, holding the side of her head where a large gash had sent blood running down the side of her face.  
Valek laughed, sauntering forward to kill her, "This has been fun, but you might want to tell your boyfriend to avenge you."  
"You're not even getting close bub" Daken growled, his claws peircing Valek from behind. Valek slammed him back into the wall, "You're here because you're faster than the others, but not stronger."  
"I'm strong enough to kill you" Daken growled, slashing Valek's face.  
Valek's grip tightened on Daken's throat and Claudine looked to him in horror, "Stop, Valek let him go!"  
Valek released Daken's throat for a moment, before he turned and fed off Daken's blood as well.  
"No!" Claudine shouted, she sent a psychic wave Valek's way.  
Valek turned and slammed her back into the wall again, "Don't tempt me mind witch."  
Suddenly, Laura, Lana and Sage were there, pulling Valek into a fight of their own. Claudine held her broken arm close as she went over to Daken, understanding what had happened. She pressed her good hand to his face, his hand covering hers.  
"Are you alright?" he asked painedly, breathing deeply to calm the pain.  
"Not if you aren't" she said softly, sitting beside him.  
Nikki and Logan broke up the fight, and Nikki came incredibly close to killing Valek right then and there, "You turned them."  
Valek nodded and Nikki lunged, Logan catching her arm and pulling her back.  
"You would've made the choice later, consider me fate, I came to make the choice for you" Valek said.  
"Don't give me the fortune cookie bull$#^% bub, I'm not in the mood for it" Nikki growled, her temper bordering a rage.  
"What's happening?" Daken asked softly, leaning his head back against the wall.  
Nikki leaned close to them, "You're turning."  
They could see the pain in her eyes, she didn't want them to have to go through this but now, she had no choice.  
Claudine pressed her hand against his heart, leaning against him lovingly, "It's okay, we're going to be fine."  
He kissed her cheek, stroking the drying blood from her face and licking his finger, "Not bad, but it's you so..I'm a bit biased."  
She sighed, leaning against him, "I don't want us to have all this Edward and Bella stuff going on now, I just want it to stay the same."  
He caressed her cheek, "Let's save that until we get through this, alright?"  
Valek's sidden shout brought them back to the moment at hand, Nikki was inches away from actually torturing him and Logan pried her off, dragging Valek out and they knew when he'd gotten outside because Valek started screaming.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- New Life  
Logan stood in the hallway while Nikki told them, and taught them, everything about being a vampire. As if life wasn't hard enough for a mutant, they had to worry about remembering to drink blood once or twice a week, maybe once or twice a month if they remembered to continue the old 'human' habit of eating.  
Nikki was suddenly there, smiling at him,her hand on his shoulder, "Relax. They learned fast."  
He covered her hand with his own, "I know they do, but they others were born to this lifestyle, it takes a bit of getting used to."  
"What? Eternity not so perfect now?" she asked, her eyes betrayed the even tone of her voice, the perfect silver and green pools shining with disapointment.  
"No, it's perfect, I'm just worried about them" he said, stroking the back of her hand.  
She smiled, "It does take some getting used to, even if you're born this way."  
He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her hair, "Don't be so worried about everyone and everything. I love you and I'm not taking that back."  
Later, the X-Warriors met up at the new Xaiver School to discuss what was happening. After Time Warrior's wife had died it had broken the team, and they were worried about the younger Gargans.  
"Who's going to take care of them while Gorge is out?" Maria asked, sitting on the arm of the chair Wade sat in.  
"Ya saw what happened to Kim, if they loose Gorge they're screwed" Feral said, standing in back.  
"Thanks Vic, but we've got that insight" Nikki said.  
"I'll do it" a voce came from the hall.  
"Rosalie? What're you doing here?" Nikki asked.  
"Alice saw it happen, I came down as soon as I could. I know how Gorge feels...to an extent. I just want to help" Rosalie said, looking down at her designer boots.  
"Wait, the heartless vampire cheerleader wants to babysit a bunch of kids while their dad is superheroing. Now I've seen everything" Wade said, sitting back.  
Rosalie shot him a hate-filled glare, "I love kids Deadpool, you don't understand anything to do with this."  
"Rosalie, give him a break" Nikki said, "and if you don't mind, I'll put in a good word for you with Gorge, okay?"  
Rosalie took a deep breath and nodded, "Okay."  
Nikki smiled and allowed her sister a moment to calm down, Rose's temper was almost as bad as hers. Although Rose had a bit of a...superiority complex. Not as bad as Magneto's, but to the point where 'cheerleader' described her easily.  
"On to the next, we've got to give Gorge time. That means Wade, you don't joke about this, got it? Vic, try to be sensitive and Maria, don't side with Wade if he does joke about it" Nikki said.  
"Why are you just warning them, Bobby jokes?" 612 asked.  
"Because Bobby wasn't stupid enough to get his head cut off several times because of his joking" Nikki said. "Actually, that was only twice" Wade said.  
Logan gave him a warning look and let it drop.  
"Wait, if the vampire chick's joining us, then what does she do?" Wade asked.  
"I'm not joining, I'm just going to act as a babysitter until the oldest is old enough to take care of the others" Rosalie said, turning and walking out of the room.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- First Hunt  
Daken sniffed the air and followed Nikki, he knew the terrain and had hunted on it before, but not like this.  
"Where are we going anyway?" he asked, walking after her.  
"Hunting" Nikki said.  
Sage, Ben, Laura and Lana trekked after them, silently suffering with thirst.  
"It's not far" Nikki said, walking ahead.  
The scent not far away made him turn, his fangs growing down and he lucnged off in the direction of the mouthwatering scent. The others followed and suddenly, like a flash of lighting, Nikki had him by the wrist, stopping the others in time.  
"We don't hunt humans" Nikki said, "If we need to hunt, we only hunt animals. Wendigos count as animals." Sage ran off then, in search of a Wendigo with Laura and Lana following. Daken shrugged off Nikki's hold, "We do drink human blood, why can't we hunt them then?"  
"Because, they don't know we take it and hunting them is too great a danger out here. People are more afraid around here than they are in the city" Nikki said, "In the city, Vampires and our kind are urban myths. Never scientificly proven. But out here, we live freely. Why do you think this is an ideal place for the nomads?"  
She followed off after the others and Daken picked up Ben, following her.  
The hunting had lasted the better part of a day, and as they returned home Daken caught a scent like nothing he'd ever smelled before. The others had already gone inside, but the scent was FROM inside. It smelled floral and sweet, yet rich and otherworldly. Then he realized what he was smelling, it was so similar to her scent before, but so different, so much stronger it was hard to bear.  
"La tua cantante" Nikki said, her word breaking the trance.  
"What?" Daken asked, momentarily dazed.  
"She's your la tua cantante, like Logan was mine. As long as she remains 'human' her blood will sing to you. And so the lion fell in love with the lamb, I suppose" Nikki said.  
"Let me get this straight, my dad was your..lamb?" Daken said, laughing almost hysterically.  
"Laugh as much as you want, but he was not only my mate, but my la tua cantante. If you thought controling yourself while you had mortality was bad around her, try fighting off the urge to drink every last drop of her sweet smelling blood when you kiss her. It was terrible, but I fought it enough to make my will stronger. Finally he'd convinced me he wanted to spend enternity like this, and I gave into it. The taste is nothing like the smell, let me warn you now, because one drop was all it took to make me use all of my willpower to stop" Nikki said.  
"But you did" Daken said.  
"I almost didn't" Nikki said, "I was incredibly close to killing him. I'd only done it once before but...that time I had more than a taste and I didn't want to stop. Consider it like...a drug. Once you start, you're addicted, and you can't stop. It takes every ounce of willpower to break the hold it has over you, or you keep going until there's nothing left."  
Daken looked over the grounds and sighed, "Do you think I can control myself enough to be around her?"  
"That's your choice, but I'd be careful at first if I were you" Nikki said, walking back inside and leaving the decision up to him.  
Logan was waiting for her inside and quickly pulled her into a tender, passionet kiss.  
"What was that for?" she asked breathlessly.  
"Telling him the story, becuase I might have gone into detal in a few parts if I'd been the one telling it" he said, continuing their kiss.  
"Give me a few minutes love, I'll go make sure the kids are in bed and I'll be right back" she said, smiling.  
"Wait, your eyes" Logan said, catching her wrist and looking into her eyes.  
"What about them?" she asked.  
"They're still gold" he said.  
"That's not possible" she murmered, looking in a mirror. She gasped softly, and turned back to him, "Logan, what's wrong with my eyes?"  
He wrapped his arms around her, "Give it a minute, they'll be fine."  
She relaxed against his chest, letting him stroke her hair.  
He smiled and chuckled, "See? Nothing to worry about." She turned, glacing at her reflection with the silver green back in the irises and she smiled, "I guess not."  
"Don't we have something to do?" he asked, grinning slyly.  
She kissed him tenderly, "Yes, we do."  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Control  
Daken stood in the hallway, the deep breath before he entered the room not helping much. He stepped inside to see Claudine brushing her hair, her robe was open and she was wearing his favorite. His control was slipping already, this was going to be harder than he'd thought. She put down the brush and strode over to him, her arms wrapping around his neck and she kissed him passionetly. Suddenly, the bloodlust spiked, her scent was so close, so strong. All he needed to do was turn and bite...  
He drew back quickly, his fangs out and he caught his breath, every breath causing as much relief as it did agony.  
"Daken?" she asked. She was afriad, but not OF him, FOR him.  
He turned, "La tua cantante."  
"What?" she asked.  
"La tua cantante, you're my la tua cantante" he said. "It's...harder for me to control myself around you."  
"I'll take that as a complement" she said.  
"Don't" he said softly, "If I hurt you I'd never forgive myself. Your blood sings to me, like an addiction. If I start there's no gaurantee that I'll stop. Not before..."  
She closed the distance he'd made between them, placing her hand gently on his cheek, "I'm not afraid."  
He held her hand in his own, "Is this what you think about? If I'm like this you want to be too? You're willing to risk your mortality for me?"  
"You did for me, it seems fair to return the favor" she said.  
He knew what she had in mind, not just because of some things she projected into his mind, but because he just knew, "If you were sure, that if I did slip..."  
"I'll be just fine, after all, it's not the after-effects I'm thinking about" she said, "Exept one, I never thought I'd say this, but if there was anyone I'd want to spend eternity with, it would have to be you."  
Then, like most men's thoughts of reprucussions his went the other way, 'Forget it' he thought, 'That's a risk I'm willing to take.'  
Logan held Nikki close after some 'down-time', they were both exausted from...how long had it been? It could've been hours, or even possibly days and they never would've noticed. He smiled, taking in her sweet scent as he held her tighter, content with the moment. She kissed his neck gently, her eyes closing, they didn't need to say a word to the other. He already knew how tired she was, he pulled the blankets tighter around her and, once content she would be warm, settled into a restful sleep with his arm wrapped around her. What they were didn't matter, it never had, everything that mattered, everything they needed, was all with them already.  
The End

**Cajun French Toast (OS)**

Laurent stood in Victoria and James's kitchen, cooking when Nikki walked in.  
"Get him out of here" Victoria hissed, "The last time he made Cajun French Toast we couldn't eat anything else for a month."  
Nikki looked in horror at the sight in the kitchen, "Why?"  
"Because, that's why we don't eat" Victoria said.  
Nikki sighed, "Hey Laurent, I have an idea for you."  
She went up to him and murmered softly and he laughed and ran out.  
"What'd you say to him?" Victoria asked.  
"To go open a resturant with his toast" Nikki said, walking out.  
Tayla ran up to Laurent, sitting out at a stand by the side of the road and poked him, "Whatcha doin'?"  
"Making toast" Laurent said.  
"Okay...why?" Tayla asked.  
"Because it's a secret recipe people will like" Laurent said.  
"Go get some milk, I always like milk with toast" Tayla said.  
"Thank you, I don't eat human food most of the time" Laurent said, patting Tayla's had and going to get some milk.  
"You're welcome!" she called, and skipped off to find Sal.  
"SAL-Y-KINS!" Tayla called, running inside the house.  
Logan looked over the back of the couch and Daken started laughing, "Will you give the poor guy a break? He can only be chuckle 'Salykins' to so many people."  
Logan shook his head, "I think I agree."  
"But I want to go get some milk for Laurent and Salykins is the only one who can reach it!" Tayla said.  
"Milk?" Logan asked.  
"For Laurent?" Daken asked.  
"What about Laurent?" Nikki asked, looking into the living room.  
"She's going to get milk for him" Daken said.  
"For what?" Nikki asked.  
"Toast!" Tayla said.  
"Oh cripes!" Nikki said, "Not this again!"  
Nikki walked outside, talked to Laurent and walked back in, "Don't bother, he's going to go cook for someone who actually wants to eat it."  
New Orleans-

"This was some go-od eatin'!" one man said.  
"Well than you, thank you very much" Laurent said.  
The End!  
**Thanksgiving With The Howletts (OS)**

Nikki spent the morning from the moment she woke up cooking in the kitchen. When she wasn't in the kitchen she was putting up the indoor Christmas decorations. The boys had gone to get the tree and she put up all of the other decorations with the help of the other kids and brought up the things for the tree. Laura stood akwardly in the kitchen, unsure of what to do to help while Lana moved expertly from pot to pot with Nikki as if she'd helped with Thanksgiving dinner her whole life, which she probably had.  
"What should I do?" Laura asked.  
Nikki turned, remembering Laura had no experiance with this sort of thing, "Come here, I'll teach you."  
Logan and Daken set up the tree for the girls, "What is all this for anyway?" Daken asked.  
Logan sighed, sitting down, "It's the Holidays, Nikki's probably going to tell you everything before the night's over."  
"No, I mean what's so special about today? I mean I've heard of it but..." Daken began.  
"You've never celebrated a holiday?" Logan asked.  
"Not since I was little" Daken said, "I don't remember it too well, but there was a lot of food and people and some presents."  
"Some? Oh I can guarantee Nikki's going to make up for lost childhood with both you and Laura this year" Logan said, chuckling.  
"What do you mean?" Daken asked.  
"Anything you want, she'll get it for you" Logan said.  
"Anything?" Daken asked.  
"Yeah pretty much" Logan said.  
Lana and Laura walked out, "Nikki said dinner's almost done so we should come out here while it's finishing and start the tree."  
"What do we do today anyway?" Daken asked.  
"Well, basicly you celebrate what you're thankful for. You eat a lot of food, hang out with family and watch and/or play football" Lana said.  
Daken looked over at her, "How do you do that?"  
"Celebrate what you're thankful for? You say it at dinner and then everybody has a family moment and then you eat" Lana said.  
At that moment, it seemed like enough to just be there helping each other with the tree, and soon the whole family had joined in the living room to help while dinner cooled.  
The family settled in the dining room with the Creeds and the former nomads.  
"This is the first Thanksgiving all of us have had together, and I can tell now it won't be the last" Nikki began. "All of us have something to be thankful for today, and since I'm already talking I might as well go first." Some giggles were heard around the table at her little joke, but then everyone settled into a wuiet as she began to speak again.  
"I realized just how blessed we are today. I have all of you here today, my friends and family that I love ever so much. I'm greatful for absent friends also, and no matter what problems they have they're always going to have us. I have Logan, and our family, a big part of my family reunited and settled here, Vic and Kitten became our great friends and so much else. I guess what I'm trying to say is, through good and bad there will always be something to be thankful for."  
'Aww's rose from the table and she sat down, being embraced a few times.  
They all had their turn around the table and Laura stood akwardly to speak, "I've realized a lot in the past year or so, and I know that, above all else, I do have something to be thankful for. Looking back, I always did. I just never knew it. Even when it seemed like things couldn't get any worse but there was always I high point, but it wasn't always easy to find." She sat down and blushed and Daken stood, as last.  
"I never really gave much thought to any of this before today, but like Laura said, there really is always something to be thankful for. Even when it's not easy to find. I have a lot to really be happy for, like that I have Claudine again. Or Sage and Ben. But...I'm really thankful for my dad. After everything that happened, he never gave up on me. I never realized it, but I'd given up on myself a long time ago. He brought back a lot, and maybe there was a time when I wasn't one of the bad guys. My dad brought that back. Saying I'm thankful for it is an understatement, just like all of this, all of us. Thankful is an understatment for all of us, all of this. At the same time I'm thankful, I'm also saying thank you. To my dad and to everyone. If I didn't have Nikki, my dad wouldn't be happy, and I never would've known what a real mother was like. So thanks, to everyone, you've all made my life better."  
A lot more 'AWW's filled the room and Daken almost hid himself from the gush moment, but as the dinner started being eaten, almost everyone had realized one thing. They were together, as close as a family if they weren't already, and that was one thing that wasn't going to change.  
~Fin~  
**Upbringings**

Chapter 1- The Vision  
Chicago-  
Alice gasped, clutching the side of the table as images flashed through her mind.  
"Alice?" Carlisle asked.  
Edward watched the vision through her mind as Alice clutched the table, the images were becoming too much.  
"Alice stop watching!" Edward shouted.  
Alice gasped as the vision ended, her head throbbing from the vision's intensity.  
"I have to call Nikki" she said, walking out.  
"What happened Edward?" Carlisle asked.  
"I don't know" Edward said, looking over after Alice.  
Canada-  
Nikki was awoken by the phone ringing, "Hello?"  
"Nikki he's alive" Alice gasped across the line.  
"Who?" Nikki asked.  
"Your father. Nikki, your father's alive" Alice said.  
Nikki jolted up, "WHAT?! You're kidding me right Alice?"  
"No, I'm not" Alice said, "He's alive."  
"Where?" Nikki asked.  
"I don't know yet, I'll tell you when I do" Alice said.  
Nikki nodded, "Is he looking for us?"  
"No" Alice said.  
"Are you alright Alice?" Nikki asked.  
"No, I need to go lay down" Alice said.  
"Tell me" Nikki said, "If you find out anything tell me, please."  
"Will do" Alice said, hanging up.  
Nikki sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, thoughts suddenly swarming in her mind.  
"How is this possible?" she thought out loud.  
"What?" Logan asked.  
"My father's alive" she said softly.  
"How?" Logan asked.  
"I don't know. Even Alice doesn't know" she said.  
"Even Alice?" he asked.  
"Yup" she said.  
"That's not so bad though is it?" he asked, rubbing her shoulders.  
"He's not looking for us. Alice doesn't know anything yet" Nikki said, "It's useless hoping for anything."  
"It won't be useless" he said.  
"How do you know?" she asked.  
"Because, he'll come find you. I know it" he said.  
She sighed and settled back beside him, "I thought I wanted him back. What'll happen to Carlisle now?"  
"Carlisle's a good guy, he'll pull through" Logan said, holding her tightly.  
"Logan?" she asked.  
"Yeah?" he asked, turning to her.  
"Thank you" she said, resting on his chest.  
"Anytime darlin" he said softly.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Mad Scientist  
Nikki stood, unmoving, while Alice waited for a response.  
"Nikki?" Alice asked in a small voice, afraid of the response.  
"Wait, still thinking" Nikki said, "You're sure it was a clone?"  
Alice sighed, "Yes. Liam created it."  
"Is he still in the Savage Land?" Nikki asked.  
"Yes" Alice said.  
"Good, you'll see my plan later and Alice, don't try to stop me" Nikki said.  
She hung up and went over to her uniform, touching the material, "Oh this is gonna be so sweet."  
The jet flew over the Savage Land at Mach 2, the lab down benieth the jet's hull. Nikki touched the jet down in the snow and walked into the thick jungle. She'd told her family where she was going and told them not to follow her, and her extended family also.  
"Hello niece dear" Liam said, riding on a T-Rex's head.  
"Liam" Nikki greeted, standing before him, "I didn't come to fight you."  
"Oh? Well too bad, that's all I have planned" Liam said, and as if on call two taradactyls flew at her, she ducked away from them. It was almost impossible for her to kill another nomadic creature, no matter what it had done.  
"Your weakness for animals will kill you neice dear" Liam said, the T-Rex roaring and lunging at her. Nikki dodged and knew that if she wanted to turn the odds in her favor she would have to do something she had never wanted to do, run. Her feet were like wings propelling her through the trees at the same speed James ran at when he hunted. Her heart was beating faster than a tribal drum as she raced through the trees after the sound of water. Where there was water out here there was most likely a cliff.  
"You can run but you can't hide!" Liam shouted.  
'ugh, how overused can these lines get?' she thought. Fatigue was setting in, but her hightened stamina wouldn't let her crash yet. She raced out into the sunlight and saw the cliff about ten feet in front of her. With the T-Rex and it's rider so close behind her, she took the risk and lept over the edge of the cliff.  
The air rushed around her and her claws shot out, slamming into the rock and holding her. The large creature, unused to having it's prey escape, had jumped after her and landed in the shallow water with a loud splash. It roared and jumped up to try and bite her, but she pulled the other set of claws up in the rock. Liam stood at the top of the cliff and suddenly a hand covered Nikki's and pulled her claws out of the rock, catching her before she fell and pulling her up to the top. It was the clone.  
"Well done EX-39!" Liam said, applauding cynicaly, "Now, what should we do with you hmm?"  
Nikki struggled in the clone's grip, "Why are you doing this?"  
"Because I've tried everything! I can't help you people if you won't let me!" Liam shouted.  
"Help us? Man, you're the one that needs help! You need to be locked in a looney bin!" Nikki said.  
Liam laughed, "That's what you all say! The world is getting closer to ending with each passing day and no one does anything to stop it!"  
"We're also all getting closer to dying with each passing moment. Look at yourself Liam, even the vampires are dying" Nikki said, "We all are, and always will be. That's just how it's supposed to be."  
"No! Lies!" Liam shouted, and then laugehd insanely, "It doesn't matter, because finally the world will see one of the mightiest superheroes fall! At last! I understand how many people will miss you, but if I do this to save the world, than nothing can go wrong. You're dying very nobly Wolverina."  
"Y-you can't be serious. Liam what the hell is wrong with you? I'm your neice, you can't possibly want to kill me!" Nikki shouted.  
The clone looked guilty, "Why her?"  
Liam looked astonished, "Did you just question me? You never question me!"  
"I was made to find her. I could have been made to save them" the clone said.  
"No, that is what she will do. She is powerful enough" Liam said, and held the syringe against her skin.  
"Wait, don't do this" Nikki whimpered.  
"I'm sorry young one, but one of us must make a sacrifice to save the world, and you're the only one strong enough to help us all" Liam said.  
A sudden spike of fire raced through her veins, and at theat moment it felt as if she was truly dying. The clone let her drop to the cool rock but the fire raged through her blood, as if she were turning, but not. She could barely hear the sound of her own screams over the sounds of her rapid heartbeat in her ears. She watched Liam walk away and the clone stood over her and in a swift movement, was kneeling at her side. She could barely see his face as things started to go black.  
Soft voices were gathered around her, and she could hear others outside the room.  
"If it wasn't for her father's clone, the chemicals would've spread and killed her" Hank.  
"Why her?" Emmett, always the good brother.  
"Her powers would've enabled the chemicals to be spread world-wide. It probably would've killed everyone on the planet" Carlisle.  
She could feel a hand on her own, and hear sniffles in the background. She forced her eyes open beyond the seditive and looked into the worried faces of her family, "I'm not dead yet."  
Logan leaned over and held her tightly, "Welcome back darlin'."  
The kids had all stopepd crying and ran over, jumping onto the bed and embracing her tightly. Daken stood over to the side with Laura, Lana, Claudine, Josh and Sal. They all smiled over to her.  
Alice was crying and the kids moved off the bed for her to sit, "Oh Nikki I'm so sorry! I should've seen it coming! I should've been able to warn you!"  
Nikki wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders, "You saw me dying didn't you?"  
Alice nodded and continued sobbing.  
"You saved me Alice, if you hadn't seen it, everyone on earth would be dead. Including me" Nikki continued.  
Victoria brushed Nikki's hair back off her face, "We were all worried about you."  
Carlisle smiled, "Bella had to take your mother out to get something to eat. She refused to leave until she knew you would be alright."  
"Let me guess, Alice saw it again" Nikki said.  
Alice nodded weakly and Jasper leaned over, squeezing her lovingly.  
Jasper didn't look like he was in pain here, he liked being around others like him for that reason.  
"Jaz, convince her she isn't a total idiot. Realize I said 'total'" Nikki said, chuckling.  
"How do you feel?" Hank asked, checking her vitals.  
"Good, tired as hell but after you take me off the seditive that should wear off" Nikki said, grinning.  
James leaned over and touched her other hand, "We're glad to have you back."  
"Aw, you're making me blush" Nikki said, sighing and laying back.  
"Just rest for now, we'll take you home later" Carlisle said as she fell asleep with her family gathered around her.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Going home  
Logan smiled as the family walked inside. Victor had come back ahead of them to deliver the news Nikki was alright. The cool wind rustled the branches and swirled the winter snow around the family as they stepped out of the jet, the roof to the hanger closing after them.  
"Are you sure there's nothing we can help with mom?" Josh asked.  
Nikki laughed, "I'm sure. Go relax, have fun."  
Josh walked off ahead by a few steps, staying close just in case he was needed.  
Logan gently strayed Nikki's hair as they walked side-by-side into the house, "I'll take care of everything today, alright darlin?"  
"You don't have to" she said, "It wasn't that bad. I don't have anything physicly wrong with me now sweetheart."  
He stroked her cheek, "Let me. Just for one day. Please."  
She sighed, "You're incredibly stubborn."  
"That's why you love me" he said, kissing her tenderly, "Now rest. You need to relax for a while."  
Kitten walked downstairs, she and Maria had only been a month apart with the babies and since Maria had taken maternity leave, Kitten had done the same with her job in the city.  
"Nikki, how're you feeling?" she asked, sitting down and supporting her stomach.  
Nikki sighed, "Kitty, you need rest."  
Kitten laughed, "You mean because of the little nudger? She's handling this very well actually. She's a little bundle of energy already."  
"She?" Nikki asked.  
"This one's a girl" Kitten said, rubbing her stomach.  
"What're you thinking for a name?" Nikki asked.  
"I'm not sure, but I'm sure Victor will opt for Victoria" Kitten said and laughed, "Have you heard anything from Maria yet?"  
Nikki smiled, "Only that she couldn't be happier. She's trying to suprise herself though and it's not working very well."  
Kitten smiled, "You just love kids don't you?"  
Nikki laughed, "Of course. After all, look at my family, they mean more to me than anything else."  
Kitten sighed, "I know how you feel. Erica, Darren and the little nudger are my life now too."  
Nikki suddenly caught a scent, "Kitten, stay here."  
"Why? What's going on?" Kitten asked.  
"He tracked me down" Nikki said, and walked out of the room.  
Liam had gotten away the first time, but now Nikki had home field advantage.  
"Come out and fight me!" Liam shouted.  
"With pleasure ^&%*!" Nikki shouted, swinging down from a tree and kicking Liam onto the ice of the lake.  
Liam chuckled, wiping blood from his lip, "Very clever. But I always had a plan B." He removed another syringe from the lab coat pocket and grinned evily.  
"What is with you and the mad scientist thing?" Nikki asked, landing agily on the ice and taking the syringe from his hand.  
"This is different now, this might actually kill you" Liam said.  
"Vampire venom? I've been bitten before, since I already am one it does nothing" she said.  
He pulled a machete from a pocked at lunged at her.  
She remembered stories of the hunt in Siberia, something she knew she'd do herself one day. She dodged to the side and let the ice crack under her boots, and let them both fall through.  
It was like immobilizing a werewolf, only Liam was weaker. She kept very little distance between them, the only reactions being ones for surivial. The side of the hunter had taken over, made worse by how easily her prey had given up. With a final swift move, the fight had been won. Her enemy defeated, but not killed, she'd leave what happened next up to S.H.I.E.L.D. She stepped out onto the thicker ice with a feeling of peace washing over her, she'd finally won the worst battle.  
The End  
**Hunter and Prey**

Prologue- Choice (Nikki's POV)  
I'd never given much thought as to how I would die, although I'd had reason to in the past. I couldn't come to regret the choices I made that led me to face death, because they'd also lead me to Logan.  
Death had a name, Romulus, and there was more than a small possiblity I wasn't going to get myself out of this. Dying in the place of someone you loved seemed like a good way to go, and knowing that it wad me or him. My love or myself. I knew what my choice was going to be.  
Romulus smiled a frightening smile, something that if I wasn't myself, my blood would've run cold. With that smile, he sauntered forward to kill me.  
The shattered mirror was stained with my blood, and for a moment I remembered how and why I was here. It didn't seem to matter anymore, not when it was like this. The flash of the blade as it was drawn from it's sheath would've sent most people into a panic, but I knew the moment I'd come here that it was going to be the end. That something else would change yet again. I didn't want to do this, but for the lives of everyone I loved I had to. The blade was turned in a sudden swift movement as a hand came over Romulus's own, and turned the blade against him. My savior smiled, an echo of his father, and took the blade from Romulus's hand.  
There was no question of final requests, only the swift movement of his hand as the blade swiftly dismembered the one person we'd both needed revenge upon. He didn't laugh, showing the grimness of the moment, but managed to smile. We'd won this war, and it was going to change everything.  
TBC  
Chapter 1- The Death of Romulus (Nikki's POV)  
I was tired, most of my wounds had healed before we left the ballet studio. Apperantly, Romulus had stolen the idea from James, and I agreed with Bella now, it wasn't fun smashing into a mirror.  
"Nikki?" Daken asked, looking over to me.  
"Hm?" I asked. He was the one that saved me in the ballet studio, we'd both craved revenge on Romulus. Logan, if he'd come, would've been more concerned with my sake than finishing the fight. That's why Daken had come, I'd told him just in case I needed the backup.  
"Are you okay? You haven't said a word to me yet" he looked worried.  
"I'm fine. I probably shouldn't have asked you to come" I said.  
"Why?" he asked.  
"I didn't want you to have to do that" I said, "If Logan had come he would've let Romulus go to save me, but with you I knew you could finish this. I didn't want that, but we had no choice."  
Alice had called me with her vision and the moment nightfall had struck, I left. I drove into town with him and found the ballet studio Romulus had been planning our family's demise in. We'd attacked before he had much of a plan and had won. To be honest, I was sure of one thing. No matter how much Logan loved me, he was going to be pissed off.  
"I wanted to do that, if I'd found out first niether you or Dad could've stopped me" he said, "and I'll vouch for you if you need me to."  
He looked out the windshield as he said it, trying not to make this into a moment.  
I sighed, "No, he's going to find out and I'll take the blame alright? Alice told me, I should've never brought you."  
He sat in silence for a moment, "Did you regret that?"  
"No" I said, "I'll never regret it. It's one less evil ^%&* to worry about."  
He laughed, there were times when the serious side just disolved away and left the man a boy again. I was happy to see that after what we'd just done.  
"Nicely put" he said.  
"Well it's true" I said, half rolling my eyes.  
We pulled back into the house and stepped out of the car. My sides ached, and my neck was probably still bleeding down to my shoulders. Shards of mirror had cut several places along my skin, how redundant. I rubbed my neck, my hand coming away bloody. I needed an asprin. Daken looked over to me, "Sure you don't want help?"  
I sighed, "I'm fine, just go rest. We finally won."  
He sighed and walked in, walking up to his room as I went up to mine. Oh was I going to be in for it. I sighed and opened the door.  
Logan stood, pulling me tightly against his chest, "What happened?"  
"We won. Romulus's finally dead" I whispered.  
He sighed, "Thank god it was him and not you."  
I looked into his eyes, "Wait, you're not angry at me?"  
"How could I be? I love you" he said.  
He kissed me lovingly, amking me forget the pain for a bit.  
I stopped for a moment and went to wash off the blood on my neck.  
The moment I walked back I smiled, the wound already healing. I was most defenitly going to have fun tonight.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Follower's End  
Nikki smiled, pride swelling in her heart. Logan stood by her side, confused.  
"What're we waiting for?" he asked.  
"Just wait and see" Nikki said, smiling and turned to the door as footsteps approached.  
Daken walked in wearing a superhero uniform similar to his fathers, but without the mask. The colors of black and dark blue in the places of yellow and blue, and his mask was almost the exact same as Laura's.  
Logan looked over to Nikki, "You helped?"  
She nodded, "And with the codename. Voivode, it's Romanian for 'warrior prince'. Dracula once carried the same title."  
Logan smiled, "Thank you. So, finally fully in the family business huh?"  
Daken looked over to Logan, "I knew this would happen."  
"What?" Logan asked.  
"Don't poke fun at it, I could do the same with yours Wolverine" Daken said.  
"Okay boys, have a steel cage match when we get back, we have work to do" Nikki said, heading onto the jet.  
Logan watched her backside in her uniform, "I love my job."  
Daken rolled his eyes and walked past Logan, "Get your head in the game before you get your $$ handed to you."  
Logan sighed, "Yeah, you are my son."  
Daken laughed as they lifted off in the jet.  
"Bring back our leader!" people shouted.  
"What is this, the 'Let people out of the psych ward day'?" Daken asked, looking around.  
Some people recognized him through the uniform, and shouted pleas of mercy.  
"I have a good feeling Summers had blown up a psyche ward somewhere nearby just to screw with us" Nikki said.  
"You know these guys?" Logan asked Daken.  
"Some look vaguely familiar but no, not really" Daken said.  
Others had turned to see the heroes walking through the crowd, and either shouted disapproval or begged for mercy.  
Daken looked around and saw a few familiar faces of men he'd worked with before, "These idiots belonged to Romulus."  
"Belonged to? You make it sound like they're property" Nikki said.  
"They were. Now that Romulus is dead they're free. They're not used to it, they're used to having a master, a leader" Daken said, "Now they're just about as hopeless as the other morons Romulus had control over."  
"Why don't they try for something else?" Logan asked.  
"They don't know any other way. It used to be that Romulus conditioned them to have no free will whatsoever, but then he stopped. He thought of them as toys, that they weren't fun to play with anymore when they coudln't think or feel or fear" Daken said.  
"Romulus was a real twisted b$%%#" Nikki said.  
"You just thought of that?" Daken asked jokingly.  
"Well, let's see how good you do hotshot. Give 'em hell kid" Nikki said, gesturing to the crowd.  
Daken looked at them both, "You're kidding."  
"Nope, go ahead. Go hero, as you see fit" Nikki said.  
"What're you doing?" Logan whispered to her.  
"Just watch and find out" Nikki whispered back, "He's the only one that can put them back in their place."  
Daken looked back to them and walked near-silently into the crowd.  
People gasped and begged for mercy in many different languages as he passed them. Daken stepped to the side and spoke softly, but people heard the soft words in another language telling them to get out of the city, to go whereever else, while they still could. People gasped and as if in a panic, ran the other way. Daken smiled and looked up to where Logan and Nikki waited, giving them a Dracula-esque smile and leaping up to them.  
"See? And not one person dead" he said.  
"Nice job" Nikki said.  
Logan looked at them both, "I'll admit that was pretty good for these guys, but you gotta watch your back out there."  
"They know and fear me, I don't need to worry about them" Daken said.  
"Now they do, but what about guys who haven't been faced with 'the wraith of Daken' yet? They'll shoot first and ask quiestions later. Watch yourself, don't start thinking you're invincible, because you're not. You'll get your $$ kicked the moment you're not looking" Logan said.  
Nikki nodded and departed beside Logan, leaving Daken to follow. He was good, but things wouldn't always be so easy to control. Not after the world had known about the fall of Romulus.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- The Field Mission  
"For the last time Wade, shut the hell up!" Daken growled, turning to look at Deadpool over the couch.  
Logan, Daken, and Victor had come to the Xaiver mansion to watch the hockey game and if Deadpool said one more word he was going to snap.  
"But I just want some coffee!" Wade said.  
Daken stood slowly, "For the last time, and make sure it gets through your thick skull this time or I'll make sure to drill a hole in your head so it does: I. Am not. Getting. You. Coffee."  
"But that's what interns do, and you're-" Wade began.  
The look of pure murder in Daken's eyes made Wade stop talking.  
"What idiot told you that?" Daken asked, in a Hannible-esque errie calm.  
"Moon Knight okay! It was Moon Knight I swear!" Wade said, backing away.  
Daken sat down, looking back at the screen, "You're free to go now Deadpool."  
"But what about my-?" Wade began.  
"You say the word 'coffee' and I don't care if you're going to be a father, I will kill you" Daken said.  
"O-kay then. Going now. Before you do" Wade said, backing away slowly.  
Victor looked over to Daken, "What're you gonna do with Moon Knight? I mean hell, he's crazier than Wade, an' that's almost impossible."  
"Oh, I have my ways" Daken said.  
"You're not killin' him" Logan said.  
"No, I'm not. But I have...other methods of persuasion that work just as well" Daken said, an evil grin on his lips.  
"If the guy comes across...different than you expected, here's my advice" Victor began, "Run like hell."  
Daken gave him a confused look, "What do you mean?"  
"Well...he ain't exactly...how do I put this..he's nuts. You're screwed if he gets anywhere near something he can use as a weapon and even if he isn't near a weapon. The guy's good, not as good as some I've fought before but he's up there" Victor said.  
Daken already had a plan, a perfect plan that was sure to never make anyone underestimate him again. With a silent step like a cat, he made his way to the danger room to specialize the progaming for the training mission.  
The moment the course had shifted, Feral, Wolverina, and Wolverine had known exactly what happened. Daken, on the other hand, was really looking forward to making his specialty known.  
"How do we take these things out?" Amir asked over shooting the demon life-forms.  
Daken, or Voivode, as he was now known, swiftly slashed the creature's throat, dismembering it.  
"Like that" he said.  
Amir gae a look of shock as he moved to the next creature, dismembering it as mercilessly as the first.  
Nikki looked over to Logan and Victor who were both conversing softly. She swung down between them and looked from one to the other, "Anything I should know about?"  
Logan looked at Victor and said, "You wanna tell her?"  
"Rock, paper, scissors?" Victor asked.  
"Just do it" Logan said.  
"Daken sorta reprogammed the demons to be different so he could prove to the others he wasn't just an intern" Victor said.  
"He did what?" Nikki asked, shocked.  
Daken laughed and they turned to face him, "Oh this rocks!"  
"Oh you are so in trouble young man" Nikki said.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- The New X-Warriors  
Daken jumped down from the pile of simulated demon corpses to face them, "Before you ask, this was all Wade's fault."  
"How was it my fault?" Wade asked.  
"You and your idiocity, that's how" Daken said.  
"Alright" Wade said, "One thing: Coffee." Wade ran as fast as he could out of the room with Daken's 'I'd kill you if I weren't in deep already' look at his back.  
"What gave you any idea that you could do that? You could've seriously hurt someone" Nikki said.  
Daken rolled his eyes, "I made sure the ones my level could only attack me. I'm not stupid mom, I know how to program a computer."  
"Hey Wolvie, Rina, I hate to interupt your parenting, but there's someone here for you" Elixir said over the intercom.  
"Well finish this later" Nikki said and walked out.  
Logan chuckled, "I'll talk to her, so how'd you pull that off anyway?"  
"Uploaded my genetic code as targeting for the higher levels, it's actually pretty easy..if you have computer hacking knowledge that is" Daken said, grinning.  
612 was waiting for them in the foyer, with a few friends.  
"612, you're alive!" Wade shouted, running over.  
"Look who's back, and just in time" Nikki said.  
"Nikki, I brought some friends. This is Vee, you remember him, and this is Wicked. He's-" 612 said.  
"The name's Rivere, but you can call me..any time you like" Wicked said, bowing James Bond style and kissing Nikki's gloved hand.  
Logan growled angrily and wrapped his arm protectivly around her waist, "Who's he?"  
"Rivere. You can call me Wicked" he said, nodding to Logan, "This beautiful woman is your girlfriend?"  
"Wife" Logan corrected.  
Rivere stepped back, he knew better than to go after a married woman.  
"Captain Avenger sends his regards" 612 said, passing a note along to Logan.  
Nikki smiled, "So where have you been, you just went AWOL after that last mission?"  
"I was getting new recruits, we needed a bigger team. They popped up on the radar so I thought I might as well get them before they decided to go solo" 612 said.  
"Thanks, that was incredibly thoughtful" Nikki said.  
"More people to get their $$es kicked if you ask me" Feral muttered.  
"Victor, be nice" Nikki said.  
"Well hell Nik, we're all seasoned veterans, and these guys don't even have costumes. The one's practicly an alien and the other guy's in a friggin' suit! They're better off in the rookie class 'till they're older" Feral said.  
Nikki reached over and uncerimoniusly smacked Victor upside the head, "Keep it up and I'll put you in charge of a rookie class."  
Feral's look of utter shock had proven her point.  
"Welcome to the X-Warriors boys" Nikki said.  
"Hope you live to find out" Feral said, grinning over to them.  
The End  
Next- Haunted!  
**Hunted**

Chapter 1  
Nikki looked at the new team, they weren't what she'd expected, they were better.  
"Alright, listen up. This ain't one of our training missions, so listen up and cover each other's backs. A word of advice: if you die, take one of them with you" Logan said.  
Nikki sighed, kissing his neck as the others boarded the jet, "You say the most romantic things love."  
Logan wrapped his arms around Nikki's waist, kissing her deeply, "Whatever happens out there, be safe."  
He stroked her face, holding her cheek tenderly in his gloved hand.  
Daken coughed, drawing attention, "We're all ready to go."  
Logan lowered his hand, gently placing it over Nikki's heart, "We'll be right there."  
Daken walked back onto the jet, "Yeah, we might be a while."  
The blasts shook the ground as Nikki raced to the others, ducking behind a car.  
Daken ducked behind the same car, "We're getting killed out here. Figurativly, of course."  
Nikki nodded, panting, "We need reinforcements. Fast."  
A S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopter flew overhead, "That was fast" Daken said softly.  
Nikki smelled the men and their weapons before she heard the clacking of gun barrels and she pulled Daken flat against the ground, the sudden earsplitting machine gun fire against the car's side, into the gas take and causing an almost inferno explosion.  
Logan joined them in a moment, "If S.H.I.E.L.D can't handle this, we are beyond screwed."  
Nick Fury and the other agents stepped down and redied for combat, but Nikki saw the power generator before they did.  
"Hey Moon Knight! I'm going to need a small distraction" Nikki called over.  
Her teammate nodded, and threw himself into the fray with a little over-animation.  
She dashed for the generator, her claws expertly slicing the powercords. A sudden surge of electricity shot through the line but a hand darted from seemingly nowhere and pulled her back before an electric shock could rach her claws.  
"Thanks" she said, dusting herself off after the large metal box had created a small explosion.  
"No problem" an agent said, he didn't look older than twenty and Nikki was beginning to wonder when they started hiring people for this job, since he was clearly not a rookie.  
"Logan! Why wasn't I informed of this little escapade?" Fury thundered, walking over to them with a cigar hanging out of the side of his mouth.  
'Just like old times' Logan thought cynicly, "I don't have to tell you $#^% Fury."  
Nick looked over to Daken, then to Nikki, "Quite a team you've got yourself here. The last time I checked you two weren't that serious and he was...well not that different. Nice outfit kid" Fury said.  
"Don't start old man, it's better than yours" Daken said, a look of pure scorn directed at Fury.  
Logan looked over to Nick, clearly ticked off, "I agree, don't tart with us Fury. You've got a lot to e accountable for lately, so I wouldn't be talkin' if I were you."  
"Still got nerve enough to critizize me eh Logan?" Nick chuckled, "Good to see you again too."  
Nikki put her arm on Logan's shoulder, possibly preventing a fight from breaking out. Logan and Nick were far from friends, but they weren't worst enemies either.  
"Nice seein' you too Nikki" Nick said. She gave him a cold, icy glare.  
"Alright, considering I'm not exactly batting a thousand with any of you today, I'm just gonna take a shot in the dark and say this is your team?" Nick asked.  
"My team actually" Nikki said.  
Fury looked astonished.  
"What? You didn't think a woman could kick $$ just as bad as the rest of the guys? Get your head outta the early 1900s Fury, or you might end up more than shocked" Nikki said.  
Daken had a chance to grin at that, it was a nice change seeing Fury getting what was coming to him.  
"What do you want Fury?" Logan asked.  
"Simple, we have your friend Gorge in our employ" Fury began.  
"He can't be working for you now, he couldn't have lost it that bad" Nikki said.  
Nick gave her a look before continuing, as if to say Logan should keep a leash on her, "As I was saying, we've got him, but we want you. Just the three of you. X-23 would be taken in for government questioning before we could consider her being on a team."  
Nikki almost reached for Nick's throat, "No. Don't even think about it boy, I've been tearing the throats out of your kind of people since before you were born."  
"Did she just call me 'boy'?" Nick asked.  
Daken chuckled, "Well I'm pretty sure even I'm older than you Fury."  
Nick looked at them, "It's not an offer. You're coming with us."  
Logan's claws came down inches from Fury's face, "Don't make me do something I'll regret Fury. You and I both know I'll do anything nessicary to protect my family."  
"You hae a family now? We'd take care of them Logan, you know that" Nick said.  
"Back off Fury. I swear, you come after us again, or even go near our family, and I will make sure you wish things had gone differently" Logan growled, stalking off.  
Nikki stepped close to Fury, her hand closing over his neck and in a purr that was both sexy and deadly, "I will kill you if you come anywhere near our family, or us. Am I clear? Face it Fury, I'm one of the most deadly people you know, and now you're on my hit list. How's that feel for a change?"  
Nick let out a breath, "Considering the lack of distance? Something else entirely."  
Nikki chuckled, an evil chuckle, "You best hope Logan didn't hear that."  
For a moment, she really looked like a vampire as she let go of his throat and swiftly turned to walk in the other direction after her teammates.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
The Howlett mansion was suddenly abuzz with the news of how Logan, Nikki and Daken had confronted Nick Fury plain and simple.  
"He's not coming after us is he?" Vincent asked.  
"Nick isn't stupid sweetie, he knows I can throw him two provences over. He knows better than to mess with us" Nikki said, smoothing Vincent's hair.  
"Are you sure?" Vincent asked.  
"You worry too much for a ten-year-old. Go do something fun, even if he does I can handle it" Nikki said.  
Vincent went off to go do something, but he was staying alert for a while. The beating of helicopter blades in the distance made Nikki sigh, Nick could damn well have waited until she finished the dishes. The last object, a very shapt steak knife, was not something Nick Fury would want to face, especially not if he made her angry enough to throw it.  
It was a privet helicopter, only Nick was on board and he stepped down on the front lawn.  
"Nick" Logan said.  
"Logan" Nick replied.  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Logan asked.  
"Looking for you of course. I've come to give my offer, one more time" Nick said.  
"Not intrested" Logan growled, "Now leave."  
"Logan, we can't take no for an answer this time" Nick said.  
Nikki appeared in the door, "You might want to have waited a while Nick, this wasn't a good moment for you. Especially not when I had insparation in my hand." The knife shone at her side, an innocent smile playing her lips.  
"I'm not trying to force you, but I will if you don't just listen to me" Nick said.  
Tayla could see down into the yard, and watched as Nikki and Logan stood talking to Nick Fury.  
"Sal, why are Mommy and Daddy talking to a green man?" Tayla asked.  
"What?" Sal asked and walked to the window.  
Nick Fury was there, not a green man.  
"He's green, can't you see it?" Tayla asked, "Green with little lines on his mouth."  
"Oh $#^%" Sal muttered, "Tayla, stay right here."  
Tayla nodded and stayed right where she was, hiding near the window.  
Nikki was about ready to kill Fury at the rate they were making progress.  
"Wait, don't listen to him!" Sal shouted, "That isn't Nick Fury, that's one of the last Skrulls!"  
Nikki'd heard, aside from Hulkling of the Young Avengers, only one Skrull was rumored to be left on this planet, the one that got away. This one had powers, allowing it to disguse its scent along with the rest of it. It had made sure they would never second guess him. Wrong.  
The fake Nick pulled out a gun, but Nikki was faster. Her movements were quick and agile as she wrenched the gun from his grasp and slammed him down to the ground.  
"You never should'a tried to play us %$#^" Nikki growled.  
The Skrull turned back, and fought back, it wanted to win with a desperation she'd never seen. Her speed outdid the Skrull and with a final, well placed kick the Skrull fell flat, unconsious.  
"The real Fury must still be sick" Nikki said.  
Logan turned to Sal, "How'd you know that?"  
"Tayla saw it" Sal said, "Her powers must be coming in after all."  
Suddenly, as if by a will, the Skrull dissappeared. Nikki looked up to the window where Tayla was waving furiously, a big grin on her face as she opened the window, "Did you see that? I sent it to it's home!"  
Nikki allowed the smile that played at her lips to come, laughing joyusly, "Looks like the Skrulls got to see one of their kind get owned by a woman and a kid."  
Logan smiled and leaned over, kissing Nikki deeply, "That's my girl."  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Canda had been taken over by yet another terrible winter blizzard. Although, that didn't seem to take away good spirits in the Howlett mansion, the holiday cheer was better than most anywhere else. With the weather sweeping everywhere, it was a slow day for heroes across the US, and pretty much everywhere else. Finally, for a day, the bad guys were taking a break.  
"Need any help with anything?" Lana asked, leaning on the couch, watching the TV over her shoulder while looking over to Nikki, who'd finally finished decorating the huge house.  
"No, not now. Go enjoy the day, have fun" Nikki said, walking over to sit on the couch.  
Logan pulled her over to rest against him, their eyes on the TV screen while he stroked her hair, "Thank god for the snow."  
She smiled, her hand covering his, "I'm just wondering what we're going to do with all of it, pretty soon we won't be able to uncover the house, nonetheless the jet."  
He chuckled, stroking her hair still, "It doesn't matter. We're all here, that's it."  
"Oh yeah? Just wait until Scott gets word you said that, he'll have an absolute coniption fit" Nikki said, chuckling.  
He gently lowered his lips to hers, kissing her tenderly, "Not if he never finds out."  
She grinned mischiviously, "Do you have a plan love?"  
"Always darlin" he said, pressing his lips to hers again.  
A long time ago, Victor Creed would've been jealous. He would've growled and stalked off, preparing to kill the woman that made runt's life happy, but this was different. This time he was happy too.  
"Victor?" Kitten asked, pressing her hand to his arm.  
A long, long time ago he'd made runt's life hell for loving a squaw, but now he had his own.  
"Yeah Kitten?" he asked, turning to her.  
Her eyes weren't like most, they were a bright, July afternoon sky blue, a color he'd never seen with anyone else, and they drew him right in.  
"Would you mind handling lunch for Darren and Erica? The baby's getting a little antsy" she said, pressing her free hand to her stomach.  
He smiled, "Anything Kitten, just go rest."  
He gently kissed her, careful of her stomach, and he began to wonder when he got so damn domestic.  
Darren reached up to grip Victor's shirt, and he looked into the other room, Logan's kids were playing together with some drawing game on the floor by the couch, staying close to their parents by instinct.  
He looked over to Erica, staring at the screen of her portable game thing, whichever it was, and looked up to smile at him, "What's for luch daddy?"  
One day she'd be a rebellious teenager and he'd be trying desperately to remember times like this, and the thought scared him for a moment, but he smiled, "Your favorite."  
She grinned, little baby fangs showing, "Thanks daddy."  
Darren fussed, like any other toddler, "Food!"  
Victor chuckled, "Okay, okay, comin' up."  
Logan chuckled, shaking his head.  
"What?" Nikki asked.  
"Nothin'" Logan said, chuckling.  
"What?" Nikki asked, more persistent this time.  
"I keep trying to think of the old Victor, but the old Vic never would've been bouncing a kid on his hip while his wife took a nap" Logan said, chuckling.  
"I can't even think of them as the same person anymore honey, he's too...different" she said, chuckling.  
"Yeah, exactly" he said, "I keep wondering what goes on with him at times, how can our best killer be...it's actually hard saying it, nice?"  
Nikki smiled, "People change love. That's just the way it is."  
New Orleans-  
Angelique stared into the cristal ball, "Soon Feral one, soon."  
The End

**Wolverina Annual #2- Murder Or Mercy?**

The massive creatures had been hunting all through the night, their white-furred muzzles red with blood as they sniffed the snow for an opening into a populated place.  
Nikki stood atop a snowdrift, her eyes watching the creatures move.  
They went from place to place, digging occasionally, trying to find more food.  
The moment the storm had let up she came down to the small town, buried under the blizzard. People were probably starving, but she wouldn't be able to help them with the Wendigos there.  
She stood, rising from the snowdrift, her uniform covered by shadow in the shade of the evergreens, and she slowly stalked forward, a more powerful hunter in more ways than one.  
They were just like the Siberian werewolves from the stories James had told of hunting across the snowy plains years ago. Only the Wendigos were bigger, more powerful. She wasn't bigger, but she could most defenitly be more powerful.  
In a swift movement, the first was down, followed by a few others. They were fighting back, more powerful now, but her movements were swift, agile and deadly. Like any other hunter.  
The creatures hadn't let up their fight, but neither had she. Their dark eyes flashed, watching each of her movements, trying to predict the next move. Hunters were that way, it was instinct, a form of self-preservation.  
The last survivor looked out the ice-covered window, watching the huge creatures lunging at one smaller figure. He couldn't tell who, or what, it was, but he hoped whoever it was could get away.  
This was a training exercise of sorts for her, the Wendigos were nothing like they used to be. She'd gotten used to the way their movements attemped to counter her own, it was nothing like it anymore. A single Wendigo was digging at the back door to the place the boy was hiding.  
Nikki followed it after she finished off the other creatures, she stepped into the dark, hollowed out back room. "Wait" the boy said weakly.  
The wendigo was sitting at his side, it didn't want to kill him, but it looked up to her with sad, sorrowful black eyes.  
"It used to be my brother" the boy said.  
"Come on, I'll get you out of here" Nikki said, taking the boy's arm gently.  
"No, I don't want to" he said.  
He looked over to the Wendigo, "I'd never see my brother again."  
She knew the feeling, and let go of his arm, "You do realize that you would both die here."  
"I know" the boy said, "I don't care. At least I'd have my little brother."  
She looked down, and said softly, "I know the feeling."  
She left the boy to his brother, even though it didn't matter. They wouldn't make it out of there anyway. Even if she hadn't come, they wouldn't have been any different.  
She looked up to the sky, looking sadly at the clouds, "Still miss you little brother."  
The End


	12. Part 12

**Mind Games**

Capter 1- The Return of Sabretooth  
Angelique looked into her crystal ball, "The time has come Feral one, now, you are who you used to be. Fear shall strike the hearts of those you seek vengance against! Now my feral one, be free."  
Victor Creed, known as Feral to most, had felt the sudden surge of pain as memories flashed across his mind, moments of terror, but an absolute sick, coldhearted joy came from each of them. He staggered through the hall in the lower level, not knowing what was happening, as his consiousness was pushed back, and his former self took over. A familiar scent touched the air, and sniffing, he grinned sadisticly.  
Nikki was skillfully beating the crap out of the droids in the make-shift danger room. The room was of her brother's design, created before...she still couldn't think about it. It brought up the rage that sent her claws out and cut through the metal of the droids easily.  
"Havin' a bad day?" Victor asked.  
Her claws retracted in suprise, "Sorry Vic, didn't know you were there."  
There was something about him that was different, the way he looked her over in the tight-fitting clothes, something that had haunted her nightmares for a decade.  
His peircing cold eyes ran her over approvingly, "So, guess who's back?"  
With the words she bolted like a scared deer, his claws hand darting out and swinging her around, her back slamming into the plated wall behind her.  
"Just where do you think you're going frail? I'm not finished with you yet" he growled.  
"What the hell do you want Sabretooth?" she growled in reply, "To kill me? We both know how well that's gonna work out."  
He chuckled, low and husky, "Not exactly what I had in mind..."  
Her eyes went wide as memories that had given her nightmares for years came back, and Sabretooth chuckled again, "That's what I thought. I knew I was too good to forget."  
She struggled in his grip, and like a replay of one of her worst memories, he stroked the tip of a claw down her cheek, leaving a small trail of blood which he licked up approvingly.  
He chuckled, "I can't exactly say it'll be fun for you frail, but it'll be bringin' back memories for me."  
Logan knew something was wrong. There was a sudden electrifying tension in the air, and he was sure everyone around him could feel it too. The battle was getting wrapped up, he'd pick up the kids in a minute, but he just hoped nothing had gone wrong. His team was fine, he knew the kids were fine, it was a strange, almost sort of telepathic shock, that made him know it was something to do with his mate. He kept it cool, hoping there was nothing wrong and it was only his mind playing tricks on him, but as he got closer to home, he was fearing the worst.  
Victor fought for control over whatever it was that had caused him to do that, he'd gotten as much distance as possible between himself and Nikki and just hoped he could control whatever it was trying to take over him.  
A figure was floating not far from him, and she leaned down and made him look up to her, "Why are you fighting what you really are?"  
"Get..out..of my head" he growled.  
"But Sabretooth, we both know I won't do that" she purred.  
"Dammit I'm not Sabretooth anymore!" he growled.  
"Really?" she asked, "I thought only Sabretooth would do what you did back there."  
He roared, but kept his head, "You forced me to do that."  
"No, you forced yourself" Angelique said.  
"No, I'm Victor Creed, Feral, a hero! I have a life of my own now, I'M NOT SABRETOOTH!" he growled, and swung his clawed hand at the witch before him.  
She didn't move, whiether out of fear or stupidity, it didn't matter. victor had taken care of it. Without the throbbing pain in his head, he dropped to the ground and lay in the snow, unmoving, waiting for whatever it was to finish slinking off where it belionged.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Apologies  
Logan was stroking Nikki's hair gently, holding her tightly against his chest.  
"You're safe now my love" he whispered, kissing her hair gently.  
Victor could barely feel anything beyond the numbness of the cold as he trugged inside, foggy memories trying to stop him from entering the mansion.  
"Some nerve you've got showing up around here again Creed!" Daken growled, his arm wrapped tightly around Claudine's waist.  
"'uh?" Victor asked, looking up. The room was slightly tilting, what had happened out there anyway?  
"Victor! Tell me what I heard isn't true" Kitten said, rushing to his side.  
"Wish I could Kitten, but I dunno" he said.  
"What?" she asked.  
"What happened?" Victor asked.  
"He can't remember it" Claudine said, "It wasn't him, but it was at the same time. He was being controlled."  
"I still say he has nerve showing up after that" Daken muttered.  
"What happened Victor? What do you remember?" Kitten asked, sitting him down and running her finger through his hair.  
"I remember getting this pain, and then there were all these memories rushing at me all at once. Things I've done, people I've killed...then I was out in the snow, some witch was controlling me, and she said so herself. I think I blacked out after that" Victor said, looking at Kitten, "If I did do anything, I thought I was watching a memory, that was what it felt like. I couldn't tell the difference, it was like reliving them all over again."  
"I do, but you'll have to ask Nikki, not me" Kitten said.  
Victor's eyes went wide, "I...?"  
"You did. As you said, you weren't yourself Victor. I know it wasn't you" Kitten said softly.  
She drew back, giving him room to stand and looked after him as he walked in the opposite direction, gong to go make amends.  
"The hell are you doing here Creed?!" Logan growled, practicly charging at Victor.  
"Hold on! Wait a minute will ya?!" Victor said, "As much as I'd love to have you re-kill me, I came to apologize."  
Nikki looked up, "So it is you. That back there...I didn't think you could do that Vic."  
"I couldn't. If I'd been able to fight it, and believe me I was trying, I would've stopped before I could hurt you. You're one of my friends now, I don't betray my friends. I'm not that Victor anymore" he said, leaning down to her, "I'm sorry."  
She looked at him, "It was my worst nightmare Vic. But for some reason, I'm willing to forgive you."  
"Honestly?" he asked.  
"I can't promise you won't haunt my nightmares for..a while, but it wasn't you. You didn't need to apologize, you just had to prove it wasn't you" she said.  
Victor stood and walked past Logan, Logan caught his arm for a moment, "You ever go near her again, you ever touch her again, and I will personally beat you into a bloody, unrecognizable pulp, ya got me Vic?"  
"I'd ask you to...runt" Victor said, walking off.  
Logan followed him for a moment, "You know, if it wasn't for her forgiving you, I'd be showing you just how much I like you right now Vic."  
"Same here, and I wouldn't be going easy on you" Victor said, walking away.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Rehab  
Victor was taking out all of Sabretooth's rage on the danger room of the Xaiver Mansion, and it was getting, for lack of a better word, dangerous.  
"What'd they do to p^$$ you off Vic?" a familiar, and unwelcome voice asked.  
"Who says it's them rather than hearing your annoying voice Dom?" Victor asked, slicing the last of the holographic, yet still real for all intents and purposes, enemies to pieces.  
"Well someone's got an attitude today, you joining up with us?" she asked.  
"Why? So you can p^$$ off Kitten flirting with me rather than getting your $$ whooped by Nikki for flirting with Logan?" Victor asked, "No thanks, I'll pass. I heard Daken was gonna join, that was until he heard how bad Nikki hates you."  
"Oh?" Domino asked.  
"Yeah, the kid isn't stupid enought to go around you, not when he knows one wrong move and you'll have a set of claws throught your skull" Victor said.  
"I don't think that'll happen any time soon" Domino smiled.  
"Ya may have good luck, but Nikki's Irish, she's got it too, and her uck'll cancle out yours and before you know it, you'll be the one in the casket at the next funeral we go to. Although, she just might be there to give a wave and a smile" Victor said.  
"That must be a turn on for you" Domino said.  
"Maybe it is, I'm not tellin you unless I wanna find myself in a cold, dark room covered in blood" Victor said.  
"Aw Vic, give me more credit than that" she said.  
"Fine, a warm, dark room covered in blood" he said, walking off.  
Victor went up by the professor's office and heard Logan talking, "I'm not kickin' him off my team though Charley, Nikki won't let me. She wants to make it like nothin' ever happened."  
"Maybe that's better for both of you, and Victor" Charles said, "Besides, what's the worst about letting it go?" "That he gets away with it that's what!" Logan growled, "Chuck, ya need to help me. I get I've been asking a lot of you, but you'e just gotta make sure he's...stable. I don't want him around my family when there's a chance he could murder them while they sleep. Kitten and the cubs can stay with us, if they want, I'm just asking for you to make sure."  
Charles sighed, "I'll talk to Victor. I can't keep him here if he doesn't want to be Logan, you know that."  
"I'll do it" Victor said.  
"Good, 'cause Charley might not be able to keep you here, but I can damn well lock ya out" Logan said, walking off.  
"So, when's therapy start Doc?" Victor asked, a smile crossing his features. He almost could've sworn he heard Charles sigh, 'oy'.  
The jet landed and the kids rushed to see Logan, the little ones that is.  
"How was your day?" Nikki asked, kissing him over the back of the couch.  
"I don't know how I did it, but I got Vic to go to therapy" Logan said.  
"What did you do to him? Musta been bad too to make him snap like that" Daken said.  
"No, he willingly went. Shocking, I know" Logan said.  
"Why would he?" Nikki asked.  
"I was talkin to Charley and all of a sudden he says he's goin' in for therapy. More like rehab though" Logan said and chuckled.  
"Hey, I think that was what was just on the news" Daken said.  
"News? What kinda news has that on it?" Logan asked.  
"TMZ" Daken said.  
"And of course, that's why you're sitting in for the news. Anthing good?" Logan asked.  
"They keep talking about Robert Pattinson's hair" Daken said.  
"That's why I'm watching it" Nikki said, refocusing on the TV.  
"Ah, my wife the Twilighter" Logan sighed, kissing her cheek and sitting down beside them.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Family  
The night was bright, the moon shinning as bright as it had in months. Not only Logan and Nikki felt the effects either, James and Victoria were curled up outside under the stars, despite the snow. His arms were wrapped tightly around her middle, stroking her wild red hair as the soft breeze stirred it. She sighed, her gloved hands resting on his arms while she rested against him.  
"Even though it's night, I still think your hair is the color of the most radiant sunset" he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine with his closeness.  
She turned to him, pulling off her gloves and pressing her hands to his face, "and your eyes are the color of the warmest sun."  
He took her hands in his own, lacing his fingers through them and pressing his lips to hers, tenderly, lovingly. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she pressed herself tighter against him. His fingers laced into her hair, his free hand pressing to the small of her back. They fell back onto the snowy ground together and smiled, curling up together and laughing.  
James brushed her hair back and smiled, gently kissing her again.  
He pulled her against his chest, laying in the snow.  
"James?" she asked softly.  
"Hmm?" he turned to look at her, her skin almost glittering in the soft glow of the moonlight.  
"If what the Cullens could do was possible, I want to try" Victoria said softly.  
He smiled, "We can, but I don't want the Volturi getting word of this. Rumor has it there are still a few left from the last battle."  
Her eyes were alive with a sudden exitement, "You wouldn't mind?"  
He took her face in his hands, pressing his lips to hers, "For you my love? Anything."  
Logan stroked Nikki's hair, soft kisses and tender touches brought them closer together until they both sat wrapped in each other's arms, her head resting on his chest.  
"Do you think it was the right move?" Logan asked.  
"What?" Nikki asked.  
"Having Vic stay there. I mean...if he is as dangerous as I think he is, then I've just put my friends in danger as much as we were" he said.  
She sighed, "That wasn't Victor. You and I both know that. He'll be fine, he's no puppy dog I'll admit that but even the lion can curl up to keep the lamb warm."  
"Lion and lamb?" he asked, chuckling.  
"Don't laugh, for a long time that was you and I" she said.  
"You were never more dangerous than I was" he said.  
"Oh really?" she asked, "What about when I could've killed you had I not been able to stop myself? You asked so much of my self control it was unbelievable, and now...now I'm not the only one. I think the pattern is repeating itself love, and then in the next three years everything'll change for us too."  
"Don't say that. The pattern isn't repeating. It can't" he whispered.  
"It might be love, you never know" she whispered.  
"It can't" he said, "I won't let it."  
"You can't always change fate" she said softly.  
"But I can damn well try" he said, kissing her gently.  
"You know, maybe things won't change after all. Maybe we'll end up retiring in a few centuries, spending the rest of our lives surrounded by family. You know? Maybe we'll even have a porch swing to sit on while our several-times-great grandkids run around the yard" she said.  
Logan laughed, "If we have all those people in the house, we're gonna need a castle, not a mansion."  
"I can live with that" she said.  
He laughed, "Yeah sure, and maybe I'll actually let your best friend marry our daughter."  
"It'll happen some day love" she said.  
"I hope not" he said, and rolled his eyes.  
"It's true love, an imprint, just like you and I" she said.  
"Well I hope by then Gabby and Shawn still like puppies otherwise it'll make a family reunion difficult" Logan said.  
Nikki rolled her eyes in turn, and nestled into his arms. The future didn't matter yet, all that mattered was right now.  
The End.  
**Partying- Nikki and Victoria Style (OS)**

The flashing lights and blasting, pulsating music beat around them both as they danced, the crowded dance floor where all inhibitions were lost and every single person surrendered themselves to the beat of the music.  
"How's this for a girls night out?" Victoria shouted over the music.  
"Wicked!" Nikki shouted.  
They swayed to the pulcing music and Victoria pulled Nikki off to the side, wanting to finally get to the reason they'd come out here: to talk about things they really couldn't around the guys.  
"How've things been going with you and James?" Nikki asked, sitting down at the booth with Victoria.  
"You know how Bella and Edward were able to...have a baby?" Victoria asked, cringing at their names.  
Nikki's hand covered Victoria's reassuringly, "Yeah?"  
"I want to do that with James" Victoria said, blushing lightly.  
"Aw!" Nikki said, leaning over the table to hug her.  
"So, what else?" Nikki asked.  
"Well..." Victoria said, "We've already started..practicing."  
Nikki squeeled, hugging her tightly, "Wow, Maria, Kitten, it's becoming something isn't it?"  
Victoria smiled, her blush intensifying, "Maybe. What about you and Logan?"  
It was Nikki's turn to blush, "We're not sure yet."  
Victoria leaned over, hugging her tightly, "It's okay, nothing heals a broken heart like time."  
Nikki sighed, "Victoria, you don't know what it's like. Not being able to do anything. Being helpless to do anything else but watch..."  
"I do know. Just not with a child...when I lost James the first time..." Victoria said softly, almost inaudible over the music.  
Nikki comforted her, rubbing her shoulders gently, "It's alright. You have him back now."  
Victoria nodded weakly, "I was so broken when I was sure I'd lost him. It was like my heart shattered into a thousand peices, so fragile that if you even tried to put them back together again they'd break even smaller. I know you've loved and lost, but never your soul mate, never your other half, and I hope you neer do. It's...'not pretty' would be lying. 'Complete and utter doomsday' would be putting it lightly. Nothing matters anymore, not your life or the people around you that you once loved and cared for, your just...not human anymore. Not alive. It's like your a man-eating zombie, forgive the expression. You can't control the complete and utter...need to kill everyone that's happier than you. You want revenge on the whole world for it's happiness, and it's nothing compared to what I felt in hate for Bella and Edward."  
When she said the names, she didn't cringe, she scowled, the soft creaking of the wood in her hands as she remembered those hopeless months without James. She had nothing that mattered, nothing to live for. She hadn't cared when Cullen had attacked, because one way or another she would've driven herself to die anyway. He'd brought her back somehow, and they'd been together since. He'd vowed never to leave her again, and she promised never to let him take a challenge of a hunt again.  
"Are you alright?" Nikki asked.  
"Sure" Victoria said, relaxing a bit.  
"Then you might want to let go of your death-grip on the table" Nikki said and chuckled.  
Victoria pried her fingers out of the rilets created in the wood, and laughed, "Sorry, it's still a touchy subject." "I know. Just like I wish I could've tortured that b$%&# Romulus for a few thousand lifetimes before I let him be killed" Nikki said, "He deserved to die though. You don't know what a relief it was to watch that."  
Victoria laughed ruefully, "I know how you feel. When that...that, I hope you don't mind me talking about your step-brother this way but that #$%-ing exuse for a waste of DNA killed my James...I wanted to make sure he suffered unlike I had. He would have no escape, he'd beg for me to kill him and I'd laugh, I'd kill myself to be with James and he'd be left alone in the world, not even the pleasure of hunting his mate's killer being left. That or I would've killed him too, if I didn't have the restraint for only one of them."  
"Well, it's nice to know I do get my mind from daddy dearest's side of the family since we're all valiant and loyal whack-jobs" Nikki said, laughing.  
Victoria playfully pushed her, "Well then, looks like we've got something to drink to: To old enemies, thank god that's over with."  
"Amen" Nikki said, and the clink of their glasses was the only sound other than their laughter being heard over the music.  
~End~  
**Impossiblity**

Victoria awoke sleepily against James's chest, a smile spreading over her lips as she remembered the night before.  
"Morning beautiful" James said softly, gently holding her face in his hand as he kissed her gently.  
"Morning" she said softly, returning the kiss.  
He smiled and held her close, "How much longer do you think we're going to keep it up until...?"  
"I don't know. I've never...tried before" she said.  
He chuckled, "I know, but we're trying now. That's what matters."  
Victoria half-turned to kiss him, but a sharp pain in her stomach made her stop halfway, turning back and curling up.  
"Victoria? What's wrong?" he asked, holding her tightly against his chest.  
"I...don't know" she gasped, clutching his side.  
He held her tightly, but she ran past him in a flash, the bathroom door closing behind her.  
A short while later, when she walked out, he pulled her tightly into his arms, "Are you alright?"  
"How long have we been trying?" she asked.  
"Not that long, a few weeks" James said.  
"How many?" Victoria asked, sitting down.  
"Three I think" James said, "Close to four, why? What's wrong?"  
Her eyes lit up, a smile spreading across her lips, "James, I think we don't have to try anymore."  
He laughed, "You mean...? I'm a...I'm going to be a..."  
He smiled widely and kissed her gently, being careful of her stomach, which her hand pressed to instinctivly. James and Victoria had gone to Carlisle later on that morning, and by lunch time Victoria was practically vibrating to tell Nikki about her joy.  
"Nikki!" Victoria shouted, running in and hugging Nikki tightly, keeping a bit of distance between them though.  
"What? What's going on?" Nikki asked, looking at Victoria in surprise.  
"You were right, James and I are going to have a baby, and even Alice didn't see it coming!" Victoria shouted, giving a tight, yet gently hug again.  
"That's great!" Nikki said, "You wouldn't be the only one though, Maria's getting close to the due date. It'll be any day now."  
"That's great" Victoria said exitedly.  
"So, welcome to the club" Logan said to James.  
"What club?" James asked.  
"The father club, it's the one you'll want out of in about thirteen years" Logan said, chuckling softly.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Unsuprised  
Maria had been one of the X-Warriors since the team had gotten together, she had been shot at, nearly blown up, and had the fate of the world resting in her hands before, but never, not once in her life, had she even thought she would be where she was now, so close to being a mother. Wade was at her side, holding her hand supportivly, and it was a moment she was sure to remember. Wade, at times, was a complete and total clown, but at the moment they were in, he didn't have a joke or a one-liner to say.  
Hank smiled proudly, "Congratulations, you have a daughter."  
Wade looked like he was going to cry, and opened his arms for the little bundle. Maria looked over, and smiled, the little bundle was cooing and reaching for Wade, giggles escaping at his smile.  
"Wade, don't cry" she said softly.  
"I-I don't think I can't" Wade said, his vioce breaking.  
She leaned over, hugging him and the bundle, and looked at the baby's face, "She looks like an Elizabeth to me."  
Wade nodded, sniffing.  
"Lizzy Wilson. Not bad" Maria said.  
"Wilson? I thought you'd..." Wade began.  
"No, she's taking the name of the only one of us that doesn't have something to hide from SHIELD" Maria said, smiling.  
Wade beamed, "I'm a dad. Can I have a moment?"  
She sighed, and gestured to the door.  
Wade ran out, cheering and happy-dancing, and walked back in, clearing his throat business-like, "I hope she has my sense of humor."  
Victoria smiled at looked in the mirror, Bella had told her everything about a baby like that. It only took about two weeks, and the slight bump of her stomach confermed what Bella told her. She gently placed her hand over the bump, smiling brightly. A magical feeling washed over her as she felt a movement, a soft nudge.  
"Hello little nudger" she whispered, her smile widening.  
"It's adorible isn't it?" Nikki asked, "Although they get cuter and cuter until they're teenagers, but they have their cute moments now and again, even then."  
Victoria blushed, "I've never been able to watch a child grow up. It feels so...right. It's a feeling I've really missed out on."  
"You never get over it, you're proud of every little thing they do. You'll be proud when they laugh, learn to speak, crawl, walk, tie their own shoes" Nikki said.  
Victoria smiled, "I'm just...it's so perfect. This baby is so perfect."  
Nikki hugged her gently, "I know. He or she will always be perfect."  
"I'm thinking of names" Victoria said.  
"Really? Like?" Nikki asked.  
"Viviana for a girl. Alex for a boy" Victoria said.  
"Don't worry, he/she is going to love you" Nikki said, "James I can't make any promises for."  
Victoria laughed, "Probably right?"  
"Probably, he is kinda hot" Nikki said.  
Victoria laughed, and playfully smacked Nikki, and Nikki laughed, "You know I love Logan. You keep James."  
Victoria laughed, "The nudger agrees with me."  
"Thank you, now I have the two of you ganging up on me. Oh poor Bella, she's never going to hear the end of this."  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Twins  
Victoria smiled, her hands pressing to her stomach. Carlisle had given her the news, and it had brought a whole new world of happiness to her and James. Twins, a boy and a girl, Viviana and Alex.  
James pressed his lips to her neck gently, "You're being awfully quiet."  
"I'm exited" she said softly, her smile growing as James rested his hands over her own on the growing bump. "I am too" he replied, "They're going to be beautiful. After all, they're going to look like their mother."  
She smiled, "Please, the way I know they're going to be beautiful is they're going to look like you. I love you."  
He turned her to face him, and gently cradled her cheek, "I love you too."  
He pressed his lips to hers gently and held her gently in his arms.  
"So, I'm guessing you want to go over to Nikki's and share the news?" he asked. She nodded.  
He laughed and lifted her in his arms, being careful of her as he ran to the house, a more paced speed than usual.  
"WE'RE BA-ACK!" Wade shouted, walking into the house with the baby strapped to his chest, bundled up in winter clothes and some armor with Maria at his side.  
Daken fell over on his side, laughing at the sight that had walked in the door, "What the gasp ^%$& happened chuckle to you?"  
"Hey, watch the language around the baby!" Wade said, his hands covering the baby's ears.  
Claudine looked over, "She's adorible."  
"Thank you, and yes all of this is necessary" Wade said, patting the armor and the plush coat, mittens, cap, scarf, and everything else.  
"What were you planning on doing on the way here Wade, getting in a car chase with James Bond?" Daken asked.  
Squeels filled the air from the kitchen and Logan and James both walked out, giving the women a moment.  
"What is all that?" James asked, looking at the baby's cover.  
"This is vibranum armor, two coats, a scarf, two pairs of mittens, two hats, three booties and under it all, her cute little outfit" Maria said.  
"What the...? How fragile do you think she is?" James asked.  
"Not all of us are vampires" Maria said.  
"I'm just saying, even so, she'll have powers" James said.  
"Not yet" Maria said, taking the baby protectivly.  
James sniffed the air and sighed, "A Cullen."  
Dilina burst in and raced upstairs, "What just happened?"  
Sage screamed and ran out of the bathroom in a towel, "What is she doing here?!"  
Dilina ran after him and not one person made a move to stop them from chasing each other.  
"I call 20 bucks on Dilina" James said.  
"Me too" Logan said.  
Dilina chased him outside and an ear-peircing screech cut through the ari, sending shivers down everyone's spine.  
Dilina walked in, "Anybody got a lighter?"  
"Why?" James asked.  
"Because I already ripped him apart" Dilina said.  
James tossed her his, and she walked back out.  
"What was that about?" Logan asked.  
"I have no idea, but if it was the whole thing where they were together and he broke up with her and now she wanted to kill him then I agree" James said.  
"What now?" Logan asked.  
"I'll explain later" James said, waiting for Dilina to walk in.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- What matters more  
There was a war coming with the pack for killing one of their own, and the Cullens had drawn a side, protecting their little sister. Vampires, who had acted in the Volturi war, came from across the globe to side with them, but they needed someone who could do what they needed to do when the time came.  
The Volvo pulled up at the cabin-like house, and Laurent appeared, "I'm ready when you are."  
"Where are James and Victoria?" Edward asked, he still didn't trust them.  
"They're not coming" Laurent said, "They hold nothing against you, but they're sitting this one out."  
"What about Nikki? Is she coming?" Alice asked.  
"No, she wanted to stay with them" Laurent replied.  
"Why?" Edward asked, suspicious.  
"Come in and see for yourself" Laurent said, gesturing to the door.  
They stepped inside, seeing James sitting on the floor by the side of the couch, Victoria stroking his hair. Nikki was beside him, resting her head on her arms. Victoria was paler than before, she looked sick, and a heavy quit covered her from her shoulders down, only one arm free to stroke James's hair.  
"What's going on?" Bella asked.  
Victoria shifted, as if to stand, and James and Nikki both rushed to either side of her, ready to hold her up.  
Edward gasped, his all too vivid memories of when Bella had been the same, but Bella had been human, more breakable. James looked half-crazed with worry, his hands hovering inches from Victoria, unsure where to rest them. Nikki supported Victoria, she looked worried too.  
Bella looked to Edward, "Was I like that?"  
"Worse" Edward whispered, "You were human. But...how? How was this possible? How did...?"  
Victoria sighed, "I don't know either Edward, we were just lucky this time."  
"Lucky?" Edward echoed, "Victoria, I never used to like you. At all. But I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. This killed Bella, Victoria, it killed her. It might not kill you, but it could come close."  
James's head snapped up, he looked furious and frightened at the same time.  
"I wasn't like that" Bella whispered, "I can remember some...it wasn't like this."  
Ever so gently, she pressed her hand to Victoria's stomach.  
"No, you weren't" Victoria said, "You only had Renesmee, I have twins."  
Edward looked like he would faint, "Two of them? Victoria they could kill you!"  
"They won't. I just know it" she whispered, cradling her stomach as if the little ones inside would break.  
Bella felt the nudge, and gasped, "Just like Renesmee."  
Victoria had a smile of pride, "Exept two."  
Rosalie walked forward, astonished, and sat down, "Edward, I never thought of it, but what if they come here?"  
"Who?" James asked.  
"The pack" Alice said.  
"They can't" Bella said, "They can't interfere with this. Remember last time, there was almost a war."  
"Did Sage see her like this? Could he have told the pack before Dilina finished him off?" Jasper asked, always the stragist.  
"He could've. He didn't though, not as far as I know" Nikki said.  
"Laurent, what about you?" Emmett asked.  
"James and Victoria are my friends, wherever the fight may be, if it endangers them I will fight to stop it" Laurent replied.  
"Thank you" Victoria said softly.  
"When are they...?" Edward began.  
"Not long now. Carlisle told me I only had a few more days" Victoria said.  
"That's why we're staying. Where is Carlisle?" Nikki asked.  
"He's on his way. Would your family be able to help us?" Jasper said.  
"The yonger ones stay, Daken, Josh, Laura and Lana are the only ones you can ask. Sal and Logan can go if they want, and so can Claudine. I know you have limited resourses Jasper, and if the nudgers come before the fight, I'll be able to help" Nikki said.  
"I can't. Even if they do, I can't leave Victoria" James said, kneeling at her side as she sat again.  
"She can be with the rest of my family, I'll make sure they're safe and protected before we go" Nikki said.  
"If you want to go, you can. I'm not holding you back" Victoria said, stroking James's cheek.  
"Maybe" he said, holding her hand against his face.  
"Guys, they've made a plan" Alice said softly.  
"What Alice? What do you see?" Jasper asked.  
"They're coming here" she whispered in horror.  
TBC

Chapter 5- War  
The Cullens led the vampire army to the land Alice foresaw as the battleground. It was practicly killing Nikki not to be with her family now, but the small danger-room hid the younger Howletts while she, James and Victoria stayed in another room in the lower levels. Victoria wasn't as sick as she'd been before, but she was still weak. Nikki listened closely through Edward's thoughts, having them projected into her mind from his way.  
"What's going on?" Victoria asked weakly.  
"Nothing yet, but they're coming. The Volturi may get involved in this. God they're parasites, each time we destroy them they keep coming back" Nikki growled.  
Victoria pressed her hand to James's cheek, "We'll be alright."  
The worry was plain in his eyes as he looked at her, covering her hand with his own, "I'm sure. Just rest, don't worry."  
"They're getting closer" Nikki said softly.  
Victoria gasped, a sudden, sharp pain twisting through her.  
Nikki's head snapped up, the thoughts of the on-coming battle behind her, and she thought to Edward, 'It's time here.'  
In the clearing, Edward gasped.  
"What is it?" Bella asked.  
"It's time there. The twins are coming" Edward said softly.  
Laurent's forehead creased with worry, "Will they be alright alone?"  
"I'm watching them and us, it's a little sketchy right now. Nikki's too worried about Victoria now, she's almost sure we can deal with this" Edward said.  
Logan turned, "Edward?"  
"Yeah?" Edward asked.  
"There's a problem. The royal leeches are coming" Logan growled, his claws coming out with their characteristic 'snikt'.  
'Nikki?' Edward thought.  
'Yeah?'  
'The Volturi are coming.'  
Over in the house, Nikki paused, her consentration faltering, "James, excuse the pessimism, but we're screwed."  
"What? What happened?" Victoria asked, gasping for breath.  
James stood beside her, letting her clutch onto him, "Tell us."  
"The Volturi decided to come. They want to see the Cullens...die" Nikki gasped, reading their intentions through Edward.  
"Go, go help them, we're fine" James said.  
"No. The Volturi are more of a threat here than they are there" Nikki said.  
Soft, but steady crying filled the room, Alex and Viviana were in the world now.  
James looked in loving, fatherly pride at the little babies that Nikki wrapped in blankets. Victoria reached for Viviana, taking her in her arms.  
"They're beautiful" James whispered.  
"The Volturi will want them dead" Nikki said softly.  
Victoria's head snapped up, "No. They're not coming near them. Not ever!" She cradled the baby protectivly to her chest, James sitting close with Alex.  
"Wait, just let me see" Nikki said softly, watching through Edward's thoughts.  
The pack had advanced, but Jacob led his pack to stand with them. Sal was fighting alongside Jake's pack. The pack turned their backs to the vampires as they had once before, in the Volturi war, as the familiar black cloaks advanced into the light.  
TBC  
Chapter 6- Treaty  
"Carlisle" Aro said, stepping forward.  
Caius followed him into the clearing, but no Marcus.  
Jasper almost smirked, "Thier numbers have fallen. This'll be too easy."  
"Aro, I would like to have a civilized dissussion with you. As a friend" Carlisle said.  
"Of course! Why didn't you say so?" Aro said, laughing joyfully and walked to the side with Carlisle.  
'What the hell is he doing?!' Nikki mentally shouted at Edward.  
Edward winced, 'I have no idea.'  
"What?" Alice asked, picking up on the wince.  
"Nikki was yelling at me" Edward said.  
Logan chuckled, he knew his wife's wraith well enough to know there were moments where being yelled at were better than the other option.  
"You were let off easy then" Josh said.  
"You were saying Carlisle?" Aro asked softly.  
"I want to make a treaty with you Aro. Please don't threaten my family, they've done nothing. Never once have we done anything that you wouldn't overlook, or have proven wrong. Aro, please old friend, find it in your heart to make peace with us" Carlisle pleaded.  
"For you Carlisle old friend? Always" Aro said, smiling with a reassuring gentlness.  
As Carlisle walked back, Edward heard his thoughts and long-distancely, Nikki heard them also.  
Nikki was laughing incredibly hard, as she told James and Victoria about Carlisle's thoughts.  
Edward chuckled and looked over to Carlisle, "Don't go back with us, you're going to get hell for this."  
Carlisle had the shyness to blush as Aro discussed the matter with the guard and Caius. Jacob turned to face them and grinned, thinking to Edward.  
'Sam sent his pack over to me, he's surrendered the Alpha' Jake thought.  
'Good, the more we have on our side the better' Edward thought.  
"Carlisle, old friend, we have a treaty. Heidi has told me of something else on it's own. Another vampire has children like Bella's!" Aro said.  
Edward froze, "Do you know who?"  
"Yes, a member of the Denali. Didn't you know? May I ask Carlisle, I'm going to send my guard back, would you accompany me to wish Miss Irina congratulations?" Aro asked.  
"What?! Aro you can't be serious?" Caius asked.  
"I don't wish to harm them Caius. I only want to wish them condratulations" Aro said.  
Carlisle smiled, "Then come with us, we'll give them our blessing together. Old friend."  
Laurent smiled, "Irina? Does that mean...?"  
Josh rolled his eyes, "Talk about your baby boom."  
Daken elbowed his little brother and whispered, "Shut the hell up."  
"Aro, I might ask, would you like to know a family secret?" Carlisle asked.  
Edward sighed, and thought over to Nikki, 'Crisis averted. Aro's coming after seeing Irina to wish James and Victoria blessing.'  
Nikki smiled, 'Good. We can relax now huh?'  
Edward chuckled, 'For now.'  
The End

**What If-? Nomad Wolverina**

Chapter 1- The Game  
"Stop!" Alice shouted across the field. Carlisle, who had been talking with his old friend Professor Xaiver turned, facing Alice.  
Bella looked over to Edward as he ran over to her, "What's happening?"  
"They heard us playing, they're coming here" Alice whispered in a rush of panic.  
"Can we get them out of here in time?" Esme asked.  
Professor Xaiver, his team and students knew all about the vampire world, just as Bella did, and they kept the secret just as well.  
"No, we don't have time" Alice whispered, and turned quickly.  
They strode into the clearing, four of them.  
The leader was tall and dark-skinned, with long dreadlocks falling over his shoulders.  
The second male had dark blond hair, pulled back in a ponytail with a peice of leather, his leather jacket was worn and he strode with a distictly feline stride.  
One of the females wore a fur shawl over her clothing as she stayed close beside the male in the leather jacket.  
The second female was on the male's other side, she was the only one not wearing a form of jacket, just her worn jeans and tank-top.  
The leader spoke softly with a french accent, "I am Laurent. This is Victoria...James, and Nikki."  
They each looked to the Cullens and the others behind them.  
"I'm Carlisle, and this is my family" Carlisle said.  
"So, could you use a few more players?" Laurent asked.  
"Sure, a few of us were going back. You could take their place. We'll bat first" Carlisle said, tossing over the ball.  
Victoria's hand darted out, "I'm the one with the wicked curveball."  
Jasper laughed, "We can take you."  
Victoria chuckled, "We shall see."  
James and Nikki continued to stare at the Cullens large family. A few things happened then, the wind shifted, blowing the scents their way and they both inhaled.  
"You brought a snack" James said breathily.  
They lunged into crouches, the Cullens covering their friends. Laurent and Carlisle stood between the others. "It seems we have a lot to learn about each other" Laurent said.  
Nikki's eyes were suddenly black, the bright burgundy from when she'd entered the field gone completely.  
Her eyes were trained on Logan, his scnet bringing a powerful thirst. Laurent seperated them and they began to walk off, James wrapping his arm around Victoria's shoulders and kissing her cheek.  
Nikki turned, pausing for a moment, and looked at Logan. Her eyes met his and for the breifest moment, he was taken aback by the way she stared at him, not anger or crazed thirst in her eyes like the others, but passion. He'd seen all of it in the fraction of a second he'd seen her eyes, and she turned, swift as wind, and raced out of the clearing after James and Victoria.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Hunting and Captivity  
James was waiting in the ballet studio with Nikki, awaiting the arrival of the humans. They heard the soft footsteps of the humans walking in, and they appeared by the mirrors.  
James spoke in a hushed tone to Bella, and Nikki circled around Logan. He was an expert fighter, not to be underestimated, but so was Nikki.  
Edward and Dilina, the youngest Cullen, appeared in the room. Edward attacked James and Dilina, unsure of what to do, ran at Nikki. Nikki chuckled and picked up Dilina, throwing her across the room.  
"Dilina!" Edward shouted and ran over to her.  
James chuckled and pulled Bella by her arm, "Sorry to dissapoint you yellow eyes, but we've got to run." Nikki grinned and raced off with Logan.  
The small house served as a coven-house to the nomads, it served as a better alternitive than running. Nikki walked into the small room seeing Logan sitting against a wall.  
"You gonna kill me now?" he asked.  
She knelt in front of him, "I don't know why, but I fell very...protective of you."  
"Why would you?" he asked.  
"I don't know" she said softly.  
He touched her face and her eyes turned to him, the bright burgundy darkening. He turned her face to his, and ever so gently pressed his lips to hers.  
Her eyes turned a jet black and she backed away, "You don't want to do that when I haven't eaten."  
"Nikki?" James shouted.  
"I have to go" she whispered, pressing her lips to his for a brief moment and she turned, striding out the door. Victoria hissed at Bella, her eyes turning jet black. "I see the way the you look at him. Stay away from my James, he is MY mate. MINE. Not yours."  
James chuckled and wrapped his arm around Victoria's waist, "I am yours. Relax, beautiful Victoria, little Bella couldn't handle us if she wanted to."  
Bella winced back, and saw Nikki enter, "Vicky, a word of advice: If you don't want her staring at James, you might want to stop getting all over him in front of her."  
Victoria gave Bella a final look and pulled James out of the room by his sleeve.  
Nikki chuckled, sitting across the room, "They're always like that."  
"Why are you with them?" Bella asked.  
"It's none of your business" Nikki growled.  
"You only like them, but you have something with Logan. You're nicer to him than you are even to Laurent" Bella said.  
"Intuitive little girl aren't you?" Nikki asked.  
"Why do you control yourself? You're one of them" Bella said.  
"Maybe because I don't want to break James's favorite plaything. You know, before you leave here, if you do, you'll have more than one scar to show for it girl" Nikki growled.  
"How would you know? Is he plotting with you now too?" Bella asked.  
"Because, I've seen it when he decides to keep a plaything for a while. They never last more than a few weeks. They all break so easily" Nikki said, almost remorseful.  
"So why is Logan here?" Bella asked.  
"Because I want him to be" Nikki said, "James gets what he wants, and I can damn well have what I want too little girl. You should feel lucky James wanted to keep you alive just a little longer, otherwise I'd break you here and now."  
"Why don't you?" Bella asked, "Or are you afraid if you break me he'll break your toy?"  
"You're a stubborn little girl aren't you?" Nikki growled, "and I would, don't tempt me. Second, Logan is not my toy. You'll do for everyone. I'd expect by the end of this week you'll have at least a hundred of the bones in your body broken. They won't let them heal either. Don't expect mercy girl, unless you earn it you'll never get it."  
"Is that what happened to you?" Bella asked in a small voice.  
"James saved me. I'll always owe him for that. But I've seen how merciless he can be, when he has to. He's not so much different from your Carlisle. I used to be...not quite human, but close enough once. I was dying, and James and Victoria saved me. I owe them, and that's part of the reason I haven't broken you in half yet" Nikki said.  
"You keep deflecting my questions" Bella said.  
"Well now you've finally caught on!" Nikki said, "I was wondering how long it would take. Stop asking me questions girl. Talk to Laurent, he always likes socializing with lunch."  
Bella hunched back and Nikki walked out, trying to block out memories Bella brought up.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Negotiation  
Edward paced back and forth around the room, waiting for the phone to ring. "This is wrong, we should be out there! We should be tracking them down!"  
"Edward, we're coming up with a plan. Just wait a little longer" Dilina said.  
"What if they've already killed Bella? What then Dilina?!" Edward growled.  
Dilina's eyes filled with tears, "She'll be alright big brother."  
"You don't know that. I don't know that" Edward said, sitting down beside his little sister.  
Dilina rubbed Edward's back, "She will though. Bella's tough, she'll be okay."  
In the coven-house, the nomads weren't planning anything. They simply waited for the Cullens to make the next move. James and Victoria were in the other room, snuggling on the couch, while Nikki went to see Logan.  
"Hey" she said, smiling.  
"Hey. So, the big bad wolf come up with a plan yet?" Logan asked.  
She smiled and chuckled, "He's waiting for the Cullens to make the next move."  
He looked at her, "There's a smile and a laugh. I must be putting you in a good mood."  
A slight blush colored her cheeks, "Well, yeah. You do put me in a good mood just being around."  
"So what's with the couple?" Logan asked.  
"James and Victoria? They're actually really good people...once you get past the tracker urges that is" Nikki said.  
"Tracker urges?" Logan asked.  
"They don't choose to hunt people. It's a matter of their senses. When they catch a scent like Bella's...they sort of change. They become different people in a way. It's not them, they're really much nicer, and not sociopaths" Nikki said.  
"They love each other" he said.  
"Yeah. They really do. They're mates, from the moment they met they knew they loved each other" she said. "and you? Do you have a mate?" he asked.  
"No, but I think I do now" she said.  
Logan looked confused, "Who?"  
"You" Nikki said, after a moment's hesitation.  
He gently guided her face up, so their eyes met, "Why?"  
"Because I'm in love with you" she said, letting the words flow out.  
He smiled and chuckled, "I'm pretty sure I've fallen for you too."  
She sighed, "Then I guess I can tell James and Victoria to let you go."  
Her eyes glittered with unshed tears and he pulled her against his side, "Why? I want to stay with you."  
"I don't want you to be negotiated over. If I let you go, I might be able to see you again. They'll think better of us, and they'll let me close enough to see you again" she said.  
"I'm not leaving here. You want to do something to get them on your side? Let the kid go" he said.  
"She's not up to me. James tracked her, she's his catch. He caught her, he makes the decisions for her" Nikki said.  
Logan stood, lifting her with him, "You care about them. Why?"  
"Because they're my family. They saved me once Logan, not only do I owe them I will forever be grateful to them" she said.  
"If they care about you they'll let you go. You can go with me" he said.  
"I don't want to go though. I can't leave them alone. I can't always wonder what happened to them. They need me" she said.  
"He's a tracker, she can sense safe havens they don't. They'll be safe and they'll survive" he said.  
"They need me because of what I can do. Sure he can track, he's a good offence. She can keep them safe, she's a good defence. But they need someone to know when to run and when to fight. That's where I come in. I'm...peace maker, if you can call me that. They need me so they know when to fight and when to run, like with the Cullens. I told them what would happen, and I told them when to fight and when to run. I plan the fights, or the routes. Victoria sees if they're safe, and James keeps and eye on what we're hunting or running from. We're a team. We need each other" Nikki said.  
"If you plan everything, every possiblity, why didn't you think of this?" he asked softly, not to offend her.  
"Because I never planned on falling in love with you. I thought it would be simple, you'd come and we'd distract you. Take the girl and go, James and Victoria would share her and we'd move on. I never thought you could keep up with me. I never thought I'd like being near you. My plan didn't work" she said.  
"We'll make a new one then. But you do have a power, I can tell" he said.  
"It's not a vampire power though" she said, and her claws came down.  
"I'm the least normal vampire here, I'll admit that. I'll be back, I do have a plan."  
The phone rang and Dilina picked up, "Hello, Cullen residence."  
"Hey squirt, want them back yet?" Nikki asked.  
Dilina looked around for Carlisle or Edward, "Where are they?"  
"Listen closely and I'll tell you what we're gonna do" Nikki said.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Friendship  
"You're kidding" Dilina said, listening to Nikki's plan.  
"Nope, it'll be foolproof" Nikki said.  
"That's the problem, Emmett's a fool" Dilina said.  
Nikki giggled, "So is Laurent. Your point being?"  
"Are Bella and Logan okay?" Dilina asked.  
"Yeah, especially Logan. Bella's...getting picked on for lack of a better word" Nikki said.  
Dilina giggled, "By who?"  
"Vicky" Nikki said.  
"Victoria?" Dilina asked.  
"Yup, and squirt? Make it fast" Nikki said and hung up.  
"Oh Edwardo!" Dilina called, running into the other room.  
Nikki reclined back in the chair as James walked in.  
"So, did I hear talking?" he asked.  
"TV" Nikki muttered.  
"You know, I just want to know if you're telling me the truth" James said softly, pressing his icy lips to the back of her neck.  
She jolted, "What the-? Did Victoria...?"  
"Victoria is alright with it, so, were you being completely honest with me?" he asked.  
His burgundy eyes glowed warmly, and for a moment Nikki forgot why she was betraying him. For all those years she'd seen him and Victoria together, she'd wished it was her...until Logan.  
"No" she whispered.  
"Who were you talking to?" he asked, his voice soft and pleading. He knew all the ways to pull on her heartstrings and hae her talk to him.  
"Dilina Cullen" Nikki said softly.  
"Why? Don't you care for me at all anymore Nikki?" he asked, his burgundy eyes glowing sadly.  
"I do James. More than you know. But we have to let them go. James, if you care at all for me, in any way, friend or sister or otherwise, then you'll let Cullen's mate, and my mate, leave in peace" she said softly.  
"Your mate? Then by all means, he can go...she can too" James said softly.  
"Thank you" Nikki said.  
"I suppose you'll want to go with him" James said.  
"James, I don't want to leave you. Maybe we can make an alliance with them. Have him and I together and you and Victoria won't be caught up in your hairbrained schemes alone" Nikki said.  
James sighed, turning and pulling her into a tight hug, "I really am going to miss you when you're not around. Victoria too."  
She sighed and hugged him back, "James, I've always loved you, in a lot of different ways, and I've always loved Victoria like the sister I've never had. I can't leave either of you too long. I love you guys, more than anything. Logan will always be my mate, and we will always be happy. But I would never be happy without you guys. I'll miss you guys when I'm not here."  
"How about this: whenever you and Logan aren't having a private moment, we'll be there. Family?" he asked.  
"Family" Nikki said, hugging him tightly.  
Edward waited on the widing porch with the others for the nomads.  
"We come in peace" Nikki said, stepping out of the shadowed trees with Logan, her bright red hair filled with leaves and twigs from the forest.  
Bella rushed forward and threw her arms around Edward as Logan wrapped his arm around Nikki's waist, kissing her cheek lightly.  
"We've come to make a truce" James said.  
"You returned her unscathed. I'll make an exeption and say this never happened" Edward said.  
Nikki smiled, the others walking inside, even Logan's friends who thought they'd want a moment alone.  
"Looks like this is it, the end of the adventure. Up for a nice, normal life? Well, as normal as our life could get?" she asked.  
"Sounds good to me" Logan said, kissing her deeply.  
~Fin~  
**Holidays With The Howletts**

Chapter 1- Two More Days  
Tayla jumped on Sal's bed, "Wake up! Wake up! We've got two more days left!"  
Sal groaned sleepily and reached out, patting Tayla's head, "I know. Can you let me sleep in? Please?"  
She sat down on the edge of his bed, "Sure. Can I watch you?"  
He looked up, "I'm going to be sleeping."  
"Okay" she said, sitting near him.  
After a few seconds he was back to his heavy sleep, snoring softly. She giggled and looked at him through the curtain of his mussed hair.  
Shawn pulled on her sleeve, "C'mon, we'll go wake up Mommy and Daddy."  
Gabby took her hand, getting ready to pull her down, when Tayla said, "You guys go ahead, I wanna stay with Sal."  
Shawn shrugged and ran out with Gabby to the other room.  
The door creaked and giggled, jumping on the bed, "WAKE UP! 2 MORE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!"  
Logan pulled them both into a hug, "Yeah, two more days. Are you guys gonna do this every morning until Christmas is over?"  
"Yup" they both said.  
Nikki laughed and ruffled their hair, "Go downstairs, I'll be there in a second. Think of what you want for breakfast."  
Logan smiled, "As much as I was sure we were going to get to sleep in on our vacation, this is nice."  
Nikki smiled back, leaning over and kissing him lovingly, "After Christmas we will. But then poor Sal probably won't."  
"Yeah, poor wolfboy" Logan said sarcasticly.  
"Who he imprinted on aside, he's still my best friend. I'll still feel bad for him. For at least another ten years he's going to have to put up with this" Nikki said.  
The rest of the Howletts had gone downstairs for breakfast, all focused on other things when Lana asked, "Where's Tayla?"  
"She's upstairs watching Sal sleep" Gabby said, "How romantic!"  
Shawn stuck out his tongue, "She probably fell asleep 'cause she got so bored."  
Tayla's wind-chimy giggles filled the air as Sal carried her in on his shoulders and they all turned to look at him.  
"She let me sleep in" he said, as if it were explanation enough.  
He set Tayla down on her chair and pecked her head, walking over to get breakfast.  
Nikki leaned over, "What is going on?"  
"What?" he asked.  
"The fact that my daughter is watching you sleep and...it's all a bit..strange" she said.  
"Well maybe she's growing up Nik, I mean...she has older siblings. She must pick up stuff from them" he said.  
Laura turned to Lana, "Didn't Edward do that in Twilight?"  
"Yeah, why?" Lana whispered back.  
"Aren't you reading that to her?" Laura asked.  
Lana stiffened, a look of shock crossing her face, "But....but...you gotta be kidding me."  
"What?" Josh asked, drawing attention to them.  
"Tayla might've picked it up from Twilight" Lana said softly, "and it's kinda my fault 'cause I took her to see the movie and started reading her the book."  
"Well...I can't blame you with the movie thing. It was great, and don't even get me started on the actors, and anybody who saw the movie will want to read the book anyway so...you're doing her a favor, I guess" Laura said.  
"You know you can get their numbers off the internet right?" Claudine asked.  
"No way. Rob's?" Laura asked.  
"And Cam's" Claudine said.  
"Merry Christmas to us" Laura said, giggling.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Christmas Eve  
"When's Santa gonna get here?" Tayla asked Sal while sitting on his lap the next evening, Christmas specials being the main thing on TV.  
"When you're asleep Tay-tay" Sal said.  
"Why not now? So we can get our presents?" she asked, giving him her most adorible eyes.  
"Because that's not how it works Tay, but you can have a present now since you're so adorible..." he said, pretending to think about it.  
"Please!" she pleaded, hugging him and giving him her most adorible pout.  
He laughed, "Okay. C'mere."  
He picked her up and walked over to her stocking, pulling out a little box, "I figured since Jake does stuff like this, I might as well."  
He took out a charm necklace, the first charm was a carved silver wolf, then a heart on one side and a snowflake on the other, with the year carved into it. He fastened it around her neck, pecking her cheek lightly.  
Tayla turned and pecked Sal's cheek, "Thanks."  
"Aw, someone got caught under the mistletoe already" a familiar voice said.  
"Hey Leah, what're you doing here?" Sal asked, still holding Tayla.  
"Well I figured I could drop in on an old friend as long as we were up north. How's the little imprint doing?" Leah asked.  
"Hi Le-Le!" Tayla shouted, leaning over and hugging her.  
A flash of pain darkened Leah's gaze and she backed away, "Don't call me that okay?"  
Tayla looked confused, "Okay."  
Leah forced a smile, "It's good to see you guys again. I'm gonna go drop in on Nikki before I go. I'll be around."  
She walked out before they could say anything.  
"Hey Nikki" Leah said, leaning on the door to the backyard.  
"Hey Leah, how're you?" Nikki asked.  
"Good" Leah said, the flash of pain returning to her gaze and betraying her words.  
"Wanna talk?" Nikki asked.  
"I never got over it" Leah said softly.  
"Aw Leah, you weren't supposed to. He was your first love, nothing can change that he was the first you loved. Aren't you happy with Andrew?" Nikki asked.  
"That's the problem, I'm so happy I'm forgetting about him! I had to take out a picture just to remember his face! I need to go back to the pack, but I won't abandon Jacob. I still love him Nikki, and I can't kill Emily like this anymore" Leah said, sitting down with an exasperated sigh.  
"Leah, just go spend time with them. I'm not telling you to go corner him under the mistletoe, but just spend some time with them. Kitten's heading over to them for the holidays, and Charlie's going over to Sue's. The lot of us are staying up here with James and Victoria, just tell everyone we miss them and think of them every chance we get" Nikki said.  
Leah sighed, "Okay. Hey, before I forget, watch out for new wolves in your terriory. Push comes to shove, get them off your land, and I mean it. We'll be around if you need us."  
Nikki knew something was up when Leah started using the pack plural, but decided not to push it. As Leah ran off, Nikki hoped for one thing: Things were going to go off smoothly, if just for a day.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Christmas Day  
"Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Vincent yelled as he ran down the hall to the living room and all of the presents.  
Even Josh, who normally would say he was too old for this, ran down the stairs eagerly to find out what he was getting.  
Nikki and Logan followed, smiling at what awaited them. Laura, rarely enthusiastic, was tearing into her gift and thanking everyone that got her something. Daken, like his brothers, was abosluty overjoyed over every gift.  
"This is nice isn't it?" Logan asked, kissing Nikki gently.  
"Yeah, it really is" she said.  
He placed a box in her lap, "Merry Christmas."  
She opened the box, her eyes widening with suprise, "Logan. It's...beautiful."  
She traced the outline of the beautiful pendant with the tip of her finger, sighing at the smooth texture of the silver under her skin.  
"I don't know if silver affects you but..." he said softly.  
"It doesn't affect me, but it does some other wolves" she said, slipping the pendant around her neck.  
The pendant was a silver heart with a ruby center, hilighting the red of her hair falling around it against her snowy skin.  
She held out his present, "I hope you like it."  
He opened it, and saw the twisted metal of a new chain, holding one of his dogtags and one of hers.  
"How'd..?" he began, looking to her, "Thank you."  
She smiled and sighed as he pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply.  
What she'd done was one of the most thoughtful gifts he'd ever gotten, and he was so happy she'd done it.  
"Uhm...dad?" Josh asked.  
Nikki giggled, pulling away. A light blush colored her cheeks.  
"What? Like you haven't done that already" Daken said, pulling Claudine into a kiss for emphasis.  
"Yeah, playboy Josh has done it before...right?" Vincent asked.  
"Man, back when public school was the thing, it was every girl in my chem class, and every girl in first period" Josh said, winking.  
Logan looked over to Nikki, "Did he?"  
"I don't know, and I don't want to find out" she said softly.  
The day passed peacefully, and Logan had put the kids to bed for a change, Tayla refusing to part with her gift from Sal ever since she got it.  
Logan went behind Nikki, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck softly, "Come with me."  
She sighed contentedly and walked with him, smiling as he took her under the mistletoe for a kiss.  
Howls broke through the dense night air and Logan stiffened, those howls seemed...familiar.  
"Logan?" she asked, brushing her fingertips against his cheek.  
He caught her hand, pressing a soft kiss to her wrist, "They just sounded familiar is all. Probably the pack."  
Nikki listened closely, "They're not the pack. Not remotely."  
She walked outside, listening to the wolves getting closer.  
James and Victoria broke through the trees, "Laurent's with the kids. What's happening?" Victoria said, walking up to them.  
"A new pack is on my territory" Nikki said.  
"Can we help?" James asked. Victoria stayed by his side.  
"If you want" Nikki said.  
They turned to the forest and watched as moon-yellowed eyes stared back at them.  
"Well what do you know" Victoria said softly, "Midnight. Nice way to end Christmas, preparing for battle."  
A female came from the trees in her wolf form, and Logan recognized her, a low growl coming from his chest as he pulled Nikki back against him, his arms locking around her protectivly.  
"Logan, you know them?" James asked.  
"Yeah, I used to" Logan said softly.  
The female growled, and taking a step back, she lunged.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Territory  
In the second the female lunged, Nikki slipped out of Logan's arms and phased, keeping the female from getting too close to them.  
The anxious amber eyes of the wolves behind her narrowed as they growled, staring at Logan, James and Victoria. The Alpha raced forward and James hissed, striking him aside.  
Victoria went to fight the Alpha alongside James and Logan pulled the women apart, "Wait, before you two start trying to kill the other just listen!"  
Nikki phased back, staying close to Logan as the other female bared her teeth and growled, not changing back.  
"Turn back" Logan said softly, "I want to talk to you both like people, not dogs."  
The Alpha growled.  
"Get over it Malik" Logan said.  
James and Victoria backed away, low feral growls still coming from James.  
The female phased back and stood, "Yes Logan?"  
Nikki growled, pressing herself closer to her mate in a show of territory.  
The other female growled, "Who is she?"  
"Nikki's my wife" Logan said.  
The female growled, "Your mate?"  
"Yes, my mate" Logan said.  
"Impossible" she said.  
"Logan, who the hell is she?" Nikki asked.  
Logan wrapped his arm around her waist, "Relax. You're mine, I'm yours, she can see that."  
Nikki relaxed a bit, resting her head on his shoulder, "Why are you in our territory?"  
"Your territory? I'm only here to take my mate back into our pack" the female said.  
"Then go find him and get off our land" Nikki said.  
"I'm looking at him" the female said.  
Nikki growled, "Not a chance furball, you're not getting close to my husband."  
The female sauntered forward and Nikki growled, letting it change into a low hiss.  
The female backed away, "You're-? Impossible! Physically impossible!"  
"Oh, it's real possible chica, just stand still and I'll show you" Nikki growled.  
Logan put his arm around her, easing her out of her defensive crouch.  
"How?" the female asked.  
"I love her" Logan said, holding Nikki close.  
"Why? She's not even...Logan, why?" the female asked.  
"I just do" Logan said, "She's beautiful and strong...she's sweet and good and...perfect."  
"That's because her kind is meant to appear that way!" the female said, "It's only an illusion!"  
"No, it's not. She's shown me that" Logan said.  
"Has she...bitten you?" the female asked.  
"I'll give you one guess, we're together for eternity, and you know what? That's not, in the slightest, a bad thing" he said.  
The female gasped, "Why? You've become one of them? How could you?!"  
"Because I love her, and my healing factor may not last forever. I'm going to keep her with me as long as I possibly can, through any means necessary" he said.  
The female snarled, backing away, "Fine then. But keep in mind, you haven't seen the last of us. You or the bloodsuckers."  
"If you're talking about them, I hope you're including me" Logan said, smiling.  
The female growled at Nikki and she waved, laughing her beautiful wind-chime like laugh.  
"Was that too much?" she asked.  
Logan chuckled, "No, they needed their egos knocked down a notch. Thanks darlin'."  
He kissed her tenderly and from afar the wolves watched, disgust being the main emotion exept for one, who only swore revenge.  
The End

**Dark Reign: The Volturi**

Chapter 1- Grave Danger  
Nikki walked over to James and Victoria's place, it seemed too quiet.  
"What's going on?" she asked, easing the door shut.  
Victoria was folded over the small, sleeping forms of Viviana and Alex with James holding them all tightly.  
"What's wrong?" she asked, going over to them.  
"We're all going to die" Victoria said softly, her burgundy eyes dark.  
"The Volturi never came before, but...they found out, and Caius is against us. He believes they're immortal children" James said.  
Nikki sat at their side, "We can do what the Cullens did, we can get witnesses to watch them grow. To listen to their heartbeats, see them live. They can't deny the truth, they never could."  
Victoria looked up, "They won't wait for the truth. They'll strike first and ask questions later."  
"Maybe not, if we can keep them at bay long enough, we can convince them otherwise. Even if we can't, we only have to take out a few for them to be at too great a loss to continue" Nikki said.  
"Who?" James asked, a flicker of hope in his eyes.  
"We take Renata, Jane and Alec, Felix, Chelsea, and most importantly, Demitri" Nikki said.  
"How're we going to manage that?" he asked.  
Victoria looked up, holding Viviana and Alex to her chest as they slept.  
"Here's what we're going to do. We need witnesses, or soldiers, we can get the Denalis, they'll fight alongside Laurent. We can try to get as many others as we possibly can, the Cullens too. They can get their witnesses together. This time, Allistar will stay, even if it comes to a fight" Nikki said.  
"Are you sure? Can we really win this?" James asked.  
"Of course, all we need is teams focused on the key targets and we're gonna kick their royal $$es" Nikki said.  
"Alright, humor me, how are we going to get that many people?" Victoria asked.  
"We're going to get the Cullens with us and they're going to get the others to help us" Nikki said.  
"You sure?" James asked.  
"Trust me" Nikki said.  
Daken looked over to the others, "I say we go."  
"Why? Won't be just be condemning ourselves with them?" Josh asked.  
"Okay, that was just morbid. We're not going to die, we're going to win. They're not exactly the brightest and if we get the Romanians on our side, we'll at least know we'll have some uncorrupted government after this" Daken said.  
Logan looked to all of them, "Not all of you are fighting. Some of you are staying behind at the house. Not here either, we're going to Denali. They can track us, so they might as well."  
Laura stood, "As long as they need us, I'm in."  
Murmurs of agreement filled the room and Nikki smiled, this was going to rock.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Witnesses  
The many covens and nomads gathered in Denali with the Howletts and the Alberta coven (as they were now known).  
Carlisle looked around the room as Kate and Garrett walked over, "You want to tell them the stakes now Carlisle?"  
Kate knew the stakes very well, the last time the Volturi had accused an immortal child had been two years ago with Renesmee, and she'd lost her sister, Irina, to that. Laurent had never forgiven the Cullens fully for loosing his mate, although Renesmee had sucessfully stolen everyone's heart, just as Viviana and Alex had done the moment they saw them.  
Carlisle stood up on the chair and cleared his throat, drawing attention.  
"The Volturi know we will stand with them. They know we will prove them wrong just as we did before with Nessie. Now they believe they are in more danger because there are two of them."  
Viviana seemed to know what was going on and tugged at Carlisle's jacket, "Can I say something?"  
Her mind was just as advanced as Renesmee's had been that day and Carlisle nodded, lifting Viviana.  
"I don't want any of you in danger. I know none of you knew me before you got here and if you don't want to put yourself at risk, feel free to leave. You've all done so much for us already. I just want you all to know, since Carlisle's telling you the risks, know you don't have to stay if you think them too much" Viviana said softly, her beautiful bell-like voice coming through the room.  
Everyone was silent as she spoke, they all sat in astonishment at her beautiful voice.  
"We'll do what we can little one, from the patriot to the little flag" Garrett said, pecking Viviana on her soft, strawberry blond waves.  
She smiled, showing her little, pearly white teeth, "Thank you Garrett."  
"You've all seen how amazing they are, and any coward willing to walk out on as beautiful children as this, go ahead. If you do, the Volturi won't be the reason you'll be hiding under a rock for the next ten years, I'll see that you do personally" Garrett shouted.  
Amun, who hadn't been thrilled at all to learning there had been more of the children, didn't leave after Garrett's speech.  
Alistair looked around frightfully, his brooding nature aside, "Patriot, what if we die? Have you considered that?"  
"Yes, to everyone, if you die, take a few of them with you!" Garrett said.  
Cheers erupted as if they were rioting, patriots they were.  
Nikki went across the room to her old friend and embraced Garrett, "Nice speech patriot."  
"Not so bad getting so many people here yourself angel" he said.  
Logan heard Garrett speak and glared at him, protective of his woman.  
"Want to call off the hounds angel? I can fight vampires but I'm not sure I can handle crossbreeds" Garrett said.  
Nikki looked back to Logan, smiling, "Relax, Garrett's an old friend. He's mated."  
"He can hear you?" Garrett asked.  
"We're very in-tuned to each other. It's nice, having someone know what you're thinking when everyone else think's your strange" Nikki said.  
"Oh angel, you've always been strange, maybe you just run on the same wavelength" Garrett said.  
Nikki, doing the most immature thing she'd ever done, stuck her tongue out at him.  
He laughed and mussed her hair, earning a smack and soon they were going outside to practice for the Volturi with Emmett and Jacob.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Sparring Match  
"Ready to give up angel?" Garrett asked, pinning Nikki to the ground.  
"Not quite patriot" Nikki said, grinning and flipping him over, leaning over him with her pendant hanging over her heart.  
"Nice rock, where'd you get it?" Garrett asked, momentarliy distracted.  
"Logan got it for me" Nikki said.  
"You think he'd know where I can get one for Kate?" Garrett asked.  
"Go ask him yourself" Nikki said, laughing.  
Edward watched Garrett walk past and walked down the stairs to the snow-covered backyard, "Since Garrett seems to preoccupied right now, I'll take a shot."  
"Bring it on little brother" Nikki said, smiling sweetly before lunging at him with the prowess of a jungle cat.  
Edward moved to the side, Nikki changing direction and tackling him to the ground.  
Edward grunted and tried to get her off, but with a swiftness he didn't have she had him pinned against an evergreen all the way across the field-like backyard.  
"Done yet?" Nikki asked.  
Dilina tapped her foot as Edward walked past, "Can I try?"  
"Dilina, you know I won't hurt you" Nikki said.  
"Then this should be easy!" the eleven-year old said and flung herself at Nikki.  
Nikki caught her, restraining her little arms to her sides and Dilina strugged.  
After a moment, Dilina gave up, a huff escaping her lips and blew back a strand of jet black hair hanging over her eyes.  
Nikki laughed, "That's why you should stay here with them."  
Logan stepped off the steps into the snow, watching Nikki take control of Dilina's mood by tickling her.  
Dilina ran off, giggling and running to Edward.  
"You have a way with kids darlin" Logan said, smiling.  
She smiled, "She's my little sister. She doesn't act like a kid at times."  
Logan smiled, "I'll fight you."  
"I'll go easy on you baby" Nikki said, smiling.  
He lunged at her and she dodged, they countered each other perfectly. They were each other's match.  
He tackled her playfully to the snowy ground, "I win."  
She laughed breathlessly, rolling her eyes, "If I hadn't fought those three idiots before I would've won."  
"Sure darlin, sure" he said, chuckling.  
She started to get up, met by him pinning her down and kissing her lovingly.  
He smiled, barely drawing away. He pressed his lips to hers again a few times and lingered.  
She smiled, looking up into his eyes, "What was that for?"  
"Just wanted to. You know, everyone's scared. They all think they're going to die" he said softly.  
"I don't think so. Garrett's right, it's not them that need to worry. The Volturi are the only ones that need to worry about us, we're going to take their ranks down a notch" Nikki said, smiling.  
"You're sure?" Logan asked.  
"Yeah, they'll get their $$es kicked before we get ours" Nikki said.  
Logan pulled her up and pressed his lips to hers gently, "I hope so."  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Unjust  
The witnesses gathered at the snowy moutian base not long before Alice foresaw the Volturi arriving. Nikki was going to fight with everyone else and Bella would sheild them.  
"Remember, all we have to do is take out the speacial ones, then the Volturi are powerless" James said, looking into the shadowed forest. Victoria shifted Alex on her back and held Viviana in her arms, she wouldn't fight, but stay back where the pack would be protecting her.  
"I don't want you to do this" she said softly, taking James's hand in her own.  
"We'll be fine. I promise" he said softly, kissing her gently.  
"I have a bad feeling about this, what if it's like last time...?" she said, tears pooling in her eyes.  
"Vicky, don't worry. I'll be okay. I'll keep you safe" he said softly.  
She set down Alex and Viviana so they could go over to the pack, "I want to be with you. I can't stand not knowing what's happening to you."  
He looked into her burgundy eyes, "I promise you I will make it out of this. Our family will stay together."  
"How can you know?" she whimpered.  
"I just do. The moment I met you I knew I was going to have a real life with you, a future worth living, and I have that. I'd be a fool not to fight for it" he said, pressing his lips to hers gently, but with a passion behind it. He gently stroked her lips as they parted, "I'll be back."  
"I'll be waiting" she said softly, just like before.  
Nikki patted James's shoulder as she stood by him, ready to deend him in a moment's notice. She was dying to be by Logan's side across the field.  
"Ready?" James asked.  
"As we'll ever be" Nikki said, smiling reassuringly.  
They gasped as the line of black cloaks walked forward, covering the white of the snow on the trees.  
"Hello James, Victoria" Aro said in his breathy voice.  
"Aro" James said.  
Aro looked back to his guard and Jane focused, trying to find a hole in Bella's sheild.  
"Ready?" Garrett whispered.  
James nodded, "Go."  
Nikki's claws came down with their characteristic 'snikt' as she lunged at Alec and Jane, Garrett going for Chelsea and her mate and James going for Renata. They would all team up on Felix. Edward lunged forward and took Demitri, Dilina right behind him.  
The ensuing fight was one neither vampire side would forget, the Voltrui had lost too many in ranks when Nikki had a suddeny brilliant plan.  
"Edward! Can you distract Aro long enough for me to tell Marcus the truth?!" she called over.  
Edward nodded and Nikki raced to the only Volturi member not fighting.  
"Marcus, listen for a moment, please" she said, and began to explain the whole story of how Aro, unhappy with his sister's gift, killed her in cold blood to create a stronger Volturi. Aro's sister had been Marcus's mate, and Marcus was furious.  
Leaving Nikki to stop explaining, the elder Volturi stormed into the fight, picking up a jagged blade and with every ounce of strength in his body, ambushed Aro and with a swift cut, Aro's head fell from his body.  
The fighting stopped, and only a low chuckle peirced the now eerie silence.  
TBC  
Chapter 6- Peace  
Marcus laughed louder, letting the sword slip from his fingers as he dropped to his knees.  
"Marcus?" Carlisle asked.  
Marcus looked up, his hair falling oer his face and a smile streatching his lips, "Dear Carlisle, don't worry. I'm as sane as I've ever been."  
"Thank you" James said.  
"No problem" Marcus said, standing and composing himself.  
Stefan and Vladimir laughed uproarusly, "Good show Marcus! Good show! I never though you one to betray your brothers like so, but you did!"  
James walked over to Victoria, pulling her to her feet and into his arms. He kissed her tenderly, his tongue lightly tracing her lips. She melted against him, her arms slipping around his neck to pull herself closer to him.  
Cheers erupted, not just from the kiss, but from the relization setting in: They won. The Volturi was dead. It was over.  
James's kiss became more feirce and passionet as the cheers grew to their loudest.  
The cheering died down, replaced with other mates kissing, but those unmated were still cheering.  
James drew back, holding her face in his hand, "I kept my promise."  
Nikki and Logan were having a moment much like James and Victoria's, only, a bit more passionet.  
Emmett whistled, breaking away from Rosalie, "Finally someone's scoring around here."  
Nikki's middle claw came out and Emmett's booming laugh echoed through the space.  
Logan barely drew away, just far enough to press her tightly to him again, holding her tightly against him as they kissed.  
"How long are they going on?" Dilina asked, "Emmett?"  
Emmett had returned to kissing Rosalie and Dilina sighed, sitting on a rock.  
Renesmee ran across the clearing to Jacob and flung herself into his arms, kissing him on the lips for a moment.  
James kissed Victoria again gently, his lips on hers for the slightest of moments as he drew back, holding her face in his hands.  
"Wow. That was...dazzling" Victoria said.  
"That was pretty damn awsome" James admitted, blushing slightly.  
Emmett cheered, jumping up and down with sudden pep, "WOO-HOO! Wa-mu!"  
Nikki started giggling, "Emmett, you've lost what brain you had."  
"Well thank you" Emmett said, "but I just got a kiss from the sexiest woman alive!" He picked up Rosalie and spun her.  
"I'll argue with that" Logan said, looking to Nikki.  
"So will I" James said, holding Victoria.  
Viviana and Alex were clinging to the wolves' fur, happy with their new playmates.  
For now, everything was how it should be, no Volturi to worry about.  
The End  
**One Year Of Forever (OS)**

It had been a while since the couple had gone out for a night, especially with everything that had gone on with the Volturi after Christmas.  
Logan smiled at her, twisting a lock of her hair around his finger absentmindedly.  
"Something on your mind?" she asked, intertwining her fingers through his.  
"Not really. I just can't stop thinking how beautiful you look" he said.  
A familiar blush rose in her cheeks, making him smile. "Thanks" she murmured sheepishly.  
He chuckled, much to her surprise. "What?" she asked.  
"Nothing, you're just very soft spoken today" he said, stroking her cheek.  
She looked up, meeting his gaze, "It's sad, you know? All these good times gone, another year passing. It seems like just yesterday it was turning 2008 and now...the year's gone."  
"Why? There's plenty to look forward to still" he said.  
"Yeah, of course there is, but...I dunno, I guess I'm just being morbid" she said.  
"No, go ahead. Tell me" he urged.  
"Once you've seen so much time pass...it just feels so depressing. Like your another year closer to immortality being up. You know, they say the world is going to end in 2012. I don't believe it, they said the same thing for 2000" she said, "It just feels so pointless. It doesn't matter anymore, I mean we'll be long gone before the planet ends anyway."  
"What's wrong?" he asked.  
"I'm just...depressed I guess" she said softly.  
"Why? What's there to be unhappy about?" he asked.  
"I just don't want this to end. It's the end of a new, great chapter in my life. Every year is a new one and although it's a long book, although there are the good and the bad, it's the good that always has to end. I just...don't want it to" she said.  
He took her face in his hands, "It won't. It'll get better. You said it yourself, it's been a great year. Better than last year. Maybe next year will be better than this."  
She sighed, smiling again, "I was asking what's on your mind and we get into this. I'm not one for a life philosophy but it's just....it's something that's been bugging me. How the hell did I go from the shallow twenty year old embracing immportality and all of its perks to a one-hundred-twelve year old who is waiting on new changes in the world and being nostalgic about the past. I'm turning into my mother for cryin' out loud!"  
Logan laughed, "Not really. I can find some simalarites between you then and now."  
"Like what?" she asked.  
"Like you're still beautiful. You still have a sense of humor that leaves Wade speechless at times. You're still kind and caring and basicly love everyone whose heart you touch. I'll admit, we've both had very deep moments and...well who doesn't feel old having one of those, but neither of us look like it. What I wouldn't give to have a human understand this just once" he said, continuing, "and if I'd known you then until now, my life would still be better with you. I have since the moment I met you, and always will, love you. Do you even know what tonight marks?"  
She smiled, "Eight years I've been in love with you."  
"Eight years for both of us. It's the best eight years of my life" he said.  
"and the best of mine" she added, smiling.  
The countdown began, people eagerly awaiting the new  
year.  
"Ten...Nine...Eight...Seven...Six...Five...Four...Three...Two...One...HAPPY NEW YEAR!"  
As other couples kissed, so did they. Other couples didn't know what it was like to have eternity to live, to love and learn together. To laugh and cry together. To BE together. But they did, and despite that, still they kissed with a love and a passion no human could comprehend. They were together, soulmates, forever.  
The End  
**Boredom and Guy Talk (OS, NPOV)**

With the guys away there wasn't much to do. Withing the first hour Vicky and I were bored to the point where we had one thing left to resort to: A Cam Gigandet movie marathon.  
It was no surprise which one Vicky wanted to start out with, but Twilight was one of my favorites by far. As our favorite part approached, the fangirl moments started. Suddenly, we were disscussing Rob's hair, the rumors about the New Moon sequel and, as our favorite part happened, the boat scene, we had a true fangirl moment.  
As the scene changed Victoria sighed, "Why can't any of the other guys look as great as Cam?"  
"Because they're not as hot" I replied, laughing.  
"But Kellan Lutz isn't that bad" she said.  
"Yeah, you only thought that after 'Stick It'" I said.  
"But even with makeup on he looks hot!" she said, giggling.  
I couldn't help but laugh with her, it was true.  
"Why are we discussing guys when we have the perfect men?" I asked.  
"Because, even though we can't buy, we can still window shop, if you know what I'm saying" Vicky said, nudging me.  
I sighed, laughing, "How did I know you were going to start talking about shopping?"  
"We can go shopping too, Hot Topic has some new stuff..." she began.  
"Yeah, of course you'd want to get the t-shirt with Cam as your perfect man" I said, laughing.  
She blushed, "That's beside the point."  
"Yeah, sure it is" I said, rolling my eyes.  
"It is! I didn't marry Cam. Even though I want to..." she said, looking back to the TV screen.  
I gasped dramaticly, "And I thought James was hotter!"  
Vicky giggled, "He is, but Cam isn't something to brush off."  
"and you're saying Rob is?" I asked.  
"Well Rob's pretty much the hottest british guy I have ever seen, but Cam takes the cake in the ways of Americans" Vicky said.  
"Hey, Kellan's not bad for a farm boy. If they made those out on the farm I wouldn't mind living in nowhere" I said.  
Vicky looked over to me, "Neither would I, did you see that photoshoot for 'M'?"  
I laughed, "You can be so random."  
"So can you, you're going along with this too ya know" she said.  
I rolled my eyes, "Sure, sure."  
We returned our attention to the screen and then, as the movie ended, we changed to our second favorite, 'Never Back Down'. It was one of Vicky's favorites because, well, in that one Cam rips off his shirt. It wasn't long before I realized, aside from just fangirl love, it was a pretty good movie.  
"When do you think they'll be back?" she asked.  
"Eh, not much longer now. They'll end up doing something stupid to psuh their limits and end up walking back, arguing with each other" I said.  
"Just like last time" Vicky said, laughing.  
One thing we could count on, no matter how many times they walked in arguing over something, we'd always be as close to sisters as possible.  
"I'm telling you I cought the bigger one!" James said, walking in.  
If I wasn't Alice's stepsister, I'd swear I was psychic.  
The End

**Zenith: The Return**

Part 1

Connor was tired. The long journey back to...where ever it was area 52 was located and back to Canada after a while of being back.  
He was surprised to see someone other than Nikki open the door, "Is Nikki there?"  
"Yeah. You're Connor right?" Josh asked.  
"Yeah" Connor said, "Why? Something up?"  
"No, Aunt Alice just saw you coming not that long ago. She told us you were on your way, and told mom something about what you were going to ask her. I didn't hear but if you're going to go hit on our mom, our dad is gonna kick your $$" Josh said, looking back at the others waiting around.  
Connor shook his head and stood in the doorway akwardly.  
"Mom? Connor's here!" Josh called up the stairs.  
Nikki walked down, smiling to him, "Thanks Josh. Give me a minute?"  
Josh nodded and let her past, she shut the door behind her.  
Blushing slightly, she brushed a lock of her crimson hair behind her ear, "Alice called. I'm not re-joining the team Connor."  
"Nikki, come on. I've been waiting for years to see you again. Just a while. Please?" he asked, his hand going up to hold her face.  
"No. Connor, it's not going to happen. I have too much to do on my own" she said.  
Josh knocked on the window, pointing to the path.  
Nikki turned, looking down the path and smiling, waving over to James and Victoria.  
"Who's he?" James asked, walking up beside her.  
"I'm Connor Sparrow. Nikki's...old friend" Connor said, holding out his hand.  
Neither James or Victoria extended a hand twoard him, and he put his hand down akwardly.  
"Um...well it looks like I won't be seeing you then" Connor said, "I'm sorry."  
"We might team up again" Nikki said.  
"Yeah, sure" Connor said, waving slightly and walked off.  
"What the hell was that?" Nikki growled at James.  
"What?" James asked, a bit shocked. She'd never been angry at him before.  
"You damn well know what. 'Who's he?' Ay Caray! Was this any of your business?" Nikki asked.  
"Sorry" James said softly.  
"It's not his fault and what do you care anyway?" Victoria asked.  
"Sorry Vic, James" Nikki said, "I just...I dunno."  
Victoria looked after him, "You really used to like him huh?"  
"Eh, a little" Nikki admitted, "But I've got someone better now. C'mon, let's go."  
Connor looked back, seeing the protective stance James took with the women and sighed. If only he were a vampire...  
TBC  
Part 2

"She's not coming back?" Jack asked his younger brother.  
"I'm not going to make her. It's her choice, you know? The thing I'm still old enough to make" Connor said.  
"You want to leave?" Jack asked.  
"Yeah. Let's face it Jacky, I don't have anything much to stick around for" Connor said.  
"Why does this matter so much to you?" Jack asked.  
"Because!" Connor said, "It's none of your business."  
Jack stopped outside his brother's door as it slammed shut in his face.  
Connor had snuck out, it was no big deal to stay with Zenith. He might as well go put his skills to good use somewhere else. He knocked at the door to the X-Mansion in San Fransisco.  
"Hello?" Pixie asked.  
"Hey, I'm Connor. Do you guys have room for one more?" Connor asked.  
Pixie stammered and blushed, "Sure."  
"Connor?" Nikki asked.  
"Hey" Connor said, flashing her an award-winning smile.  
Pixie turned around, a soft 'wow' escaping her while she fanned her face.  
Nikki giggled, "Making the ladies swoon again Connor?"  
"Well I can't help it if you've always been weak in the knees for me" Connor said.  
Nikki sighed, shaking her head and rolled her eyes, "Not gonna happen Connor."  
"Yeah, sure" Connor said.  
"I'm married. Learn the meaning of the word why don't you?" she said.  
Pixie walked with them, not straying too far from their new guest.  
Nikki and Connor were bantering like old friends, Pixie sighing every few steps behind them. To her Connor was the best of the best.  
"You have a little cult following already" Nikki snickered, looking back as they approached the door.  
Several girls from all over the mansion were walking after them, Pixie at the front staring after Connor.  
"Does this happen a lot?" he asked.  
"No, only when there's someone new here. I had a procession myself just..." Nikki broke off, laughing.  
"What?" Connor asked.  
"It's like they're following Jesse McCartney" Nikki said, laughing.  
Pixie walked up to Connor at the door, "I like Jesse McCartney."  
"O-kay?" Connor said, confused.  
Nikki walked in laughing, Connor was, probably, the most clueless person she'd ever met.  
The End

**Old Man Logan**

Chapter 1- A Never Ending Nightmare  
"Logan you can't just go!" Nikki cried, tears streaming down her face.  
"I can't stay here" he said, "I killed all of them Nikki!"  
"I don't care!" she cried, "Logan, please, stay. It doesn't matter, you didn't know!"  
He stopped, pulling her into his arms in a final, passionate kiss, "I can't. I will always love you."  
"Just wait. We can come with you" she said.  
"I can't let you" he said softly.  
"You don't...want me?" she asked.  
He could almost hear her heart breaking, but he couldn't let her be with him after this, "No."  
She dropped to her knees as he walked away, curling inwardly as what felt like a gaping hole ripped itself in her heart.  
That was 50 years ago. Another ten years after that and she'd taken her family up to Denali, Alaska and left them with Tanya and the other Denalis. She loved her family, and let them know that frequently, even though she hadn't seen them in person in 40 years. Only a small part of her family stayed with her through her never ending nightmare, trying to ease the suffering.  
She was at the tavern, as usual. Her old favorite was on, 'Realize' by Megan McCauly. She liked being alone now, but Victoria never let her be. Not after the last time she tried stopping the hold in her heart from throbbing. By jumping off a bridge in Washington, that was.  
"Nikki, come on, it's getting late. We should go" Victoria said softly.  
Nikki rose like a zombie, as graceful as she always had been, and walked into the warm Calafornia night.  
A rowdy bunch of teenagers, from looks of it friends of the Banner bunch, were striding down the street. Victoria pulled on Nikki's arm, trying to get her to go the other way, but there was a familiar scent on one of them, one that tore her heart in shreads as her eyes turned black like the night sky.  
She lept, a massacre ensuing until she had the final boy, the one with his scent pinned against the alley wall.  
"Where is Logan?" she growled, her eyes now a violent burgundy.  
"I'll show you, just d-don't kill me" he stammered.  
"Tell me" she said, her voice softer now. More like a killer.  
The boy took out a written adress and gave it to her. She read it over for a moment before slipping it in the pocket of her leather jacket.  
"Victoria?" she called, "You thirsty?"  
The night air was thick and cloying as they made their way to the house. It was nothing like theirs used to be. The family small, and Nikki wondered for a moment if this was her compitition. They all had his scent on them, and she could tell, this was what he'd created after he turned his back on them.  
"Nikki? What are we doing here?" Victoria asked.  
Nikki walked down the dry plain to the house, Victoria taking her arm halfway, "Nikki what are you doing?"  
"Tracking" Nikki said.  
Victoria sighed, she sounded so different than how she used to. There was life in her voice again, but it was dark. At that point, Victoria was just happy to see that Nikki was coming back.  
"Fine, I'll go find James, we'll meet you back here" she said, relief flooding her.  
Nikki nodded and smiled slightly, a wicked shine in her eyes as she strode up to the door and broke it open. She hadn't felt like this in the longest time. Over 50 years. The sweet, sweet feeling of revenge. It was a bit ironic that she'd be sitting at the window, watching the rain that had started falling as soon as she'd finished, with a wine glass of blood in her hand. She'd considered leaving him a message, but he'd know exactly who had done this anyway. The blood on her lips left a print on the glass. He would know who to find.  
The thought of seeing him after all this time sent an electric shock through her veins, a wicked smile playing her lips. This would be fun.  
James and Victoria's scents came through the cloying scent of soil and the light scent of rain and she smiled, maybe they'd go have some fun elsewhere now. It wouldn't be long anyway.  
"Nikki" James said with a surge of relief, "Are you alright?"  
She smiled wickedly, "Never better."  
"Where should we go next?" Victoria asked.  
Nikki sniffed the air, the lingering scent was still there, "I think we could use a tracking excursion."  
With the faint scent to guide them, they set off, two for sport, one for revenge.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Blood and Mirrors  
The trio waited as the scent got closer and closer, obviously he was returning.  
"Should we go now?" James asked.  
"No, let's wait until he finds my message. I have a bit of a trap to spring" Nikki said.  
James chuckled, "Did you mind if we went off for a bit?"  
"Be back for dinner" Nikki said, a twisted grin toying with her lips.  
Victoria sighed and hugged Nikki tightly, "Be careful."  
"As always" she replied, mussing her long-time best friend's firey curls.  
James and Victoria gave her the space she needed, never prying unless it was absolutely necessary. Through everything she'd been through, aside from her prey they were the only contact she'd had in 40 years. They were the only family she'd kept through the whole ordeal, letting the rest of her family know some details of her life through letters, never letting them respond back. She didn't know if she could take that amount of pain being around them. Or if they could take the pain of her suffering either.  
Another scent filled the air, one that made her grimance, but a part of the old Nikki smiled, Hawkeye was with him.  
"Thanks for the help Barton, I owe ya one" Logan said.  
His voice started to tear open the gaping hole in her heart, but at the same time heal it. She shook it off, he couldn't be taking away the pain that drove her to extreme lengths before. She heard him talking softly to Hawkeye, and breifly considered speeding up the reunion, but as she heard him laugh and pat the side of the door to the old Spidy-mobile as the engine started, she figured a few more moments would help her reign in her emotions.  
She didn't have to wait long. She could hear the rage coming back, and knew she was in for a good brawl.  
She came out of the underbrush, striding across the land to stand in the open doorway, "Missed me lover?"  
He turned to her and growled, but it was soft. She was surprised at how much he'd aged. Probably from not using his power so long.  
"Why?" he growled through clenched teeth.  
"Because, after so long, you're still making my life a living hell. So I thought I'd return the favor" she said, her voice taking a new, icy edge.  
He stood, he wanted to fight her, but couldn't.  
"Just going to stand there all day?" she purred, "The woman tamed you Logan."  
"I stopped being Wolverine a long time ago. I still have more goodness in me than to hit a woman, no matter how much she deserves it at this point" he said, calming himself.  
She lashed out, her claws coming out faster than they ever had as she lunged at him.  
His healing factor let him take each of her blow until she finally stopped, tears gathering in her eyes, "You can't be serious! You left me! You killed me, and you think I deserve it?!"  
"I'm sorry" he murmured.  
"You killed me Logan, you ripped out my heart and tore it to pieces. I will never forgive you for making the past 50 years of my life a living hell!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face.  
He felt so many emotions, all directed at her, sorrow, rage, pity, confusion, but most of all, the one that had never stopped being there, regret.  
"I'm sorry" he murmured again. As if it were just yesterday, he reached out and pulled her into his arms. She pushed on his chest for a moment before her sobbing became too much and she willingly collapsed against him.  
"I never stopped loving you" she said softly.  
"I know. Neither did I" he said.  
"Then why? Why all this? Why did you give up everything to be...this? Human?" she asked.  
"I thought you would re-think things after I'd left. I thought if I'd stayed you would've wanted me to leave for killing our friends" he said.  
She laughed ruefuly, "There's no way I would've done that."  
"How're the kids?" he asked.  
"I don't know, I haven't seen or spoke to them in 40 years. I didn't want them to know how much pain I'm in. I didn't want them to see me suffer like they did for ten years" she said.  
"You're still in pain?" he asked.  
"I was a zombie until I crossed your scent yesterday. James and Victoria came with me, but they had to go off. They know I can't stand being around them when they act like mates" she said.  
He gently took her face in his hand, like he'd done so long ago, "I should probably be killing you right now. I should be angry and mourning, but I find it impossible to feel anything like that with you."  
"You loved me" she said sadly.  
"Love" he said softly.  
Her eyes went to his, searching for a lie, "You won't love what I've become."  
"It's because of me. You could've become part of the flamin' Volturi for all I know, but I wouldn't care. Not after this. I don't want to loose you again" he said softly.  
"I'm a tracker" she said, "I kill people."  
"and I'm Logan, a mutant. James and Victoria are vampires, they can join in the party too" he said, chuckling.  
"You don't want to be Wolverine do you?" she asked.  
"It's not that I don't, it's that...I wanted to have a life for a while. One that didn't involve killing those who needed to be killed or fighting bad guys. I just wanted...a vacation, I guess" he said.  
"Well damn" Nikki said cynicly, "You leave me over a vacation? I'd love to see what you do for a new car."  
He couldn't help but laugh, "I know you'll probably regret this, but I've been waiting for 50 years to do this again."  
As gentle as possible, he kissed her, surprised when she melted to him just the way she used to.  
"50 years is too long to wait for that, why the hell didn't you come and find me?" she asked.  
"I was afraid you wouldn't take me back" he said.  
"Oh well if that's all" she said, "Then I have 50 years to catch up on."  
With that, she pressed her lips back to his.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Reunion  
She was supposed to hate him. After all those years of absolute torture he could still win her over with a gaze. The irony of it all, it was so wrong but still so completely right.  
He couldn't help the smile that came across him just being with her. She was perfect for him, he'd always known that. Just being with her, sitting together and talking, telling her everything, every detail of the past 50 years made him continue to regret ever leaving her.  
"That's everything" he said softly, "So what about you?"  
"Well, after you left...wasn't a good time for me" she began. "I kept them at the mansion for ten years, until Kate and Garrett got the news and came down to see how I was holding up. Word travels slowly up north you know. When they came I was still in a state, I begged them to take the kids and give them everything they needed. What I couldn't do. They had to agree to keep everyone together, even our old werewolf buddy Sal."  
"Why didn't you just go with someone else?" Logan asked.  
"I didn't want to. That and Victoria would never let me steal her mate" Nikki added jokingly, "Then I went off on my own for...well not long. Eventually, James and Victoria joined up with me. Apparently our mutual family in Denali thought I needed babysitters and they volunterred. At least the family stayed together though. Then all of the Cullens came up from Chicago not long after that, further increasing Denali's population. James, Vicky and I have been on our own for a while. After the first 15 years it started dulling and I just went numb. I don't remeber much but having to hunt when I needed to and just...living like I was dead. Then, I caught how that kid smelled like you and I just...came back with a vengance I guess. James and Vicky still think I'm trapping you. If only they knew, which I will tell them...eventually."  
"Eventually?" he asked.  
"After I know you're not going to up and move when I go" she said, "Save me a little time tracking you lover."  
He laughed, "I'm not going anywhere. You can invite them here if you don't want to leave. I don't mind, I want to thank them for this anyway."  
"You want to thank them for what? I wasn't exactly...for lack of a better word, 'human', anymore" she said.  
"But you came after me. You kept your skills sharp and was able to find me out of everyone in California. I've gotta admit, I'm impressed" he said, his fingers gently winding in her hair.  
"So, did I ever tell you why I didn't mind having them around?" she asked.  
"Let me guess, it has something to do with when James tracks shirtless" he joked.  
Nikki laughed, "Partly. He and Vicky are the only contact I've had in 40 years. But not quite, it's because they know who and what I used to be. Everyone else...didn't know me the way they did. They're great and they're the best family I could've wished for at a time like that" she said.  
"I have to thank them for that too" he said.  
"Want me to go get them?" she asked.  
"Going already?" he asked, unable to hide the sadness in his voice.  
"Never" she said seriously, her joking tone gone, "I'm just using my cell phone."  
She took out the silver razor all of the Cullens had and Logan laughed, "You still have that thing?"  
"We never wanted to upgrade" she admitted.  
Walking behind the couch she called them and listened to the rings, waiting for one of them to pick up.  
"Hello?" James asked, breathless.  
"What am I interupting?" Nikki asked, half joking, half shocked.  
"Nikki! Are you okay? Victoria's been worried" he said.  
"Uh-huh, like you're giving her much time to worry" she said, rolling her eyes.  
"I'm just trying to keep her from killing something waiting for you" he explained sheepishly.  
"Sure, sure" Nikki said.  
"So did you get him yet?" Victoria asked.  
Nikki laughed, "You took the phone didn't you?"  
"Yeah, so?" Victoria asked, "Are we coming to help finish?"  
"Well, it's different than that actually. But I would like you both to come, preferable clothed" Nikki said.  
Victoria laughed, "I'll be sure to deliver the message."  
Nikki laughed, "Well don't rush yourself, I heard enough to know I have about an hour don't I?"  
"If not a little more" Victoria said.  
"Don't kill him" Nikki joked.  
Victoria laughed and hung up.  
"What was that about?" he asked.  
"You wouldn't believe what I called in on" she said.  
His eyes went wide and she giggled, kissing him ever so gently while waiting for the others to come.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Regret  
James and Victoria entered the house warily, surprised to see the two together.  
"What the-?" James asked softly, surprised.  
"How could you take him back after this?!" Victoria asked, angrily.  
"I still love him Vicky" Nikki said softly, staying in Logan's arms.  
"How? After all of that how?!" Victoria asked, "I've been here, watching you suffer for the longest time and you can forgive him?!"  
"Vicky, you know you've always been my best friend, but I won't stop loving him, I never did! It's nice to know it was returned" Nikki said.  
"Returned? He can marry another woman, have children and completely forget you for 50 years and he returned the love?!" Victoria growled.  
In an absolute bloodrage, Victoria lept at Logan. Nikki stepped in front of him, taking the blow instead.  
Victoria gasped, drawing back, "Nikki!"  
Nikki clutched the bleeding slashes across her stomach, "What the hell Victoria?"  
Victoria backed away, "I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know you'd get in front of him."  
"Vicky, it's not your fault" Nikki said.  
"I'm sorry" Victoria repeated, full of regret.  
"Victoria, relax. I'll heal, just...give me a minute" Nikki said.  
Logan, just as before, was at her side. Victoria hid her face in her hands, ashamed of herself.  
"I am so, so sorry" Victoria murmured.  
"Vicky! Chill!" Nikki said, "You're going to get grey worrying about me so much."  
"Don't make me laugh I don't deserve it" Victoria muttered, not looking up.  
"Woman don't make me get up and slap you" Nikki said, standing.  
Victoria's eyes snapped up, "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I'm-"  
"Shut. Up. Please!" Nikki said and comfortingly wrapped her arms around her friend in a tight embrace.  
"Relax Vic, I'm fine. Stop guilt tripping yourself, please" she said, smiling.  
"Okay, are you sure?" Victoria asked.  
"Positive" Nikki said.  
"So, you never did give up on her did you?" James asked.  
"No, never could" Logan said.  
"Good luck telling the Cullens that" James said.  
"What?" Nikki asked.  
"Carlisle found out a few years ago, that was about the only time I've seen Dr. Fang get violent" James said, "Believe me, I'd be plesantly surprised if you could manage to get yourself out of this one."  
Nikki sighed, "Who told him?"  
"Edward, who else" James said.  
"Alright, step number one, we kill my brother, not literally either James" Nikki said.  
"Aww, but-" James began.  
"No buts, and do not laugh at that either" Nikki said.  
He snickered softly, not letting her hear and listened closely to how they were going to break the news to the Cullens.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Betrayal  
The winter in Denali was much harsher than California, that was for sure. The snowdrifts were almost up to their knees and the cold wind whipped even more snow their way. Vampire speed just hurt being out in the near-blizzard.  
"How much longer?!" Victoria shouted over the roaring winds, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, clutching her shawl to her body.  
"Can't be much" Nikki called.  
The house came into sight beyond the snow at last, it was just over a large snowdrift they could've sworn was the horizion if they could've seen farther. It was cozy and warm looking from afar, but their approach could promise bloodshed.  
They raced up to the door as fast as possible without causing themselves too much pain and knocked at the door impatienly.  
Laurent pulled it open, surprised to see them, "Nikki? Victoria? James?"  
"Move aside and let us in it's freezing out here damnit!" James growled, pulling Victoria into the warm.  
Nikki chuckled, brushing snow out of her hair as she walked inside, "He's always this cranky when there aren't huans around for miles. Who'd want to be out in this anyway?"  
Laurent smiled, pleased with her happiness, and looked at their final visitor walking through the door, "Carlisle won't be too happy about this."  
"It's not his decision" Nikki said, going with James and Victoria to stand in front of the fireplace for a moment.  
Logan looked over to her, seeing the way they kept together, a small pack of their own. He felt oddly intrusive just looking at how they blended together as if they were meant to be a coven together.  
"Logan, Carlisle wants to speak to you privately" Laurent said softly.  
"Did they ever used to be like this?" Logan asked before going.  
"I think they were, James and Victoria have always kept a close-knit coven" Laurent said, smiling at memories.  
Logan nodded and walked off. Carlisle hadn't aged much, but he had some. He remained young, younger than most others he'd seen so far, but a bit older than he had been.  
"Carlise" Logan said.  
Carlisle turned slowly and Logan realized those were tears coming from the elder vampire, "I want you to know she's happy with you, but I can't let you hurt her again."  
"I won't Carlisle. I made that mistake once, I'm not going to do it again" Logan said.  
"Don't. Nikki may not be one of my original family, but she is still as close to me as Alice, Rosalie or Bella. I can't watch her go through that again" Carlisle said.  
"I know, I'm sorry" Logan said.  
"Have you even seen your children yet?" Carlisle asked, the smile of a prous grandfather taking over his features, "She didn't want them to know how badly she was suffering. They've turned out beautifully though."  
Logan laughed, "I'm sure."  
"Come" Carlisle said, "Meet your family again."  
They walked back down the stairs to see everyone, the Cullens, Denalis and Howletts gathered in the room. Even James and Victoria's children were there, twins that looked seventeen, and would for a long while.  
He didn't recognize three of them. A young boy with deep crimson hair hilighted with black and green. A girl with bouncing ebony curls and a girl with shoulder length black hair, her fingers interlocked with Sal's.  
"Tayla?" he asked softly, surprised at how much she'd aged.  
Tayla turned, smiling broadly, "Daddy!"  
She ran over to him, squeezing him tightly. She was much, much more grown up.  
"Tayla you're gonna break dad!" Shawn shouted over everyone else, his hilighted hair falling over his eyes.  
Tayla laughed, "I'm so glad to see you. And with mom too." She winked.  
"I guess I can finally say this, 'Hey dad'" Sal said, slinging his arms over Logan's shoulders.  
"Tayla and Sal got married" Carlisle said softly.  
"What?" the tone of parental horror came back.  
Tayla laughed, "Mom, guess what?"  
She ran over and Nikki's eyes went wide, "Why didn't you tell me?"  
Their conversation was lost over other voices and Logan sighed, momentary shock aside. This was it. They were home.  
Nikki sighed and whispered, "'And so we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever.'"  
The End  
**Champion (OS)**

This was one of their few moments alone. If the need for hunting wasn't so strong they wouldn't have gone after the mission. They both changed into civilian clothes, the world didn't need to know their secrets.  
Nikki crouched atop the edge of the darkened rooftop, scents coming from all directions but she was only tracking one. It was a light, vanilla like scent, but thicker, more rich like melted chocolate.  
Logan was behind her, the few moments when she could be what she was were precious. He'd taken to the Cullens' lifestyle himself instead, but he enjoyed being with her, seeing her so at ease with her confidence.  
"Not far now" she murmured through a breathy sigh, "Can you smell it?"  
He chuckled, "Of course I can. Did you want me to help?"  
She smiled, "There are more, you can if you want." Her eyes opened. They were unnaturally black. She'd really let her instincts take over.  
He watched as she lept down fluidly, following her with the same grace. He let her stay a few paces ahead, keeping it simple enough to lull her prey into a false sense of security.  
"Woah" a man's voice said, "Hello."  
He saw her. She'd stopped a van with her stregth, her eyes were darker than pitch now with the scent driing her nearly mad with thirst. Usually she was more civilized about this, only drinking from bloodbags, but she had to track sometime. Keeping her skills sharp.  
She ripped the door off the van, two shocked screams filled the air.  
"Go" she said softly.  
Logan realized why she'd chosen this part of town, she could hunt those who needed to be hunted without involving innocents.  
Frightened footsteps ran away and he turned the corner fully, really watching her as she hauled the struggling man out, probably breaking the seat belt in the process.  
He fumbled for the gun in his pocket but Logan went over, catching the hand with the gun, "I don't think so bub."  
Nikki smiled as he pulled swiftly, "Thanks honey. I'll be done in a second."  
He nodded and leaned against a brick building to wait for her, watching her. The man would have a good death, that much was a given. She was gorgous, her ruby red lips over her pearly white teeth with a pair of razor sharp fangs. Her pale ivory skin could give off a soft sparkle, but not much of one. Her vibrant red hair twitched about in the breeze as if it were a living, bloody flame.  
He chuckled as the man seemed to ask something of her, but only to be cut of by her fangs piercing his throat.  
She drank deeply, unable to resist the more animalistic tendencies.  
He applauded softly. Her eyes turned up to him and she smiled, bowing theatricly.  
She strode over to him, "This was fun, but wasn't there something better we had to do?"  
"There's only one thing I can think of, but it was brought on by that back there" he said.  
He pulled her into his arms and gazed with mirthless delight as her now crimson eyes closed and her pale lips parted in a breathy sigh, with just a simple caress of his nose against her cheek, she fell under his spell once more.  
She chuckled softly, smiling, "Race you home?"  
"Doesn't matter, both of us are winning anyway" he said, taking advantaged of his closeness and pulling her tightly into his arms once more. He kissed her passionately, his tongue softly tracing her lips.  
He pulled back and chuckled, "I'll still beat you there."  
With that he took off ahead and she laughed breathlessly, racing at her fastest speed to catch up. He was her champion, for now, and forever.  
~fin~  
**Afraid (Songfic, OS, NPOV)**

I dreamed I was missing, you were so scared  
But no one would listen, 'cause no one else cared  
After my dreaming, I woke with this fear  
What am I leaving when I'm done here

When you have everything you've ever wanted in a soulmate, of course you worry about them. I could never be without him for long, and since our hunting trip yesterday I'd gotten thinking. I could defend myself just fine, and I knew he could too, but what if we'd gotten a formidable enough enemy? What if something were to happen where we'd be brought apart? It couldn't...could it?

So if you're asking me I want you to know  
When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done  
Help me realize some reasons to be missed  
And don't resent me, when you're feeling empty  
Keep me in your memories, leave out all the rest  
Leave out all the rest

Victoria told me the moment the coven had walked into the clearing with the Cullens there, she'd known they were in over their heads. She'd known they couldn't win. Were we going to face something like that? Would we not be able to win, and loose each other in the end? I couldn't bear that, but I couldn't stop the worry from overcoming me. I'd loved him for eight years and happiness was perfect, our life together was perfect. I was only too afraid things could change.

Don't be afraid, I've taken my beating  
I've shared what I made  
I'm strong on the surface, but not the way through  
I've never been perfect, but neither have you

I wasn't surprised that here I was, waiting by the window for him to come back. I was always afraid when the team pulled him out for missions without me. People looked at me and noticed I was a pretty damn powerful woman, but they didn't know how much I worried about him. How much I loved him. They couldn't know, they wouldn't know until they had their soulmates like I have mine.

So if you're asking me I want you to know  
When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done  
Help me realize some reasons to be missed  
And don't resent me, when you're feeling empty  
Keep me in your memories, leave out all the rest  
Leave out all the rest  
Forgetting all the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well  
Pretending someone else can come and save me from myself  
I can't be who you are

I knew with every part of my heart that until we're together again I'm going to fear for him. He's one of the only things in my world keeping me alive. I know that, and so does he.

When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done  
Help me realize some reasons to be missed  
And don't resent me, when you're feeling empty  
Keep me in your memories, leave out all the rest  
Leave out all the rest

I breathed a sigh of relief as the small quinjet landed. He was home, he was safe. It was times like these I hated the most, I couldn't be away from him, it was just too hard.

Forgetting all the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well  
Pretending someone else can come and save me from myself  
I can't be who you are

I smiled, walking outside and going to give him a kiss.  
"Miss me?" he asked, smiling.  
"Always" I said, despite the cold I was just fine to be standing outside in the snow. As long as I was in his arms, I was perfect.

I can't be who you are

Song- Leave out all the rest- Linkin Park

**Return To Weapon X**

Chapter 1  
He couldn't admit it, but he'd taken to tracking almost as well as James.  
Logan had been tracking before, and had actually been surprised when his already hightened senses had been advanced by vampirism.  
"Logan? What is it?" Strom asked, waking him from the scent.  
"Someone I used to know was here. Not long ago either" he said.  
"Who?" Storm asked.  
"Mavrick, I think you met him" Logan replied.  
"Go ahead, we'll catch up" Storm said, sensing he needed to know what was going on.  
He nodded and dissappeared into the trees.  
The sudden rapid fire up ahead told him Mavrick had company. He sniffed the air, searching the scents. Weapon X?  
"Come quietly Agent Mavrick" one soldier said.  
Mavrick smiled, "I don't think so." He fired at them, giving enough distraction to escape.  
Logan mentally applauded, Mavrick was still sharp. But what was going on?  
"'Lo Mavrick" he said.  
Mavrick turned, the barrel pointing directly at him before he was recognized, "Logan? What're you doing out here?"  
"I could ask you the same thing" Logan said.  
"Weapon X" Mavrick said.  
"Why are they here? What're they after?" Logan asked.  
"They're tracking a subject that got away, I betrayed them and let her go" Mavrick said.  
"Who?" Logan asked.  
"Native" Mavrick said.  
"She's dead" Logan said.  
"Not anymore" Mavrick replied, "They got a new formula, brought her back. Just her though."  
"Where is she?" Logan asked.  
"I'll take you, okay? Don't be surprised if you don't like it" Mavrick said.  
They went to the old cavern, the place Logan had brought Daken. It seemed like an eternity ago. Then he saw her.  
She smiled at him from her place in hiding by the entrance and ran forward agjily to his side.  
"Logan" she said softly.  
"Native" he adressed her, "Welcome back."  
She looked him over, "Different."  
"It's a long story" he said.  
"Tell me" she said.  
"Soon, I'm going to help you first. I told you they'd send more men, they always have more men" Logan said. She smiled, "Logan home?"  
"Yeah, you can come with me. I'm not leaving you with the others, they've got enough to deal with anyway" Logan said.  
"You're taking her with you?" Mavrick asked.  
"That's the plan for now. Don't worry, we'll take care of them" Logan said.  
"Who's 'we'?" Mavrick asked.  
"My family and I, we'll keep Native out of this as much as possible" Logan said.  
"Family? Since when?" Mavrick asked.  
Logan laughed, "Since eight years ago. Ya might want to keep up with some things 'Rick."  
Native gave a small smile and followed Logan.  
"Hey darlin" Logan said softly, kissing Nikki's throat.  
"Hey sweetheart" she said, smiling.  
"I was wondering if an old friend of mine could stay with us" Logan asked.  
"Who?" she asked.  
Native stood in the doorway, staring in shock at Nikki.  
Nikki looked up and shock crossed her eyes, "Artimis?"  
Native had a slight blush rise in her cheeks, "Yes."  
Nikki smiled, "Of course she can stay. She's family."  
"Family? Really?" Logan asked.  
"My sister. Well, half-sister, but close enough" Nikki said.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
"Your what?" Logan asked.  
"Sister" Nikki replied.  
Logan mentally cursed himself, and also wondered if he'd been with any other of their relitives.  
"Logan? Sweetheart what's wrong?" Nikki asked, going to his side.  
"Nothing" he said, loosing the courage to tell her.  
Native's eyes widened, "Your Logan?"  
Nikki nodded, "Yeah, why?"  
Logan leaned over and whispered the whole story to her and her eyes widened, "YOU DID WHAT WITH MY SISTER?!"  
He mentally cursed himself again, "It was a long time ago darlin."  
"Well damn! That's something you might've mentioned anytime before this" she said.  
"I didn't think it would be such a big deal" he said softly to her.  
"Yeah, well this was...something. A real surprise, that I'll admit" she said.  
She looked over to her sister waiting in the doorway, "I'll go show her a room."  
Daken walked downstairs, "Who's she?"  
"Your aunt" Logan said, "Apparantly."  
"Damn! We're not technically related right?" Daken asked.  
"Do me a favor, try not to go over my track record" Logan said.  
"Probably already passed it, but something's wrong" Daken said.  
"Yeah, I had to tell Nikki before her sister said anything that a long time ago she and I were...together. Sort of" Logan said.  
"Made your way through the family huh?" Daken said.  
"This really isn't funny" Logan said, "I have a very bad feeling I'm either going to be sleeping down here, or something even worse."  
Daken laughed, "I don't think she'd do anything worse than that to you. You know she won't make you stay down here either. I'll bet you $50 that she ends up in a catfight with her sister before the night's over."  
Logan chuckled, "Considering you're probably right, I'll take my chances with the couch."  
"Here it is" Nikki said.  
"Missed you" Native said, smiling slightly.  
"Aw, so have I" Nikki said, leaning over and half-hugging her sister, "So, what was it I heard about you and Logan?"  
It wasn't a long story, but it sure was eventfull. Nikki was farthest from angry at Logan, it seemed sister dear had come with Logan all for the purpose of taking him back.  
With a forced smile, Nikki leaned over and hugged her sister, "I'm not going to make too big of a deal about this...but he is mine."  
Her sister smiled and laughed, "Not for long."  
"We'll see about that" Nikki muttered, walking out of the room.  
It was getting late, and after finishing up what she'd been working on and putting the kids to bed, she smiled as she strode down the stairs.  
Logan's eyes widened slightly, taking in what she was wearing, "Come to bed?" she purred.  
"Ready when you are darlin" he said, his arms wrapping around her waist.  
She smiled as their lips pressed together, he was hers. Her mate and hers alone. And she'd be a damn fool if she didn't fight for him.  
Native growled, the 'friendly compition' had just taken a turn, and she'd be glad to take the stakes up a higher level.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Native was just like her sister in one main way, she fought for what she wanted. She'd spent much more time than ever before on her appearance, content that she would outdo her sister for once. That was about when her plans changed.  
"Hey Logan, we're here for the game!" James shouted, jumping over the back of the couch to land comfortably on the cushions.  
Victoria chuckled softly, leaning over and kissing him gently while she went off to find Nikki.  
"Hey" Logan said, moving James's feet so he could sit.  
James laughed brightly, "You're in a good mood today."  
"So are you" Logan noticed.  
"I've had a really good night" James said, "Thank god I don't need sleep."  
Logan chuckled, "Thanks to the rivalry of Nikki and her sister I did too."  
Native strode downstairs then, her eyes trained on James.  
"Who is she?" James asked Logan softly.  
"Nikki's sister" Logan said, not looking away from the TV.  
Native sighed and sat across the arm of the couch, "Hello."  
"Hey" James said, not looking from the game.  
She sighed again and stretched, her legs swinging down as she, not exactly descreetly, pulled herself onto his lap. That surprised him.  
"What're you doing?" he asked.  
She leaned in and sniffed him, taking a long, deep breath and letting out a sigh.  
"You've got to be kidding me" Nikki said, watching what was unfolding in the living room.  
"What?" Victoria asked.  
"My sister's moving in on your man now too" Nikki said, "She was just like this as a kid too, she wanted everything everyone else had, until she found something else."  
"Like?" Victoria asked.  
"Like my books, my toys, my clothes, anything she liked she got until she turned her attention to something new" Nikki said, rolling her eyes.  
Victoria started walking to the door but Nikki held her back, "Just give me a second to think and you can go kill her. Who do we know that is intrested in material possessions, and that isn't related to Alice."  
Victoria smiled deviously, "Laurent."  
"Really? But would he be able to get over Irina?" Nikki asked.  
"We might as well try, at least it'll distract her from our men" Victoria said.  
"Vicky, I like the way your mind works" Nikki said, smiling wickedly.  
"You have three seconds to get off his lap" Victoria snarled, walking out.  
Native jumped off the couch when she heard Victoria's snarl and her eyes widened as Victoria pulled James to his feet.  
"Now you can sit there, but preferably away from my husband" Victoria said, keeping her grasp on James's shirt.  
Logan chuckled, "and I thought Nikki was territorial."  
Native slunk over to Logan, "You?"  
"Taken too, that's what the rings are for" Logan said, holding up his hand, "Sorry Native."  
Victoria smiled with a false sweetness, she just wanted the girl to stop checking out her man and the freeloading bum to move out of her house, the freeloading bum being Laurent.  
"I'm here, what's the big emergency?" Laurent said, then he glanced at Native, "Well hello chere."  
Native smiled and giggled softly.  
"The quiet type eh? Nice change. I'm Laurent" he said, taking her hand and kissing it softly.  
Nikki looked over to Victoria as if to say, 'Well we got that taken care of.'  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Laurent smiled, it had been two years since Irina had been killed and he hadn't gotten over her...until now. Thanks to Victoria he knew the whole story and didn't mind, mutant or not, he had a strange bond with this beautiful, feral woman and he was going to keep it.  
She sighed softly, tracing faint patterns in the glittering of his skin under the sun. He in turn sighed with her, a sigh of contentment, he felt better than he had in years.  
"Beautiful" Native said softly.  
Laurent laughed, "Not as beautiful as you chere."  
She blushed and he held his breath, the scent of her blood was overwhelming. Sensing his destress she placed her hand over his own, silently wondering what was wrong.  
"I need to hunt" he said softly, "Wait right here, I'll be just through those trees."  
She nodded and he ran, taking down the first deer he saw.  
He'd been sticking to the vegitarian diet since the medow incident, if not against werewolves, for Irina. He'd been prone to cheating before, but he didn't want to any longer, the thought of killing someone else's Irina made him feel a new level of regret for a hunt like that.  
He silently returned to her side and pulled her back into his arms, laying back in the snow.  
"Sorry about that" he said.  
She shook her head, her hair fluttering around her face, "Okay."  
He smiled, mentally wondering how blessed he'd gotten.  
She jolted up into a crouch in front of him, low snarls ripping from the back of her throat. He stood, easing her away from the danger they both sensed. His hand wrapped around her warm arm and pulled her gently out of the defencive crouch she held in front of him, holding her against his side.  
He inhaled deeply to take in all of the scents approaching them, about ten humans, heavily armed. Venom pooled in his mouth as he took in her scent with them.  
"We have to go" he said softly.  
She nodded, "Weapon X."  
He understood and knew she'd be capable of running on her own, but still he gracefully slung her over his back and took off into the trees.  
They made a quick turn and doubled back, staying a few feet behind their would-be trackers.  
"I'm saying something doesn't feel right" a young man said, he couldn't have been more than twenty.  
"Just shut up and fire" an older man said.  
The boy seemed to be debating whether or not to shoot the older man but decided against it. Laurent smiled, he'd take that one for the boy.  
They walked into the clearing and Laurent put Native down, nodding to her to stay there as he raced in, letting his instincts take over. He killed without spilling blood, he couldn't take the temptation. He almost let the boy go, but had to decide against it, these were the people that would harm his mate, he couldn't let them live.  
He walked back into the trees to find her hiding in a hollow tree, shudders wracking her small frame every few moments. She was crying.  
"Don't be afraid chere, I'm alright" he murmured, stroking her skin.  
She looked up and threw her arms around him, "Laurent!"  
He smiled and chuckled, "I was more afriad for you, they were here for you. You know that, right?"  
She nodded, "Could've killed you."  
He laughed, "Them? Kill me?" He continued laughing, "Never! They're not strong enough, I was built stronger for a reason."  
She smiled, "Good. Show me."  
"Show you? You want to watch me kill something?" he asked.  
"No. Show me" she smiled and he understood, picking her up and holding her tightly against him, watching as her eyes closed.  
He kissed her gently, unable to hurt her.  
When they broke apart she smiled and he held her close, "So beautiful, so fragile."  
"Not fragile. Heal" she said, smiling almost wickedly.  
He chuckled, "Let's not test that."  
"Let's" she said.  
James walked in through the back door, making Victoria smile, "Are you okay?"  
"Nope, you'll never guess what I walked in on trying to hunt. I caught a couple scents but...gah!" he shuddered and walked into the other room.  
Victoria smiled brightly, "I really want to dance right now."  
"Why?" Nikki asked, confused.  
"Because! That freeloading bum Laurent will be moving out of my house! Finally!" Victoria cheered, and proceeded to do her happy dance.  
Nikki shook her head, her waves falling around her face, "and I thought I was the strange one."  
The End


	13. Part 13

**Elinoria**

Chapter 1- Coven  
The two had gone hunting alone, between Nikki's powers and Victoria's own ability they didn't need help or protection. Victoria's ability was to sense safe havens, to know where was safe and where wasn't. When they entered the clearing with the girl already there, her long straight brown hair falling over her shoulders as she was hunched over her kill, one of the psychos the two had been tracking, they knew the girl wasn't a threat. She was average hight, about 5' 4'' and as she rose her eyes were a rich burgundy.  
"Hello" she said, smiling brightly, "I'm Elinoria."  
Nikki smiled back, "I'm Nikki, this is Victoria. We haven't come across many of our kind here in a while."  
Elinoria sighed, "Neither have I. It gets pretty lonely out here doesn't it?"  
"Don't you have a coven?" Victoria asked.  
Elinoria shrugged, "No. I thought you had to be really old and powerful or something like that."  
Victoria laughed, "We're not exactly 'old' in the vampire sense Elinoria, we're both just a little over a century old. So are both of our mates." She looked hezitantly at Nikki, who urged her on with a wave of her hand, "and if you wanted, you could join us."  
"Really?" Elinoria asked, her grin becoming brighter, "Thank you! I'd love to!"  
"Do you know where the other two are?" Victoria asked, her gaze flickering to the bloodless corpse.  
"They ran off that way, I didn't expect this or I would've saved them for you" Elinoria said.  
Nikki sniffed the air, "They're not too far, we can catch them. Just follow us, you'll be safe."  
Elinoria nodded and raced after them into the trees.  
Not too long later and they were entering the small clearing around the Howlett mansion, taking introductions to the rest of the coven.  
"Wow. You all live here?" Elinoria asked.  
Nikki laughed, "No, I'd have to kick them out in a week. Victoria and her mate James live with their family down that path, in their own cabin, and Laurent and Artimis are going to get a cabin of their own. This is where my family lives."  
Elinoria followed them in and was surprised to see the vampires gather so peacefully. The coven that had turned her had never been one for an atmosphere of love and comfort, like she felt at the moment.  
"Elinoria, this is Laurent and Artimis, James and Victoria, thier family Viviana and Alex, my Logan and, well when my family decides to come downstairs I'll introduce you to all of them" Nikki said, smiling welcomingly. Everyone said hello and Elinoria found herself captivated by the sweet little Viviana and her brother Alex, two of the most adorible children she'd ever seen, with the strangest story she'd ever heard. She never thought it was possible for a vampire to have children, but somehow they'd been proven as more of a miracle than their own luck.  
A soft knock was at the door, apparently the person outside knew they could all hear it.  
"Connor! What're you doing here?" Nikki asked.  
A warm scent drifted in, sweeter than chocolate and much richer, smooth like melted butter and almost floral, like a sweet mix of lavender and vanilla. Elinoria wanted to lunge at the scent then and there but paused, staring into the face of possibly the most beautiful human she'd ever seen. His raven hair fell around his face, long, but not too long. His eyes were cristal blue, like the sky on a warm summer day, and his skin, though pale, had a healthy flush benith the surface. Venom pooled in her mouth thinking of his sweet scent coming from the warm flush of his skin. If she'd still had been human, she would've blushed.  
"Connor, this is Elinoria, she just joined us" Nikki said.  
He was staring at her and she longed to feel herself blush, but simply took the hand he held out, shook it weakly and let it drop.  
He hezitated and smiled, still staring at her.  
"Hey superboy, did you come to watch the game or stare at Elinoria?" James asked.  
Connor looked up and in his sudden movement twoard the couch, tripped over the rug and landed ungracefully on his stomach.  
Elinoria rushed over to him, "Are you okay?"  
James was laughing, "Talk about falling head over heels."  
With an icy glare in James's direction, his blush started again, "I'm fine."  
Elinoria stepped back and smiled, "Don't let him get to you, that was actually pretty graceful."  
"Yeah, if there was an Olympic medal for falling, I'd win" Connor said, rolling his eyes.  
Elinoria laughed, captivated, and sat beside him.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Lion and Lamb  
"So, Elinoria, what is it that you do?" Laurent asked during the commercials.  
"You know of Alec from the Volturi, right? I can do what he does, the sensory deprivation, only I have to touch a person to be able to do it" Elinoria said.  
"Show us" James said, pointing to Laurent.  
"May I?" she asked Laurent.  
He nodded and she touched one of her fingertips to his. His jaw dropped and he nodded, "She can."  
"Laurent? Can you hear me?" James asked.  
Laurent said nothing.  
James laughed evily, "Can you do this again later? I want to see what I'll get away with."  
Elinoria nodded, James scared her a bit.  
Laurent's eyes came into focus again as he blinked furiously. He murmured something in french.  
"Speak english, the girl has no idea what you're saying" James said.  
"Oh, my apologies. I said, 'extraordanary'" Laurent said.  
Connor leaned over, "Can we get out of here?"  
Elinoria nodded and he took her hand, leading her outside.  
He sat on the hood of his car, "Where are you from?"  
"Here, there, everywhere and nowhere" Elinoria said.  
Connor laughed, "Nomad, huh?"  
"Yeah, for a while" Elinoria said.  
"How old are you?" Connor asked.  
"Not that old" Elinoria said.  
"Newborn?" Connor asked, Elinoria thought she saw a flash of fear in his eyes.  
"Sort of, I can control myself better than most" Elinoria said.  
Connor nodded, "What's it like being a vampire?"  
"Fun" Elinoria said, "I mean, you get to be super fast and stong, you sparkle in the sunlight, it's not really so bad once you overlook the hunting part."  
"Hunting? You eat humans?" Connor asked.  
"Only the bad ones. I wait and watch them, I've been trying my hand at tracking lately. I've managed to catch a couple big time guys down in the States. It's my turn now, what do you do?" Elinoria said.  
"Concussive blasts, like vibrations, that's why the call me 'Concussion'" Connor said.  
"How old are you?" she asked.  
"23, or at least that's how old I've been since..." he counted back in his head, "1919."  
"Wow" she said.  
"Yeah, but it's not so bad. I'll tell you the whole story another day. How'd you become a vampire?" he asked. "A vampire was hunting me and it just..stopped. Another vampire moved in and I was pretty sure I was dog chow until the burning started. Then I was sure I was dying. It felt worse though, like...being in hell already" she said.  
"What would someone like you be in hell for? You kick a can into a garbage can?" Connor asked.  
"When I turned I killed people. I didn't know how to stop but it just...wore off" she said, "I was so sure I was going to do it again when we met. You're different though, there's something stopping me. Maybe that'll be your gift if you're ever turned, self-preservation."  
"Like Victoria?" Connor asked.  
"That's what they're calling it now?" Elinoria asked, smiling.  
There was a rustle in the trees behind them and Elinoria lept to her feet, rouching in front of Connor with vicious, feral snarls ripping from her clenched teeth. A blinking pair of bright crimson eyes stared back at them and a flicker of white as a hand reached forward out of the green in their direction.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- The Hunt  
The two vampires stepped out of the trees. One was a male with short cropped caramel colored hair, the second was a female. She stood back a distance, and from what Connor could see her hair was a light, wispy white blond. They both had black eyes with only a hint of crimson around the edges.  
"Hello, we didn't mean to intrude, but we thought you might like to share your snack with us?" the male asked, "I'm Keith. This is Marie." The female nodded slightly in their direction.  
"Elinoria, this is Connor" she said, slowly straightening out of her crouch.  
"Hello. You have a rather large coven by the looks of this mannor, am I correct?" Keith asked.  
"Yes" Elinoria said, "I would refrain from hunting in the town if I were you. We try to stay inconspicuous, you see."  
Keith nodded, "Did you know how far to the next?"  
"Two miles in the direction you just came. It's not far, especially with your speed" Elinoria said.  
Keith nodded, "Thank you. I suppose we'll be on our way then."  
In a moment a few things happened at the same time, the wind shifted and Connor's scent blew in their direction. The female vampire inhaled, her eyes turning the deepest black Elinoria ever saw. With a small, exasperated sigh the female, Marie, whispered, "You brought a snack?"  
Elinoria lunged back into her crouch, covering Connor.  
Marie lunged at them, her venom coated teeth clicking together.  
Keith held her back and Elinoria was edging back, nudging Connor to move with her hip.  
Connor was in shock, staring at the two nomads.  
"We won't hunt on your land, we'll go now" Keith said, his eyes also black. He eased the female out of her crouch and they took off into the forest.  
"Who were they?"  
Elinoria jumped, "James!"  
"Who were they?" James repeated.  
"Nomads, they came while Connor and I were out here" Elinoria said.  
James cursed and Elinoria momentarily wondered where he'd gotten his language, "She was a tracker. Like me, but probably not as experianced. She's young. Younger than you Elinoria."  
"A newborn?" Elinoria asked.  
"What? What's going on?" Connor asked.  
"She's a tracker, a newborn tracker. I never give up on a hunt but I can, I have only once, but she can't. Once she locks onto a scent like that she'll never stop" James said.  
Elinoria pulled Connor inside and Victoria's eyes snapped up, "If James goes with you, so will I."  
"They're not going anywhere" James said.  
"He's right, the best way to handle the tracker is to keep her here. It brings less threat to others" Nikki said.  
Victoria stood, "She'll get too close. I can feel it, she's circling. Her mate is staying with her."  
James sat down beside her, "How far? Can you tell?"  
Victoria focused, rubbing her temples, "Not far. Less than a mile. They're circling, trying to come up with a plan. They're trying to find a weak point to attack."  
"They won't find one" Nikki said, "We'll spread out, hide everyone and keep a tight perimiter."  
"We can go to the training room and stay there" James said, "They can come to us. We won't be in there, we'll protect them while they're in there."  
Nikki nodded, "It'll be too less of a fight. Some of us can sit out."  
"I'll stay with Connor" Elinoria said.  
"I need to fight, Laurent can stay with Native" James said.  
Victoria took his hand, "I'm staying with you."  
Their fingers intertwined, "Okay. It'll be the four of us, Nikki, Logan, you and me."  
They stood and moved, getting to work.  
"Go downstairs" Elinoria said to Connor, "I'll be right there."  
Connor nodded and went downstairs.  
Elinoria approached Nikki and Victoria, "I'm sorry, I should've never been outside with him."  
"You knew them" Victoria said softly, "They were no threat to you, even as newborns, but they knew you."  
Nikki looked up, "Did they?"  
"I don't know. They sort of looked familiar..." Elinoria said and gasped softly, "She turned me. She attacked me and he stopped her from killing me."  
"Then, I don't know if we can, but if an oppertunity presents itself, try to reason with them Elinoria. I can't keep having James at risk like this" Victoria said.  
Nikki sighed, "We all know how you feel. Both of you. Try Elinoria."  
Elinoria nodded, she would try and if she couldn't, there was certianly going to be a fight to remember.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Battle  
They bunkered down inside the training room, Elinoria and Connor sitting off to the side.  
"I'm sorry, I should've never put you in danger like that" Elinoria said.  
He laughed, "If that was danger than you'll think my life is deadly. I don't blame you Elie."  
"Elie?" Elinoria asked.  
"It's...my nickname for you. If you don't mind" he said, a slight blush coloring his cheeks.  
She smiled, "No, it's cute."  
"Why are you doing all this for me? You just met me" Connor said.  
"Because, I knew it from the moment I smelled you. You are my life now. My la tua cantante, my singer" Elie said.  
"My blood sings to you?" he asked.  
"You know what a singer is?" she asked.  
"Some, I've only known a vampire for most of my life and when she finally decided to tell me what she really was...well show me really, that I'll never forget" he said.  
They were almost sure the nomads wouldn't come. James and Logan were in the mood for a fight, eager to take the outnumbered odds, but Victoria sensed something much worse. Maybe they needed more than four after all. Victoria gasped, a sudden, sharp pain filling her mind.  
"Vicky?" Nikki asked, catching her before she fell, "Vicky what's wrong? What's happening?"  
"They have so many more...we're going to loose" Victoria gasped.  
"Stop. Stop focusing, just stop" Nikki said.  
Victoria stopped, pulling back to the present and looked up, "We have to warn the others, we have to call in backup."  
James raced over, "They're almost here, they've brought others. What's wrong?"  
"I could sense it when I tried to tell...we're screwed" Victoria said.  
"We'll be fine" Nikki said.  
"They're here" Logan growled and the army of burgundy-eyed newborns entered the space.  
The radio was on to a station Elie liked, Metallica's Master Of Puppets playing. She heard a keening, the sound of a vampire being ripped apart.  
Laurent stopped, suddenly becoming serious, "Elinoria, stay here with them."  
"What's going on?" Lana asked.  
"I need to help them, the nomads have brought company" Laurent said.  
"I'm going with you" Elinoria said.  
"No, someone needs to stay here with them" Laurent said.  
"Then that someone can be you, I started this and I plan to finish it" Elie said.  
She raced out before either Laurent or Connor could protest and out ot the battle. James was locked in combat with the male, Keith, while Logan was killing his way through the army using his claws. Nikki was taking out as many as possible herself. It was Victoria that Elinoria was worried about. Victoria was locked in combat with Marie, the tracker, and by the looks of things the tracker was stronger. She was young, untrained, but she could fight.  
Elinoria knew the tracker was the one they had to kill, if nothing then they had to make her give up.  
The tracker was locked with Victoria, forcing her down, and Victoria was struggling as hard as possible.  
Elinoria saw her advantage and lept onto Marie's back. She drew back, desperately trying to throw Elie off and Elie noticed how badly Victoria had been fairing. Her clothes were torn and venomous blood dripped out of wounds she'd recieved.  
"Let go of me!" Marie hissed, trying to throw Elie off.  
"No, you can't endanger my friends, you can't attack them and you can't track my mate!" Elie growled, and the world took on a red haze as her teeth ripped into the tracker's neck.  
A loud screech mixed with the keening of Marie's marble skin being torn and almost all of the fighting stopped. The few newborns that remained looked in shock and horror at Elie as she rose, venomous blood dripping off her lips, "Who's next?"  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Enough For Forever  
The shocked and distracted newborns were taken out easily, followed by Marie's mate Keith. Elie would never make another vampire suffer without thier mate.  
"Victoria, are you okay?" Elie asked as she followed Victoria off the battlefield.  
"That was a sweet thing you did, letting him die with her" Victoria said softly.  
"Are you okay?" Elie asked.  
"Physicly, fine. I'll heal. The rest...give me a minute" Victoria said, turning and walking inside.  
"She only wishes someone had done that for her" James said softly.  
"What? Why?" Elie asked.  
"I died once. Somehow, I came back. She was alone and heartbroken and when I saw her, while I was healing, being peiced back together, she looked so broken without me. That's why I couldn't argue when she wanted to come do this with me, I know she's a good fighter, she can hold her own, but she never wants to be alone again. I never want to make her feel that pain again. Just like you spared Keith from today. She's thanking you for having more of a soul than....forget it, it's nothing to worry about" James said, walking inside after Victoria.  
Elie looked behind her to Nikki, who was wrapped in her mate's arms in a passionate kiss.  
She walked inside, half concered for Victoria, and half just plain depressed. How was she supposed to have known all of that had happened before she even came?  
"Elie?" Connor asked.  
She broke from the depressed mood in an instant, running over to Connor and throwing herself on him, "Oh Connor!"  
He laughed, "Missed me much?"  
She smiled, "Yeah, I did. If I died, would you be able to move on?"  
"What kind of a stupid question is that? Hell no" Connor said.  
"Good, 'cause neither could I" Elie said.  
"I love you, you know that?" Connor asked.  
"Yes, and I love you too. Is that enough for now? To just let things be for a while?" Elie asked.  
"Yeah, it's enough. For now" Connor said, a grin breaking oer his features.  
Elie laughed and slightly mussed his hair, pressing a gentle kiss to his neck, "Forever."  
The End

**Rescue Mission**

Chapter 1- Others  
"What is going on here?" Marcus asked the female he traveled with.  
"I have no idea" Carmed replied, though beautiful, she wasn't his mate.  
"These are the people that killed Keith and Marie? Honestly, those...snack lovers?" Carmen continued.  
Marcus followed the movements of the vampires with his gaze, watching as the youngest lay wrapped in her human mate's arms while they gazed up at the sky, watching clouds pass. The tracker and his mate were not far away, hunting a small party of fugitives that had escaped a penitentary in Washington and were close enough to hunt. The other, gifted, vampires enjoyed a peaceful day, some of the children playing outside, away from the two mates laying in the snow while the beautiful female read a book on a small stone bench in the sun, her skin sparkling delicately, as though it were masked, although from afar he could tell it wasn't.  
"Elie! Nikki!" Victoria called from the trees.  
James paused, momentarily thrown, he knew all of their scents so why was the smell of vampire close...?  
"Victoria, get them inside" he whispered.  
"What? Why?" she asked softly.  
"Others, close. Trust me" he said, taking her face in his hands and giving her a gentle kiss.  
She sighed, "Be safe."  
He nodded and disappeared into the trees. Victoria ran over to the others, whispering hurriedly to them and getting them all inside. If Viviana and Alex hadn't been over for a playdate than Victoria would've run out after James the second she'd told Nikki and Elie.  
"I want to go after him" Victoria said softly, watching anxiously from the back window.  
"I'm sure he'll be fine" Elie said.  
Victoria sighed, gazing out longingly, wishing she was with James.  
James had been tracking them and he growled as the scents abruptly turned in is direction, coming to him.  
"Hello" the male said, his dark hair and eyes making him look like some gothic relic, "I am Marcus, this is Carmen."  
The female was small, with vibrantly red eyes and chesnut brown hair, she could be pretty, James really couldn't tell with her hair whipping around her face as it was.  
"We understand you've befriended a human" Marcus said softly, hoping to aviod the inevitable confrontation.  
"And? Something wrong with that?" James snarled.  
"Well..." Marcus began.  
"It's stupid! Just kill him and get it over with already!" Carmen snarled back.  
James chuckled, "Fiesty little one aren't we?"  
She scrunched up her nose as if she'd smelled something terrible and grimanced at him, "I am not little, you're an amazon freak."  
James laughed, making it sound like he used to, "And why would we think that? Because you realize just how much stronger and more powerful I am compared to the likes of you?"  
"We really don't want it to come to a fight" Marcus said softly, "We'd prefer if you just came with us willingly."  
"What?" James growled.  
"You're a pathetic excuse for a tracker! You befriended your food for crying out loud!" Carmed growled, "We're going to re-instate the tracker code to you, as in: Humans are prey not friends."  
"Really? You and what army?" James asked, chuckling.  
Carmen let out a feirce roar meant to be menacing, but all she did was draw attention to herself as she raced across the small space and leapt at James, who casually flicked her away with a snap of his wrist.  
"What was that?" Elie asked.  
"Keep everyone here, that could'e been a vampire James was tracking" Victoria said and raced out after the sound.  
Nikki repeated the order to Connor and raced out after Victoria with Elie close by.  
The sounds of a battle led the way. James had the upper hand against the girl, but when Marcus had abandoned his peaceful side to help his colleague, it had gotten a whole lot worse.  
Victoria was the first to reach them, a shocked gasp followed by her cry of, "James!"  
Carmen looked up in time to see Victoria let out a feral snarl and race at her, ramming her into a tree, "Call off your mate."  
"He's not my mate" Carmen growled, "and you tell yours to listen willingly."  
"%$#^ you" Victoria snarled, pushing Carmen through the tree and into the foliage beyond.  
Marcus and James were tearing at each other until Victoria leapt on Marcus's back, her nails tearing into his marble skin.  
He let out a cry and swung around at her, letting her leap off.  
"James, what have they done to you?" she said softly, kneeling beside her mate on the ground.  
"Victoria" he said softly, smiling weakly. He brushed a lok of hair from her face, "I'll be fine."  
In less than a second Marcus had snapped up and thrown Victoria back into a tree, the massive canopy shook with the force of her impact.  
James called out her name weakly, fueling the rage she felt for these nomads. How dare they come on her land and threaten her mate.  
Carmen had time to recover and helped Marcus take away James as Victoria climbed down.  
"Victoria! What happened?" Elie called, breaking through the trees.  
With a growl of mixed rage and worry Victoria turned, "No time! I'll explain later!"  
With that she raced into the trees after the nomads, following the scent of her James.

TBC

Chapter 2- Tracking  
Victoria raced through the thick brush after the scent, the hot, cloying air and dense green shrubbary told her she'd gone farther than she anticipated since most of the US was in winter.  
"Victoria! Wait!" Elie called breathlessly.  
Victoria stopped, she had to catch her breath. For the first time since she was a vampire her lungs were burning with a need for air. It felt terrible to be without him, she felt so weak, so helpless.  
"Victoria!" Elie gasped in relief, grinning as she ran up to Victoria and threw her arms around Victoria.  
"Wait...Elie, can't..breath" Victoria panted, dropping to the ground. The hot and wet leaves brushed against her face, giving minimal relief from the burning in her lungs.  
"How long have we been running?" Victoria asked.  
"Almost two hours" Elie said, "It's taking forever for us to catch up with you."  
Victoria realized Nikki was standing over her too, she just hadn't said anything yet.  
"Do you still have the trail?" Victoria asked Nikki.  
"I can smell them if that's what you mean, but they left through the waterway about an hour ago, their scents are too old" Nikki replied.  
"He's...gone?" Victoria asked, surprised at how broken her voice sounded.  
Nikki knelt beside her, lifting her gently into a comforting embrace, "We'll get him back. Just wait, we'll go back, prepare and go get him."  
Victoria could feel the silent tears dripping down her cheeks, "I can't believe they got away."  
"Shh, it's okay. We'll get him back" Nikki said, hugging her tightly.  
Victoria hugged her tightly back, she needed to keep her mind away from how alone she was now, she just had to stay positive. That had never been her strong point. They were going to find him, they were going to bring him back and most importantly he was going to be alright.  
"Come on, let's go, we'll go find them" Nikki said, half lifting Victoria an running off with them.  
Elie looked at the outfit, shocked, "I have to wear this?"  
"Yeah" Victoria said.  
"This? Really?" Elie asked, exitement creeping into her voice.  
"Yep" Victoria said.  
Elie cheered and pulled on the red leather outfit, squeeling with joy when she saw how perfectly it fit.  
"So?" Nikki asked, "Like the outfits gals?"  
"Love it!" Elie gasped, looking herself over in the mirror, "I look so hot! Connor is gonna love it!"  
Victoria sighed, "It's okay."  
Nikki rubbed Victoria's arms supportively, "We'll get him back."  
Victoria nodded and Elie squeeled, "Does this mean what I think it means? Do we get to take the X-jet?"  
"Elie, the x-jet takes forever. We're taking a modified quinjet" Nikki said.  
Elie leapt up and down exitedly and Victoria felt a rising spark of hope, if the quinjet was fast, the could get there in time. James would be okay.  
James bit down hard on his lip as the whip lashed his back again. Carmen laughed wickedly as she lashed him again, "Getting tired now tracker?"  
"%$#^ you" he growled.  
"Was that an offer handsome?" Carmen purred, a softer lash this time.  
James let out an enraged roar, "Stay the hell away from me!"  
Marcus looked on in shock and horror, Carmen was the sadistic one of them.  
"Marcus, did you want to take a shot?" Carmen asked.  
"Great, involve the pacifist and see how that works" James said, rolling his eyes.  
He earned a harder lash for his comment, a soft groan of pain slipping out.  
"This is barbaric Carmen, he hasn't done anything to you" Marcus said.  
"He did so! When I'm through with him he'll know exactly what a tracker really should do instead of playing with their food" she growled, striking James harder.  
If the bonds weren't that strong of a metal, if he hadn't been weakened by her near constant beatings and if he'd been able to hunt he wouldn't be in this position. He'd be able to fight back. The lashes stung, but he couldn't feel them when he was in his own head like this.  
He shut his eyes and he could see her, her smile and her eyes. He could almost hear her voice when she spoke to him, her sweet musical laughter. He could almost take in her sweet scent, like orange blossoms on a spring day. The feeling of her soft skin, her arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace. The sweet, lingering taste of her lips when he kissed her. He clung to the thoughts, the sweet memories that stopped him from giving up, that kept him fighting.  
He loved her and if he couldn't go on for himself, he'd do it for her.  
As the hardest lash yet struck his back he only wanted to cry out for her, to let her know he was alive but all he could manage with so little strength was a small whisper.  
"Victoria."  
TBC  
Chapter 3- The Team  
James wished she would let him sleep. He hurt all over and he was sure he was close to dying.  
"Carmen stop!" Marcus shouted, "Let him be, stop!"  
Marcus restrained her and let James fall to the side, his whole body hurt.  
He groaned softly, "Victoria..."  
Carmen was struggling, yearning to get back to her new plaything.  
"Leave him be Carmen, let him rest so he can put up a more feirce struggle against you" Marcus said.  
"Then come with me, I need something to do" she said, turning to him, her burgundy eyes smoldering, "I need a distraction."  
James groaned, this time out of irritation rather than pain, he knew she would taunt him until he was with Victoria again. Victoria, he missed her so much.  
He could hear the roaring of a jet overhead and the cold of the concrete felt terrible and foreboding against his aching body. He looked down and cursed, he'd been stripped of his shirt and his jeans were torn badly and smeared with his blood. He barely had the strength to chuckle, and knew he didn't want to roll on his back.  
The wall was broken in and suddenly he heard a soft whimper, "James?"  
"Victoria?" he asked.  
"Oh James! Oh my god what have they done to you?" she asked, running over.  
He couldn't help but let his eyes wander her, "If I wasn't so sore right now..."  
She smiled, "I missed you."  
"So did I" he said, a soft groan slipping out as she lifted his head gently.  
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you" she murmured, stroking his face.  
"Well it's between the fact that everything hurts, and I mean everything, and besides, that outfit makes it all worth while. You're keeping that by the way" he said.  
She laughed, kissing him tenderly, "You'll be okay, and for you, yes I will keep this...if you ask nicely."  
Elie and Nikki had begun fighting Carmen and Marcus, and once Marcus had let go of his peaceful side, all hell had broken loose.  
Carmen turned and a low snarl ripped from her throat. She bolted over, slamming into Victoria.  
"No! Let her go!" James growled.  
Carmen gave a snarl as Victoria was fighting back and she knew, since Victoria was a pretty vampire she mustn't have had as much training as a previous Volturi guard.  
Carmen's gift was her strength, so it rivaled a more powerful vampire.  
Victoria let out a whimper as Carmen nearly snapped her wrist with her strength.  
"Sorry princess, I'm not giving up so easily" Carmen growled, applying more pressure and snapping Victoria's wrist.  
Victoria gave a soft cry and started to pull away but Carmen countered, her foot slamming into Victoria's chest, breaking a few ribs.  
She slammed Victoria back into the concrete wall, listening to her soft, pained groan as she put her good hand to her head.  
Carmen strode forward, a sadistic smile on her face as she stepped on Victoria's upper leg, a sickening snap making her smile become a grin.  
Victoria cried out, clutching her leg with her good hand.  
"Shut up, you're almost as bad as your lover" Carmen snarled, watching as Victoria's face contorted in pain at the thought of James in pain.  
She pulled herself upright, gripping her leg tightly and punched Carmen hard, making the other she-vampire crash into the opposite wall.  
Carmen snarled, but her snarl cut off into a whimper as a small part of silver flashed through her. Nikki's claws.  
Carmen fell, choking on her own blood, while Victoria looked over. Elie was ripping up the pieces of Marcus and Nikki, mercilessly, threw Carmen into the blaze.  
Victoria turned away as Nikki walked forward, unable to watch as the bodies burned.  
"Are you okay?" Nikki asked, catching Victoria before she could fall.  
"We will be" Victoria said softly, looking over as Elie helped James to his feet.  
"Yeah, we will" Elie said, smiling weakly.  
Nikki smiled and supported Victoria while Elie supported James.  
Victoria reached out her good hand to twine her fingers with James's, "We're together."  
"Forever" he said softly, squeezing her hand reassuringly, and for the moment, everything was okay.  
The End  
**Date Night (OS, Daken POV)**

I wasn't surprised to see how things had changed when I returned to the snow-covered landscape of the 'lab'.  
"You've been here before?" Claudine asked.  
"You didn't have to come" I said softly, this wasn't right, I didn't want to be here.  
"I wanted to. I don't want you to have to face anything alone" she said.  
I chuckled softly, she had probably been the only person to ever be able to doubt my skill. She knew I wasn't invincible.  
"What happened here? What's that grave outside?" she asked.  
"The grave is Cyber's. I killed him" I said softly, "I was here when they made him what he was, and I killed him here. It was...a long time ago."  
Claudine put her hand on my shoulder, an act of comfort. Never before had anyone tried to comfort me.  
"I'm fine" I said, faking a smile.  
"No, you're not" she said, "What's wrong?"  
"I'll be fine. I just...I want to get out of here" I said.  
"Okay, let's go" she said.  
I nodded and made my way to the Jaguar, smiling lightly as she climbed in shotgun as if we'd been doing this our whole lives, when in all honesty, it had only been a few months.  
"So, what did you want to do today?" she asked.  
I thought for a minute, we could try to do something normal rather than peicing things together.  
"Did you have something in mind?" I asked.  
She looked up with her sweetest eyes, whatever it was she had in mind was something she was sure I didn't want to do.  
"I know you're going to hate this but can we please go see the movie?" she asked.  
I knew exactly what 'the movie' was, The Unborn. The scariest thing to hit theaters since...well a long time, in my opinion.  
"Sure" I said, "As long as you're not too scared."  
~Two hours later~  
"Ohmigod, ohmigod, Oh. My. God." she repeted, covering her face with her hands.  
"I don't see how it was so bad, the effects were great" I said.  
"That was terrible! How did I want to see that?!" she asked.  
I sighed, "You and every other girl in the theater, dispite the ghost thing, were all swooning with Cam Gigandet, don't deny that."  
"How do you know who Cam Gigandet is?" she asked.  
"My mother loves him" I said, sighing.  
"Really? Cool" she said.  
Suddenly I realized something, and started laughing.  
"What?" she asked, "What's so funny?"  
"Now I know why she took down all the mirrors!" I laughed, holding onto the Jaguar to steady myself.  
"She saw that?" Claudine asked.  
I smiled, breathing deeply to calm my laughter and nodded, "I'm not going to quote her, so ask her yourself." She kept looking behind her as we went in the direction of the house, glancing anxiously at the rearview mirrors.  
"If the kid is going to appear then what makes you think he'll go after you?" I asked, grinning.  
"No, don't you dare. He killed the hot boyfriend already, he doesn't get to twice" she said.  
I smiled as we pulled up, unsurprised to watch her glance over her shoulder several times before we went inside.  
"Hey kids, where'd you go?" my father asked as we entered.  
"Movie. The Unborn. Wasn't too bad" I said, passing by.  
"Did you like it Claudine?" Nikki asked, that, 'I-know-Cam's-so-hot-but-why-don't-you-say-it' look crossing her face.  
"Good" she said.  
I tapped my dad on the shoulder, a silent signal to leave the women be and go off to not have to listen to this.  
He nodded and rose, "Okay, I'm going to grab something to eat. Don't gush too much."  
Claudine blushed and Nikki rolled her eyes, "Who said it won't be about you?"  
I gave an exasperated sigh, I really didn't want to hear this.  
I walked into the kitchen to have my dad follow me in a moment later, "What was that?" I asked.  
"What?" he replied.  
"You and mom back there, didn't you just have a day to yourselves?" I asked.  
"And?" he asked, "You just had a day with your woman. So did I. By the way, you won't be leaving her side anytime soon if you can tell."  
"The movie?" I asked.  
He nodded and for a moment I wondered what it was that made women go to such extreme lengths to see guys shirtless.  
"Actually guys, their fears won't be gone much longer" Josh admitted sheepishly.  
"What. Did. You. Do?" I asked.  
Two loud screams broke the silence and I sighed, I didn't want to know after all did I?  
~End~  
**Midnight Sun**

Chapter 1- Trails  
Sal walked down the paths through the snow covered forests. The sun was bright, making the snow glitter like dimonds. He could hear the laugher of the kids playing outside back at the mansion, but he needed some time to himself, something he hadn't got lately. He wandered farther and farther into the forest, walking on deer trails left through the snow. It was deep, almost up to his knees but he didn't care much, the cold was refreshing against his skin. A soft roaring sound was up ahead, getting much louder as he came closer.  
"What the-?" he whispered, seeing the giant...dragon?  
It turned it's massive head in his direction and he looked at it, watching as it turned it's head to the side.  
"What's wrong big guy? Thorn in your foot?" he asked, as if he was talking to a wild animal.  
The dragon made a scoffing sound and looked down, it's wing was torn badly.  
The dragon had to be ten feet long and four feet high, it sort of looked like a big, scale-covered lizard/horse.  
The points on it's head told him it was a Romanian Longhorn, but a young one.  
He lead it back through the snow with him into the old stable, the hay was still there, just not the horses.  
"Stay here, I'll make sure you get taken care of" he said softly, patting it's side.  
It put down it's head and rested on the straw. He shook his head, how did it understand him?  
"Nikki?" he asked, entering the house.  
"Library" Josh said.  
Sal walked up the stairs and down the hall to the library, seeing her sitting on the window seat with a book in her hands. A big, ancient, leatherbound book she was more than halfway through.  
"Nikki?" he asked.  
"Sal" she greeted warmly, "What brings you up here?"  
He sat down beside her, "You're probably going to think I'm nuts, or maybe not considering what we've faced, but I sorta found a....dragon, and it's wing is broken. It's in the stable and I was hoping...you could give me a hand at looking at it?"  
She smiled, "That's it? Sure. I used to love dragons, I haven't seen one since I was a little girl."  
"You've...? What?" he asked, "I had dogs and you had a dragon?"  
"Dragons" she said, "It comes with living with the 'King of the Damned'."  
He laughed at her sarcasm, he wasn't surprised her uncle had thought so highly of himself. She donned her coat and walked out to the stable beside him.  
"Oh" she said softly, "She's beautiful."  
The dragon lifted it's head, looking at her.  
"It's a she? How can you tell?" Sal asked.  
Nikki looked back to him, handing over the book, "Read something will you?"  
He smiled at her comment and watched as she walked over, touching the dragon's wing with a feather light touch. The dragon made sounds that sounded like words.  
"Did she just say something?" Sal asked.  
"Yes, she told us her name" Nikki said.  
"Wait, what?" Sal asked.  
"It translates to Midnight Sun in our language Sal" Nikki said, smiling.  
"She's named after a Stephanie Meyer book?" Sal asked.  
"We can take care of her, her wing will heal eventually" she said, patting the dragon's side supportively.  
"Really? A pet dragon?" Sal asked.  
Midnight Sun gave him a look.  
"She's not a pet" Nikki said, "Midnight Sun is one of the family for as long as she wants to be."  
Midnight Sun semmed smug as Nikki sat down on a bale of hay and stroked her scales like someone would stroke a cat.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Sending Off  
"Wait, what? Where?" Sal asked, shock and horror crossing his face.  
"Relax, they're considered gods there" Nikki said.  
"You're kidding! Why Romania though?" Sal asked.  
"Because she'll be happier with others of her kind" she said, walking out to the stable.  
"You're kidding. But...what about..Okay, I've got nothing. Can't we keep her?" he asked.  
"Sal, she's a Dragon, not a pet. She deserves to live like she used to, not be stuck inside against her will" she said.  
"Fine. But none of your psycho family is going to be over here though, right?" he asked.  
Nikki glared at him, "No. My family may be big, but we're also part greek. To quote a movie, we're loud and fun and there are a lot of us. No understatements there."  
"Sorry, didn't mean it the way it sounded" he said sheepishly.  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "Okay, fine. You're going to have to help though, got it?"  
"M'am yes m'am" Sal said, saluting her and running off to the stable.  
"Mom, please tell me this crazyness is over" Josh said.  
"Like?" Nikki asked.  
"Like that we're living in a horror movie" Josh replied.  
"Not quite a horror movie, but I'll promise you, we're going to try to keep things as normal as possible" Nikki said, patting Josh on the shoulder.  
Logan walked out, putting his arms around Nikki, "HJe really got attached to that thing didn't he?"  
"For the most part yes, but he'll be okay. Just give him some time to go back to himself" Nikki said.  
The X-com rang and Logan sighed, "So much for normal."  
Nikki smiled, "This is normal for us. Let's go, before Wade gets involved."  
The End  
**Timekeeper**

Chapter 1- Bargain  
Logan and Nikki suited up and went to meet the X-Men at the coordinates the X-Men had sent to the quinjet's GPS.  
"I wonder what was so important" Nikki thought aloud.  
"Probably just Summers getting his panties in a knot, it won't take long" Logan said, smiling.  
"What about Osborne? Couldn't this be him?" Nikki asked, suddenly worried for their friends.  
"Darlin, if it's Osborne Cyke knows I want the first punch" Logan said.  
Nikki rubbed his arm supportively, "Daken chose us in the end, you and I both know that."  
Logan exhaled slowly, keeping his temper in check, Osborne was one to get on everyone's nerves.  
"Logan, look" Nikki said softly, looking down.  
The team was gathered at what looked like an old warehouse, but looks could be deceving, for all they knew it was an undercover military base.  
"Logan, Nikki, over here" Scott called over as the quinjet landed.  
"We could figure that out on our own Cyke, what's the big emergency?" Logan asked.  
"You won't believe this, but Cerebro detected a new mutant. He's not some uneducated kid either" Scott said.  
"How so?" Nikki asked.  
"He was dying when his power manifested. He's now back in his prime. His name is Nathan Jones, he's calling himself Timekeeper. We need someone to be able to negotiate with him and since Emma isn't here yet..." Scott began.  
"I'll do it" Nikki said.  
"We don't know what this guy can do darlin" Logan said.  
"I'll be fine, if you think anything's going on you can come in after me" she reassured him, "I'll be okay. He's probably just upset."  
"Okay, go ahead" Scott said.  
She walked into the warehouse and down the old hallways, "Nathan? I'm Wolverina, I'm here to help you. I know you're upset, I know how it feels getting your powers and not knowing what to do with them. Believe me, if my family had done anything to help me with my powers we might've been speaking sooner."  
"Like?" a male voice asked above her.  
He stood on a stairwell, his hair a sandy blond with wise brown eyes, his red swaeter was pushed up his arms to the elbow with a pair of khaki jeans and sneakers.  
"Nathan?" she asked.  
"In the flesh" he said, a warm smile on his features, "What do you mean? If they'd helped you?"  
"Oh, you weren't supposed to pay attention to that" she said, "I can take you to a place where you'll learn how to use your powers."  
"I already know how to use my powers" Nathan said, "and I can help you with your problem."  
"What? Even if you could, the most you could do was age them, and I don't think it works on vampires."  
She rolled her eyes, smiling, "Come back to the school and we'll teach you, you can be one of us."  
"What? A good guy? I am a good guy. I've helped people already" Nathan said.  
"How?" Nikki asked.  
"There was a guy with terminal cancer, he didn't want to suffer. I aged him fully and he passed peacefully" Nathan said.  
"Nathan, that isn't helping people. We don't kill" she said.  
"They don't kill, I can see it with you. You've killed before, out of justice and for blood, and you regret it" he said.  
"That's not the point" she said.  
"No, it is. What if I could give you something no one else could. You could get to choose who lived and who died. Who lived forever" he said.  
"That's not right" Nikki said.  
"You want to do it" he said.  
"What I want doesn't matter, it's what's right that does. I don't hurt people" she said.  
"Unless it's necessary" he said, a wicked glint in his eyes.  
"What are you getting at?" she asked, finally fed up with his games.  
"That I will change things for you, because you're the first person with an ounce of decency that I've met in the longest time" he said, smiling and leaning forward to look her in the eyes, "I can change things for you. I will."  
"No" she said.  
He chuckled and his eyes turned white, his age was shifting, making him younger and older before he turned back to his age.  
He clutched his head, crying out, "Too many...too much."  
"Nathan stop! Stop it! STOP!" nikki shouted.  
He cried out and the glass of the windows shattered, falling around them.  
"Nathan?" she asked softly, reaching out to him.  
"I'm...fine" he said, holding his head.  
"What did you do?" she asked.  
"I...helped you. Thank me later" he said, smiling at her before he fell into her arms unconsious.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Holocaust  
Scott held Logan back, surprised the place hadn't actually blown up.  
"What the hell are you doing Cyke?!" Logan growled.  
"He's using his powers, she's not in any danger" Scott said.  
"How do you know? Are you suddenly a telepath or something?" Logan growled.  
"Cerebro told me the conditions of his powers. He has to be focused but nodesript for his powers to work the way they did. He's seen her, he knows her name, there's a good chance his powers wouldn't work the same way on her" Scott said calmly, "Just wait, they'll be fine."  
"Nathan?" Nikki said, shaking him, "Nathan what did you do? You have to tell me!"  
"They're gone....as many as I could handle, that is" Nathan said softly.  
"What?" Nikki gasped, "What are you talking about?"  
"You did want it. There are a few left...but that shouldn't matter. I'm sure you'd want to take care of the rest yourself" Nathan said.  
"Quit talking in riddles dammit! Who are you talking about?" she said.  
"Your family, the one you said wasn't much of one" he said, "Thank me, I did you a favor."  
"What?" she asked, horrified, "That wasn't what I meant! Not even close!"  
"I did you a favor. Now about making it up to me..." he said.  
"I'm not making anything up to you. I don't even know if you're bluffing" she said, hoping he was.  
"Beautiful, do I look like I could bluff with powers like these?" he asked.  
"You had better be bluffing, because if I find out you're telling the truth, I'm going to turn you into dog chow. Got it?"  
He nodded and smiled, giving her a way out.  
She took off outside, repeating in her head that he was bluffing, he had to be. Someone couldn't be that vengeful to people he didn't even know.  
She pulled out her phone, praying someone would answer and she checked with the kids first, making sure they were okay before dialing her mother and Carlisle, still keeping the thought he'd been bluffing in her mind. "Nikki?" Carlisle asked on the first ring.  
"Is everyone alright there?" she asked.  
"We are, our little family, but....not the rest of them" he said hesitantly.  
"What do you mean?" Nikki asked, the praying this wasn't as bad as it sounded.  
"It was, in all esscence, a holocaust. It was a miracle as many of us survived as we did" Carlisle said.  
"How bad Carlisle?" she asked, allowing her voice to break. This couldn't be happening, this just couldn't! They'd always been invincible, why now?  
"It would be too hard to tell you who we lost, but we're alright. So are Anna, Spike and Native. Edward, Bella, Nessie, Rose, Emmett, Alice and Jasper weren't even here, they're fine. Your grandparents are fine. So is Vladimir" Carlisle sounded regretful as he added on her uncle's name, "I already spoke to James and Victoria, they're fine. Did you check home?"  
"Yes, they're okay. Thank stars" Nikki said, brushing away some tears at how many in her family she'd lost.  
"Do you have any idea how this happened?" he asked.  
"A man who called himself Timekeeper" Nikki said, sniffing, "Be careful, okay? He's being brought in and we still need to take care of this."  
"Of course. Try to stay optimistic, thing's could have been a lot worse" Carlisle tried to assure her.  
She nodded, "I know. Just...try to be careful until I know this is taken care of, okay? I'll try to give you details later."  
She hung up, shocked and horrified.  
Cyclops was talking to Nathan as if he were an old friend as they went to the jet, but Nikki looked over to Logan as he approached.  
"What happened in there?" Logan asked, putting his arms around her.  
She turned and buried her face in his neck, sobbing out the whole story.  
Logan's arms were tight around her as he listened. He rubbed her back reassuringly and stroking her hair.  
He didn't let go of her, just looked up to see Cyclops looking over to them in confusion. The little weasel hadn't said a thing.  
Logan tenderly kissed her, holding her in his arms and mentally cussed out Cylcops and Timekeeper.  
Emma began laughing, holding her sides, "Scott, darling, if only you knew Logan's thoughts right now."  
Her mood changed in an instant as she listened closely, "Scott, we have to turn him over to SHIELD."  
"Why?" Scott asked.  
"He just committed mass murder" Emma said, looking up with shock and horror.  
She turned and went over to Logan and Nikki, leaving a very surprised and confused Scott standing on the jet, waiting for her.  
"Nikki, I'm so sorry. I had no idea he'd be so stupid. I should've made Scott wait for me" Emma said, walking over and holding out her hand hesitantly.  
"I didn't mean for any of this to happen."  
"I know you didn't Emma. It wasn't your fault. He just happened to pick the one with the most to loose" she said, trying to use her sarcasm to improve her mood, to no avail.  
"I'm so, so very sorry" Emma said softly, reaching out and rubbing her arm.  
"Thanks Emma" Nikki sniffed, "Has that little weasel said anything yet?"  
"Yes, he keeps thinking about way to get his 'payment'" Emma said, confused.  
"Do me a favor Em, kill him" Nikki said.  
Emma turned to see Nathan looking out the window and smiling, his powers had flaws, she could tell. Like the fact he'd only been able to attack blood family. Emma would help find those weakenesses and bring them out, that way they could bring him down. She'd make sure of that.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Revenge  
Nikki and Logan had gone back to the mansion with the X-Men, making sure Timekeeper was unable to escape.  
"When do I get my payment?" Nathan asked Scott, "You know she owes me now."  
"She doesn't owe you anything, not after that" Scott said.  
Nathan chuckled, "Do you even know how my powers work? You were wrong before, I can target anyone." His eyes began to turn white again, "Just like I'm doing now."  
Scott reached out and with a sudden blast of power he was thrown back, a pained yell coming from Nathan.  
"So strong...so powerful...it's almost a waste to see them go. Almost" he chuckled, smiling.  
Nikki blasted the door in with her own magic, "Whatever it is you're doing, you might want to give up while you still have a head."  
He chuckled and she finally had it with him, her speed allowing her the upper hand in striking him, throwing him back into the wall.  
She spoke softly in Latin and Nathan gasped, what was happening?  
"What are you doing to me?!" he shouted, struggling against her hands.  
He felt so heavy as he saw the blur light rising from his chest. She had to be killing him, that was what it felt like.  
"Taking what power you had" she said in a strange, mystic and disjointed voice.  
Light flashed before his eyes, momentarily blinding him before he could see her again. She knelt over him with the same blank expression, giving nothing away.  
"Who did you target this time?" she growled.  
"Who do you think? I knew it when you called them you'd be tough to take down. What makes you think this wasn't a risk I was willing to take?" he asked.  
"What did you do?" her voice filled with a torturous pain.  
Even without really knowing her, the pain cut him deeply. What had he done?  
"I...I'm sorry" he said.  
"No, you can't apologize. You were never able to" she said softly, "Who? Who this time?"  
He had to look away, "Your real family."  
He looked back to her, the torture of her expression almost too much to bear, "Just kill me and get it over with already. I know you will."  
"Why?" her voice cracked.  
"I...I don't know" he said, looking down.  
In an instant she was gone. She raced off at a speed faster than any. The jet would be too slow compared to how she sprinted. This time, she couldn't underestimate his power. That was what scared her. For the first time in over a hundred years, she was actually afraid.  
Everything looked peacful when she reached the snow covered front yard but she took the steps slowly, trying to prepare herself for what she might find.  
'Might' she reminded herself.  
"I will tell you for the last time Tayla Raven Howlett, you are going to bed now" Sal said as she walked in.  
Daken sat on the couch with Claudine, watching Sal try to convince his imprint she needed to sleep.  
Vincent played video games in front of the TV while Laura sat with a book, Ben and Anita playing at their feet.  
It felt almost like a miracle to see four of her children, but she knew she'd still have to think realisticly, if he'd been targeting them...the worst was yet to come.  
They barely noticed her presence but still aknowleged her as she went past.  
She had to remind herself to breath with each step she took, her uneven heartbeat making her lightheaded. She couldn't entirely put the blame on her breathing, her panic had something to do with it as well.  
She knew before she walked in that this was going to be bad, it was going to be very, very bad. She could barely turn the doorknob, knowing what was wrong already.  
When she looked in she could barely take a glance before dropping to her knees, sobs rising in her chest.  
Her com beeped at her side impatiently and she reached it shakily, trying to calm the sobbing to be able to speak.  
"Nikki, where are you? What's going on?" Scott asked urgently.  
"He...he killed them" she sobbed, almost loosing the small amount of control she had over her crying.  
"Who? Who did he target?" Scott asked.  
She heard an intake of breath, waiting for the answer. Logan was there.  
"The children" she said softly, unable to stop herself from crying now.  
She heard Logan's growl and something breaking, "Are you at home?" Scott asked calmly.  
"Where else am I supposed to be Summers?!" she growled, rage breaking along with the throbbing in her chest.  
"Stay there, I'll be right over" Logan said, clearly angry.  
Nikki hung up and curled against the wall, wrapping her arms around her torso.  
"Mom? Mom what's wrong?" Daken asked, racing to her side.  
Nikki shook her head, trying to shake off the sobs long enough to answer him but he looked around the corner and gasped, "Holy $#^%!"  
He hugged Nikki tightly, knowing how deeply it hurt her. This was...unbelieveable. Who would do this? Who would have the guts to do it? Nikki's whole body shook from sobbing as he hugged her tightly, tears brimming over in his own eyes. Whatever dumb b$%^d who'd done this was going to get it. Badly.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Loss  
Daken held her tightly, rubbing her back.  
They heard the jet overhead and Daken looked up, looking to the door.  
Scott and Logan were inside in a moment, Logan raced up the stairs to Nikki's side.  
"It's okay darlin, I'm here" Logan said softly, kissing her hair as he pulled her into his arms.  
"What happened?" Scott asked.  
Nikki sobbed and clung to Logan's chest, Daken brushed the tears away from his eyes and sniffed, "In there."  
Scott rounded the corner, knowing what he would find.  
Josh, Lana, Shawn and Gabby had been his targets. The family had been reduced by half.  
Scott stepped back, he couldn't believe someone could willingly hurt children.  
Logan looked up, still rubbing Nikki's back, "Now you believe me? That weasel was up to no good from the very beginning."  
"I believe you, it's just...how could he do this?" Scott asked, shaking his head.  
Nikki looked up, "Because he's every bit the b$%^d you overlooked! You completely accepted him because he was a mutant! That's it! You want to save the race, then why don't you try to save those of who you've already reached out to instead of the new guys who we don't even know which side their on?!"  
Scott stepped back, even when Nikki was in her worst mood she'd never been as angry at him as she was now.  
"I'm sorry Nikki, I probably should've taken better precaution with him" Scott said, reaching out and putting his hand on her shoulder.  
She nodded, her sobs were starting to calm slightly.  
Logan continued to hold her, rubbing her back, "Cyke, you want to take over from here for a while? We'll come back and take care of him tomorrow."  
Scott nodded, "I'll leave him to X-Force. Good luck Logan."  
Logan nodded and pressed a soft kiss to Nikki's hair.  
Nikki sniffed and looked up, "What are we supposed to do now?"  
He pressed his lips gently to hers, "I'll take care of everything. You just go get some rest, you've had a long day."  
She nodded and he helped her up, carrying her into their room and laying her down, covering her up with the blanket.  
She'd stopped crying long enough to fall into a deep and thankfully, dreamless sleep.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Killer  
Nikki woke up still in her uniform, her muscles ached and she sat, disoriented for a moment before the memories of the day before rushed into her mind.  
She felt a sob rising in her chest, but had no tears left to cry.  
"Darlin', are you awake?" Logan asked.  
"What...what happened?" she asked, running her gloved fingers through her waves.  
"The kids are still sleeping. I already called the mansion, Scott's got him locked up with power dampiners. He can't hurt anyone again" Logan said, "Are you coming with us later?"  
She remembered, X-Force was going to 'do what they needed to do'.  
"I don't think he will" she said softly.  
"I understand you want to look for the best in people darlin, but this guy has no right killing this many people. Especially your family" Logan said softly, stroking her cheek.  
"He won't. He regretted it...I know it. He looked at me with such pain, he was so hurt. He looked like he regretted everything he did" she said softly.  
"Come with us, it's mainly your decision anyway" he said, holding her closely.  
She nodded, standing, "Did you get any sleep?"  
"Some. A little here and there on the couch" he said.  
"When are we going?" she asked.  
"Whenever you want" he replied, yawning.  
"Go to sleep, I'll be fine" she said, tenderly kissing his cheek.  
"Are you sure? I can stay up, I'll be fine" he said.  
"Get some sleep, I'll be fine. I'll just make breakfast and things like that, okay?" she said.  
He nodded, yawning and laid back on the bed, already tired.  
She put out an extra blanket for him, feeling better to see he'd taken the time to get out of his uniform and into his usual, a t-shirt and jeans.  
She got ready and went downstairs, surprised to see Tayla up and sitting in Sal's lap, Vincent sitting between Daken and Laura while Claudine made breakfast.  
"Morning" she said, walking in. She wasn't all too sure if it was good or not.  
"Morning, I hope you didn't mind me helping out. I thought you'd want to sleep in after last night" Claudine said, giving her a sad smile.  
Nikki nodded, returning the sad smile, "I know. The worst part is they're all leaving it up to me to decide whether he lives or dies."  
"Take a vote" Daken said.  
"What do you think then?" she asked.  
"I say let him die, he deserves it" Daken said.  
She looked over to Claudine.  
"Did he regret it?" Claudine asked.  
Nikki nodded.  
Claudine looked over to Daken, "I agree. It's still not enough."  
Vincent looked up, "Mom, you're not really going to kill him are you?"  
"What should I do?" she asked.  
"Let him live. He could be a prisoner all of his life and it would still be better than death" Vincent said.  
Tayla looked up, "Live."  
Sal looked over, "I don't know if this is my place yet, but I have to agree with Tayla. If he regrets it, let him be."  
"Three for and three against. Some help the vote was" she said, rolling her eyes.  
"It really is up to you Nix, this is for all of us, but we're leaving it up to you" Sal said.  
Hours later-  
Logan and Nikki went into the X-Mansion, ready to make the decision.  
Nathan was in bonds, a power inhibitor collar around his neck. He looked up, eyes pleading, "Please. Just let me say one thing."  
"What?" Logan growled.  
Nikki looked over, leting him go ahead.  
"I am sorry, truly, from the bottom of my heart sorry" Nathan pled, "Please, please don't kill me."  
"Nikki?" Cyclops asked.  
"I want one thing from you Nathan. If I let you live, you have to keep the power inhibitor on unless we're on a mission together. You'll have a supervisor, someone to make sure you don't use them against anyone" she said.  
"I accept! I mean it, please!" Nathan pled.  
"Then I see no other way...but to let you live. Just know, that while I may have you for a team mate, this doesn't change that I will hold a grudge for a while. Eventually, I might be able to forgive you. But not yet" Nikki said.  
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief, "I really do want you to know I'm sorry. I'm really and truly sorry."  
She sighed, putting her gloved hand against his face, "I am too. I'm sorry you didn't know what you were doing."  
She stood and walked to the door and Nathan shook his head, "Wait!"  
"What?" she asked.  
"You know, I really do like you. I really want you to forgive me, if you can" he said.  
"You're going to be a good addition to the team, I know. I wish thing's could've gone differently, but there's no going back now. I'll be seeing you around kid" she said.  
He watched her walk away and blushed brightly as Logan growled at him, following her out.  
"You know, a word of advice. Just because Nikki is nice enough to let you live, doesn't mean her husband will put up with you panting after her" Emma said, flashing him a smile as she walked out after them.  
Nathan sighed, "I will be so screwed then."  
The End  
**Mourning (OS)**

The decision to let Nathan live had been for a reason. X-Force could use his talents as long as they were contained. He had to learn to be part of a team first, but that wasn't the current situation. Right now, Nathan didn't matter...for the most part.  
They'd come out to Ireland to have the family buried together, all of them.  
When her mother heard the news of her decision, she gave a sigh of relief, it would be one less headstone in the near future. Carlisle felt the same way.  
Emmett and Jasper were dissapointed, they wanted to see how much damage she'd cause before she'd kill him.  
Edward, Bella, Rosalie, Alice, Nessie and Dilina had been in the nuteral the whole time, and followed whatever decision she made.  
Jake and the pack couldn't have cared less what she decided, but had wanted to see at least a little damage done.  
There were so many funerals going on simaltaneously they were watching all of them.  
It was actually pretty surprising, how little of them were left.  
Emmett actually made a joke afterwards, how they were like the mutants. Their numbers may have gone down, but they could still kick Nathan's $$. Nikki welcomed him to try, sure he could be beaten by a human.  
That recieved small chuckles from the others, surprised her humor had survived.  
That was when the good-natured joking stopped.  
"I can't believe it" Emmett said softly, staring in astonishment.  
Carlisle walked forward, acting as peacemaker, "I assume you're Nathan?"  
Nathan nodded, the collar was still around his neck, although he was free of chains, "Yeah, I just wanted to come out and talk to all of you in person. I already tried with Nikki, but I don't know if she forgives me or not. I want you all to know I really regret this, it's not something I would've done had I known what I was doing. I'm sorry, really and truely sorry."  
"Sorry doesn't bring them back" Emmett said, glaring Nathan down.  
"Thank you" Bella murmured, "It's nice to know you really do regret this."  
They looked as if they would all burst out in tears and Nathan turned his attention to Nikki, "Please, I really do want you to forgive me. Really. I don't know why, but it matters to me what you think of me."  
Nikki walked forward, stopping in front of him, "It depends."  
He looked at her, the soft breeze blew her hair back from her face and swirled her dress lightly, "On what?"  
"On whether you're telling me everything or not" she said.  
"I do admit, I was jealous. It seemed like you got everything in time and...I don't know, it just made me jealous. But then...I don't know, I started liking you. I mean, you're not like the others. You know what it's like to have to kill someone and regret it" he said. He debated for a moment, but reached out and touched her cheek, "I really am sorry."  
She giggled, "You're blushing. Any thoughts I don't want to know of Edward?"  
"Oh believe me, there are a lot of them" Edward said, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
Logan growled softly, territorialy, and Nikki smiled back at him.  
"Nathan, I do forgive you. I forgive you, but it'll take me a while to trust you" she said.  
"I just hope I can gain it. I really do mean it" he said.  
She smiled, "I have no doubt you can win us all back. You're a good kid, don't forget that."  
They began to walk off and he turned in thier direction, "Did she just call me a kid?"  
"How old are you?" Dilina asked.  
"27" he said.  
Dilina giggled, "Her stepson is older than you."  
The End  
**Vacation?**

Chapter 1- Training  
Nikki had taken it upon herself to be at the X-Mansion as much as possible to help with Nathan's training.  
He was going to become an X-Man soon enough, which ment he had a way to go and Nikki was getting him through as much as possible for him to be ready, and partly out of the fact she wanted to see how he could handle peaceful situations.  
"Nikki, shouldn't you be heading home soon?" Cyclops asked, walking into the Danger Room's control room. "Soon" she replied, turning up the obsticals.  
"What is he being tested on exactly?" Scott asked.  
"Defence without using his powers offencively, basicly he has to harness his power to help himself without using it on others" Nikki said.  
"Are you trying to teach him or prove he had no idea what he was doing?" Scott asked.  
She turned, "Who said I can't do both?"  
"Nikki, you haven't been the same since this. I want you to take some time off, and I mean that. Go home, go to bed, think things over and we'll discuss his team placement in a few weeks" Scott said.  
"Weeks?" she asked, "You're actually giving me a vacation? That seems...impossible of you Summers. What's the catch?"  
"No catch, just let me handle him for a while. I do know how you feel, loosing people you love. Just...take some time off, think things over. Maybe you'll find something that can tell you more than it could before" Scott said, thinking things over in his own memory.  
"Sure you can handle it?" she asked.  
"I'll be fine. Just go relax, we'll be fine here" Scott said.  
Nikki nodded and walked to the jet, meeting up with Bobby and Hank.  
"Hey, where are you guys headed?" Nikki asked.  
"There's a new lead in Alaska, back for the baby. We're going to go check it out. Want a ride?" Bobby asked.  
"Sure, can you drop me off and I'll have some extended family head out to help you out" Nikki said, smiling.  
"Extended family? Of Carlisle?" Hank asked.  
"Yeah, I'm sure Tanya and her family can help" she said.  
"Vampire babes? Cool" Bobby said.  
Hank rolled his eyes, "I do enjoy speaking with Tanya, both of them. Carlisle has truly picked wonderful people to surround himself with. We'd be happy to take you out there Nikki."  
Nikki smiled and sat down, sinking into the warm leather and blinked, her eyes drooping. Well, resting for a minute would'nt be so bad...  
"Nikki?" Bobby asked, shaking her gently.  
"Hm?" Nikki asked, mentally forcing herself awake.  
"We're here. Logan's back too, he and Hank are talking outside" Bobby said.  
Nikki sighed and stretched, walking off the jet and into the cold winter air.  
"Hey darlin, nice to have you back" Logan said, kissing her gently.  
She smiled, "Nice to finally have a vacation."  
Logan grinned at the word 'vacation', "Summers gave you a vacation? I guess he isn't that big of an-"  
"James Logan Howlett don't even think about it" Nikki said, "He's taking on the impossible in my place. We'll do this when he actually deserves it."  
Logan sighed, kissing her gently, "Fine darlin, for now."  
She smiled, "I'm going to go take a break, I'll take care of things later."  
Logan watched her walk inside, smiling at her as she went inside, "I owe you guys, she really needs this."  
Hank smiled, "We know. It's better off giving you both a vacation, after all of the recent events I think you deserve it. I've already asked for the assistance, so Nikki won't even need to do that."  
Bobby laughed, "We've got things covered for a while Logan. If we need help 'cause we're getting owned really, REALLY bad, then we'll call."  
Logan laughed, "Try not to."  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Stress relief, if that's what you call it  
The thrill of the hunt was something Nikki had missed lately. The feeling of the icy wind through her hair as she glided over the snowy ground. Even in over a foot of snow she could still glide along at an incredble apeed. Today, she was just testing her agility before she'd go thrill-seeking.  
It was surprisingly warm, the temperature reaching 48 degrees, almost a miracle when you considered it was only Febuary in Canada, they still had until mid-March when the snow would melt...hopefully, if not sooner.  
She jumped from branch to branch among the trees, trying to forget her thoughts for a while. Nature, even in the winter, brought a degree of peace. The snow fell from the branches in her wake sometimes, as even her quick and light movements could disturb it.  
She saw a wolf from a distance, smiling at the thought of not hunting it, but observing it for a while and possibly having it act as a companion for her time outside.  
She jumped, landing lithly on her feet at the base of the tree. Her braid bounced against her back and she smiled, making herself seem more inviting to the wolf.  
It looked up, regarding her, and returned to its meal.  
She thought of the whole reason she was out here, the thirst at the back of her mind, starting to work it's way into her thoughts.  
The wolf whimpered and she realized the rock she'd taken a seat upon was crumbling under her strength, turning into a grey powder in her hands.  
"Shh" she whispered, dusting her hands off on her jeans. The slight tears in the denim just part of the wear and tear from time before.  
"I won't hurt you."  
She held out her hand and let the wolf sniff before putting its head under her palm.  
She smiled, it must have been raised as a pet and let go.  
It only had attacked a squirrel. She smiled, "Would you like to go hunting with me little guy?"  
He gave a bark, happy to be around another person and jumped on her, putting his wet paws against her shirt as he tackled her back into the snow, licking her face.  
She giggled, this wasn't such a bad vacation so far.  
She slowed her speed to match the wolf's as they raced through the trees, letting it follow her.  
She wasn't hunting humans today, she could do one better. Something that tasted almost as good.  
Moutain lions.  
She was surprised the wolf dog kept up with her through her path into the Rockies, listening and tasting the sents on the air just as she did.  
A lion crouched on a peak, ready to spring at some unsuspecting campers when Nikki lunged, taking it down swiftly and sparing it any pain.  
The wolf looked over to her as she stood and allowed it to walk forward.  
It sniffed and looked to her, as if to say, 'Do I really have to eat this?'  
She laughed and smiled, seeing the campers had left out food the dog was hungrily looking at.  
"Go, I can't stop you" she said, smiling at it.  
With a bark as if to say goodbye, it raced off and began devouring everything out of the camp.  
A little girl ran over to it, "Mommy, a doggie!"  
Nikki laughed and went off, heading back at a slower speed. It didn't matter where they day would go, it was nice just to relax.  
She returned home about twilight and looked up at the sky, stars and the sliver light of the moon shining down. She brushed the snow off the picnic table and looked up at the sky, "I'm sure you guys are up there, wondering what I'm doing, talking to the stars and all, but it's nice just to be able to. I really do miss you, all of you, and if I could have it any other way I would. If Zander or any of those other idiots I dated managed a get in free pass, then this isn't for them. Just my family and friends. I miss each and every one of you."  
"Believe it or not, I do sort of miss all of them too...to an extent" Logan said.  
"Well you don't have to get along with your in-laws, but I'm glad you made the effort" Nikki said, smiling.  
"Come inside?" he asked.  
"In a minute, I never really noticed how beautiful the stars were" she said, laying back and looking up at the sky.  
"Isn't it?" Logan asked, sitting beside her.  
"Is this some cute way of philosophizing?" she asked.  
"A little. I just like looking at them too, they can always remind you that while you have the little things that light up your life, there can always be one big thing that always keeps you happy. Or, with lights of point and reason in life there can always be something that's the reason for your existance as a whole. Like you to me" he said.  
She smiled, "That's the other way around too."  
She sat up and he pulled her into his arms, just holding her tightly.  
She sighed and leaned against his chest, resting her head on his shoulder. It was nice to have a moment alone in the quiet.  
"Come inside, you're getting cold" he said softly.  
"Okay" she agreed and let him keep her tightly in his embrace for a moment before they went inside together.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Day In  
The morning was nice and quiet with the birds singing softly in thier perches. Spring must be coming, which was a very good sign.  
Logan softly brushed a strand of Nikki's hair off her face while she slept. This vacation was at least taking some of the stress off her nerves for a while.  
Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled. Through thier soul connection he could feel the love and joy welling up in her, how happy she was just to be there without having something to worry about.  
"I'm surprised we've gotten peace as long as we have" she said, looking directly into his eyes. He could see the peaceful light was there, glowing brighter than ever in the depths of her silver green eyes.  
"So am I" he agreed, breaking contact with her eyes for a moment to place a loving kiss on her lips.  
She smiled widely, "I missed being able to have all the time in the world to ourselves."  
He gently brushed his fingers along her neck, smiling as he kissed her softly, "So did I. I'm starting to wish this wasn't a vacation."  
She looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean?"  
"I mean it's nice seeing you so relaxed. I know when you go back you're going to be stressed again, I don't like that" he said. He knew the extent of her stress, he knew when Carlisle had told him of her previous state of mind. She'd been depressed before, that had scared him. She hadn't done anything too drastic, but Carlisle had told him what he knew. What some of her long-distance family had known, until she left. Then she'd been a mystery.  
"I'm fine. I can handle it" she said, smiling lightheartedly.  
"Carlisle told me...about before" he said softly. He didn't tell her he knew.  
Her eyes lost the light, being replaced with something darker, "What exactly did he say?"  
"Nothing to be upset over, just that you had a rough time for a while before" Logan said, that was in esscence what Carlisle said.  
"Logan" she said, "What did he say?"  
He couldn't lie to her. "He told me about before you left for the Maurders. He told me how depressed you were."  
"And? I ended up fine" she said.  
He lifted one of her wrists, he'd always assumed what small, light battle scars she had were inflicted by someone else.  
"I never thought much of it until Carlisle told me. He wwas telling me after you lost all of them."  
"You told Scott didn't you?" she asked, "That was the whole reason for this damn vacation wasn't it?"  
"Darlin, I don't mean it like it sounds. I love you, I only want to try and hold off as much as possible" he said, stroking her cheek.  
"Hold off?" she scoffed, "It gets worse Logan, it doesn't stop! This...pain was eating me from the inside out! If I hadn't joined up with Vic and everybody else then I would've snapped! I wouldn't have killed people, not like that. But that was a nice way to escape it. To know there was at least someone in the world that hurt as badly as I did. Then I met you, then it just stopped. Carlisle's wrong, it's not coming back. It hurts, but not as badly anymore. I can control it now. You don't dull it, you take it completely away. I can't hurt when I'm with you."  
He looked at her, "Just like I can't when I'm with you. You understand why it is that I go to the graves every year. It's the same reason you go to Ireland every year. It's what we have to do."  
She looked at him, "I don't know if you know this, but I've offically surpassed your record of having people I love die."  
He pulled her tightly against his chest and she laughed, "I'm not going to have a moment. I'm fine, I told you. I've learned how to stop it, how to channel it differently. I can make it something useful."  
He touched her face, the light was coming back, "Are you sure you're okay?"  
"I'm fine, I mean it. I'm just relieved Carlisle had the nerve to tell you. Even I couldn't. I didn't know what you'd think of it" she said, her smile fading, "I didn't know if you'd think I was crazy or not."  
"Yeah, sure. You? Crazy? You're more sane than I am darlin, I'll give you that." Logan smiled and kissed her cheek, letting her go do whatever she wanted with the day.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Mentality  
Nikki looked up from her book as the phone rang, looking at the caller ID and sighed, it was Scott.  
"How're things going without us Scott?" Nikki asked, exasperated with him.  
"Can you both come down here? As soon as possible?" Scott asked, there was a tone in his voice.  
"What? What's wrong?" Nikki asked.  
"It happened again, only this time not to you" Scott said.  
In a split second she relayed the message to Logan and they went out, wondering sullenly who the next target had been.  
"Logan, Nikki" Scott said with a business like air, he'd been pretty damn distraught evidently.  
"What's going on?" Nikki asked.  
Scott looked over his shoulder to a group of students who were gossiping, probably about the latest tragety.  
"Who? Just tell us already Scott" Nikki said.  
Scott sighed, "Victor."  
Nikki understood, walking inside in an instant.  
"Kitten okay?" Logan asked.  
"She's fine. Their hearts...not so much" Scott said.  
Nikki went into the room she knew Kitten and Victor would be in.  
"Hey" she said softly.  
Kitten looked up, her tear-streaked face was paler than normal, "Did you hear?"  
Nikki nodded and forced herself to sit beside Victor. She hadn't much gotten over his feral tendencies in the time he'd been gone.  
"I'm staying here now. So is Kyle. He's taking this so hard..." Kitten said, sniffing.  
Kyle sat along across the room, his amber eyes brimming over with tears.  
"You're good with kids Nik, I've got Kitten, you go take care of him" Victor said.  
Nikki nodded and walked over to him, "How are you?"  
He looked at her ruefully, "How do I look?"  
"I know how you feel" she said softly.  
"Then enlighten me, how do I feel?" Kyle snapped.  
"Kyle, it's not me your angry at" Nikki said.  
"No, you're right. It's that damn time bender! He killed her all because he wanted to prove he was more powerful than Vic!" Kyle snarled, rage growing.  
He held his chest for a moment and Nikki knew, she knew all too well what it was like to have this overwhelming pain clawing at you.  
He reached for his other hand and she stopped him, covering his wrist before his claws could meet the skin, "Don't. It won't make much of a difference, trust me."  
"How would you know?" Kyle growled.  
Nikki slid off the edge of her glove and showed him the single scar running across her vein, "Most people think it's from battle. Only a select few know how I really got this."  
"Why would you have to? You have the perfect life" Kyle said, saddness seeping into every word.  
"I didn't always have that. I didn't always have people that understood me either. That was why I started. It took my mind off the emotional pain, let me deal with it in a way I thought would be better. I knew I could always heal from whatever damage I did to myself, I just never figured I'd almost tear my wrist all the way apart one day."  
"You...you clawed your wrist apart?" Kyle asked, shocked.  
"It hurt too much" Nikki said, "and it just wouldn't stop. I had to do something and I just kept cutting and cutting until I looked down and I'd torn everything up. If I'd kept going there wouldn't be a doubt in my mind I could've killed myself. I stopped then, it just wasn't worth it after that. As much as it hurt, I didn't want to die because of it."  
"You were that bad huh?" Kyle asked.  
"Worse. I turned my pain outward to cause others pain, strangely enough if I hadn't I might have driven myself insane. That or caused some severe damage, and I know without a doubt that I wouldn't have the life I do today. I guess it was both good and bad for a while. But things change, they get better and worse with each passing day. It depends on your mentality, whether you think each day will bring you some form of happiness or another or if you think it'll bring you pain. I can almost always gaurentee that it'll always bring you both though" Nikki said.  
"You just had to go all fortune cookie on me" Kyle said and sighed, sniffing.  
Nikki handed him a tissue, "Life goes on. It gets better though, I promise."  
"Don't promise what you can't keep" Kyle said, "'Cause it's been hell since I became a teenager, what makes you think things will get any better?"  
"It depends on how you make it" she said.  
"Yeah, qoute Hannah Montana much?" Kyle asked, chuckling.  
Nikki laughed, "You know, in a dark way, that was funny. Did you ever think maybe you were just born to connect with people in some way? Not like a councelor, because some of them can twist things and stab you in the back with your own words. Believe me, I've seen Emma do it. I mean like an actor, or a musician, or a comedian."  
"You really think I'm funny? Well then let me walk outside and fall on my $$ and you'll think I'm hilarious" Kyle said sarcasticly.  
Nikki chuckled, "Don't overdo it hotshot, just 'cause you have talent."  
He smiled at her as she stood, "Thanks Nikki."  
"No problem. If you ever need anyone to talk to, you know where I live" she said.  
He smiled after her, maybe he'd take her advice. He couldn't wait to try out a couple select things on Mr. Summers.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Big Differences  
Kyle was alone, his knees curled to his chest, he could almost hear Amada's soft voice chiding him to do something instead of just sitting there.  
He rose and lifted himself up, walking out of the room and down the hall way, to the chamber Timekeeper was being held.  
"Wildchild! Hey, no hard feelings right man?" Nathan asked, a cocky grin placed on his features.  
Kyle growled, "No, no hard feelings. Sweet revenge."  
He watched as the words sunk in and Nathan's self-absorbed joy turned into panic, "Hey man, Kyle, please. I didn't mean to hurt you man, I promise."  
"You promised Nikki you'd stop too. You didn't keep that, why should I trust you?" Kyle snarled.  
Nathan backed against the wall and Kyle flicked his wrist, his claws glinting under the light, "See you in hell."  
Nathan screamed.  
"Logan, Nikki" Scott said.  
"You know Scott, we're getting called out an awful lot for a vacation" Nikki said.  
The X-Men had blocked off the hall but students were gathered nearby, the sheet over the body and blood splattered all over the walls.  
Nikki covered her nose, resisting temptation as she looked at the scene, "I'll be back okay, I need to ask someone something."  
Logan nodded, not questioning her judgement.  
She went down the hall and knocked on Kyle's door, "Kyle? Kyle let me in will you?"  
She rapped at the door and heard a soft groan. She pushed the door open and saw Kyle.  
"Kyle?" she asked.  
He groaned, "You're wrong, it feels so much better."  
Nikki ripped part of a shirt lying on his bed and wrapping it around his wrist in a tourniquet, "You're an idiot. This is stupid, you don't have to deal with it like this!"  
"Killing him didn't help much" he growled, feeling the numbing pain being taken away by her quick movments. He simply started clawing at his other hand, little cuts appearing on the skin and healing.  
He growled in frustration as she caught his hands, "Don't. It's not worth it."  
"Why not?" he growled, looking into her eyes.  
He expected to see some form of an alpha power within her, some different aspect of her, but only noticed a kindness. A sorrow filled kindness.  
"I've had experiance Kyle, it's not the way to go" her eyes glowed with a deep and tragic sadness.  
He stopped and reached out to her, "You said it didn't hurt so much now."  
She laughed ruefully, "It wasn't. Not until recently. It was almost like a wall had been broken down, like everything was just rushing forward all over again. You have another way Kyle, I don't know if I do anymore."  
Her fingers curled into her hand, leaving an impression in her skin.  
"Hey" he said, catching her hand, "I'm sorry. I won't do it again. You just have to promise me you won't."  
She looked at him, "I know I won't, but how would you know?"  
He sighed and pulled her down, his claws gently running through her soft waves and for a moment he closed his eyes and lost himself in the feeling of her soft, strawberry scented hair in his fingers.  
"I won't. I only need a little help. Someone to talk to" he said.  
He opened his eyes to see her with her eyes closed, her head resting in his hands, "You could always talk to me."  
He gently traced the curves of her lips, "Can I? If Logan doesn't mind?"  
She opened her eyes, looking at him with most of the pain gone, "Relax, Logan would understand. I'll talk to him."  
Kyle smiled, brimming with joy and leaned forward, lingering in the softness of her lips. She tasted like vanilla. When she drew away, giggling, he felt his lips tingling, "Wow."  
A bubbly laugh burst from her, "I'm surprised, most boys your age would have tried something stupid. I think I could get used to you Kyle, maybe even work together sometime."  
Kyle beamed, "I'd like that. But for now, I just want you to have a good vacation, rest up, and get ready to work with me."  
She smiled, "I'll hold you to that."  
The End  
**A Total What The Moment**

"Kyle did what?" Daken asked, looking at Laura in shock.  
"It's true, I found out from Josh who told pixie who told Santo who told Josh again even though he saw it" Laura said, for once sounding like a real teenager.  
"Oh man dad's gonna kill him. Let's watch" Daken said, grinning wickedly as they went out to the garage.  
It was a beautiful day, the temperature had really warmed up in the past few days and now it was almost 50 degrees, it was getting really warm and really nice. Logan just wanted to spend a little time working on his car, something he did to relax when everyone else was busy.  
"Dad? Can we talk to you a minute?" Laura asked.  
"Yeah, sure. What's going on?" Logan asked, looking at Laura as she leaned on his bike.  
"Okay, Josh told Megan who told Santo who told Josh again even though he was the one who knew and saw it himself that...." Laura took a deep breath, "Kyle kissed Nikki yesterday."  
Logan dropped his wrench, "What?"  
Laura cringed back, stepping away, "Okay, it's not as bad as it sounds. Kyle totally inititated it, so don't blame mom."  
Logan gripped the metal of the bumper he'd just been replacing, the already beaten up bumper bending in his hand, "Repeat everything you just said."  
Daken looked at Laura expectantly, but even Laura knew when Logan was too angry to deal with alone, "Kyle kissed mom of his own will?"  
The bumper's squeel of protest against the metal being bent further was cut off as it fell in two on the concrete, "WHAT?!"  
Laura cringed back, he hadn't been this angry since...well since Sal had stopped panting after Nikki himself.  
"Are you going to kill him now?" Daken asked.  
Logan stormed past and Daken chuckled, "I don't know about you, but I'm stowing away."  
Kyle pinned her down, for the first time since they'd begun training together and smiled at her bubbly laugh, "Okay, you got me, at last."  
He smiled, looking down at her. She wore a white tank top and torn up jeans, her usual. He couldn't help but sniff her, her scent mingled perfectly with the soft scents of the soap she used and the strawberry shampoo.  
"Can you get off me now Kyle?" she asked, chuckling as he blushed and pulled her up.  
He noticed the way her clothes hugged her form and he averted his eyes, unable to truly look away, "Kyle, you have to pay attention-" Nikki began and lept at him, pinning him this time, "If you want to stay alive."  
He sighed and opened his eyes, forcing himself to look at her.  
She looked at him with a hint of worry, "Did I hurt you?"  
"No, I'm fine" he said, blushing as she got off him to let him up.  
Logan walked in, growling, "Stay the #$%^ away from her kid. You have no idea what you're doing."  
"And you do?" Kyle asked and realized he was an idiot. Nobody mouthed off to Wolverine and got to keep their mouth.  
Logan lunged at him and Nikki held him back, "Logan, don't!"  
He turned around with absolute rage shining in his eyes, "He is not getting away with that."  
Nikki stepped back and Logan's features softened, "Nikki, baby I'm sorry. I'm not angry at you."  
He cradled her face in his hands and she smiled lightly, "I know you're not. I just don't think he should be punished. He's just a kid."  
Kyle halted in his tracks, that was what she thought? He's just a kid? He felt tears burning in his eyes and forced himself not to cry as he ran away, back in the direction of his room.  
Nikki sighed, "I should go after him."  
Logan caught her hand and looked directly into her eyes, "I just want to know I'm not losing you."  
"What?" Nikki asked.  
"I don't want to loose you to him. I love you darlin, I can't possibly let myself lose you" he said, cradling her to his chest.  
"Logan, I love you. I could never leave you" she said, stroking his face.  
Kyle pushed past Laura and ran to his room, "Oh crap, what just happened?"  
Laura went after Kyle, "Kyle, what happened?"  
"What do any of you care? I'm just a stupid kid to all of you!" he growled and slammed the door.  
"That's not true. Kyle we really do care about you, please let us in, please" Laura pled.  
Kyle opened the door and looked at Laura, "I know, but not now. Please, not now."  
He eased the door shut and left himself to think, to brood, he would be okay eventually, but for now...he could wallow in heartbreak for just a moment longer.  
The End  
**Coping**

Chapter 1  
Kyle had his share of heartbreak before, but none of it hurt like this.  
Amanda, the only woman to share his struggle, was gone.  
Nikki, who'd started to put his heart back together, although he knew they could never be, belonged to someone else. It hurt. Badly.  
"Kyle? Are you better today?" Laura asked, knocking at the door.  
He pulled opened the door and growled at her, "No. Go away."  
Her hand darted forward and caught the door before it could close, "I don't understand you at all Kyle. You have more moodswings than any other person I've ever met. One minute you're happy and the world's perfect, and the next the world will end with your sadness."  
"I don't expect you to understand me Laura, or even like me, so whatever it is you wanted just forget it" Kyle said.  
She sighed and closed the door, sitting on the bed beside where he'd dropped down, "I do understand your pain, just not how you cope with it."  
He looked at her, his amber eyes taking her in, "How?"  
"I lost someone very close to my heart before too. I can't even believe it's been so long since he's been gone" she said.  
She was absentmindedly stroking his hair as she spoke, her voice growing softer with each word.  
He relaxed at her touch, missing how Amanda used to do this very thing.  
No, you're not falling in love with her too he thought.  
Laura looked over to him and leaned over him, her hair falling slightly over thier faces as her lips pressed to his.  
He halted, shocked at his own actions as well as hers, "Are you okay?"  
He blushed, "I didn't expect that."  
Her blush mirrored his own, "Well, uhm, didn't you like it?"  
He looked up to see her looking away, probably embaressed, "Yeah, it was great. I-I mean...don't tell Logan. We actually might do this again sometime you know."  
She looked up, meeting his gaze, "I'd like that, I'll see you around then Kyle."  
She stood and walked out, leaving him very dazed and confused.  
The alarm beeped on his clock, it was time for training. He doubted Nikki would be there though, after that.  
Against his better judgement he got up and walked down to the gym, surprised to walk in on her sitting in a chair with her iPod on, reading the third Vampire Acadamy novel in the trilogy, Shadow Kiss.  
"Warm up, then meet me at the track" Nikki said, not looking up from her book.  
He nodded, "Right."  
Training seemed as effortless as it had before with her, after she'd put her book back in her bag she made effortless conversation with him while critiqueing his style.  
He was used to her and liked being around her, but no longer did it feel like she was helping him get back to who he was, he already was the old Kyle. The old Kyle that had been around when he was human, the one that loved sports and music, who sat around and played video games instead of doing his homework and the one that read novels in his freetime. The classic Kyle he missed being. He realized what it was, this was his home, his safe harbor, and it brought him back to being, if not the more mature version, the Kyle he used to be. Back before all this mutant vs human stuff. He liked it.  
Nikki chuckled, breaking him out of his thoughts, "We'll continue tomorrow."  
She walked over to her bag and pulled out her cell phone, texting whoever had texted her.  
"Yeah, and I'm the teenager" he mumbled.  
Nikki laughed and looked at him over the screen, "You better hope I don't catch you saying that again, or you'll have hell little boy."  
He smiled at her, "Like I can't take what you have to dish out for me."  
She grinned, a wicked glint in her eyes, "We shall see."  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
After training Kyle walked out to go back to his room. For the first time in a while he spent a long time getting ready to go back downstairs.  
Laura was sitting off to the side, listening to X-Force business, but only half listening. Her thoughts kept drifting off to Kyle, and how it could probably work out between them.  
"Kyle, what're you doing here?" Cylops asked.  
Laura looked up and smiled. Kyle smiled back, "I thought I might as well ask since I've been training for it. I want to join X-Force."  
"What?" Scott asked, "You want to be on a team with Logan?"  
"Yeah, why not? The best way to learn is to be taught by an expert" he said.  
"Kid, your kissing up is well recieved but why the hell do you want to be here?" Logan asked.  
"I want to get out in the field. I've been training for it, so I might as well do it" Kyle said.  
"I think he should join, he could be useful to us" Laura said, taking up the voice of reason on the team.  
Domino took her gaze off Logan for a moment to look at Laura, "One question: How?"  
"If it ever comes to the fact that Logan or I are rendered unable to use our claws he still can, that and he has a wide ranged knowledge of espionage and weapondry. Any other questions?" Laura asked. She REALLY disliked Domino.  
Logan looked at Laura, regarding her sudden attitude toward Domino, but shrugged it off, he'd never understand teenagers. "You're in."  
"What?" Domino asked.  
"I said he's in, you want to complain do it later. Get a uniform and meet us in the hanger, you're on mission now" Logan said.  
Domino glowered and left after him.  
"Why is he with us?" she asked, incredibly angry.  
"Because we can use him" Logan said.  
"Are you sure we can trust him?" Domino asked.  
Logan turned to face her, "I made a huge decision to trust you when we needed you, don't screw this up."  
Domino looked at him, "I thought you already trusted me."  
"Not likely after the last time you shot me" Logan said.  
"That was an an accident. I wasn't aiming for you" Domino said.  
She went close to Logan, putting her hand on his chest, "I'm really, really sorry."  
Logan took her hand off of him, "It's not going to work Domino, I'm married. I will never cheat on my wife. Especially when you've been so desperate about it for a long time."  
He left a shocked Domino in the hanger while the rest of the team came in.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Domino and Wolverine were stuck together on the mission. They could trust Kyle around Laura, they knew if he tried anything she could, and probably would, gut him alive.  
"How do we know we can trust this guy?" Domino whispered.  
Logan glanced over his shoulder at her, "You know, for someone who trusts me, you really have to act like it."  
Domino looked over to him as he turned away, looking over his well-muscled torso.  
"Logan, I do trust you. I just don't trust him" she said.  
He looked over at her and there was absolute rage in his eyes, "Give it up Domino. I mean it. You can stay on this team, I don't care, but I won't have you checking me out every single chance you get."  
It didn't turn her off, she liked the smoldering of his eyes when he looked at her, although it was with rage instead of the emotion she held for him. She could only envy his wife, she got to be looked at with love, she got to be with him, see him smile and relax. It was something Domino longed for, the unattainable prize.  
"Domino" Logan said softly, growling.  
For a moment Domino pretended it was with passion instead of rage, but when he darted out and caught her hand, spinning around to face her, she was genuinely afraid.  
"I. Want you. To stop. Now" Logan growled.  
His grip was tight on her wrist, stopping her from touching him. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, only scare her, and damn was he doing a good job.  
"O-okay?" she said.  
Logan released her and stalked off.  
"What are we looking for?" Kyle asked Laura.  
"Soldiers, weapons, but by the smell of things they've been gone for weeks now. On the move again. I wouldn't worry too much" Laura said.  
Laura turned to face him, striding over to him and placing her hand softly against his chest, "Now that we're alone..."  
Kyle's eyes opened wide, how was this even possible for him?  
Her eyes closed and she leaned in close, her lips soft on his and deepening with the moment.  
He couldn't close his eyes, not when something so unreal was happening.  
"Kyle? Laura? We're going now, let's go!" Logan shouted.  
Laura broke away and smiled at him, "Come on tiger, let's get going before they get suspicious."  
"There was nothing there professor, we scouted the whole thing, there's nothing" Logan said.  
"Well, I suppose that's good. That means they've given up. Thank you Logan, I'm glad you took the time to do this for me" Professor Xaiver said.  
"No problem Charlie" Logan said and walked out.  
"Logan, about the mission-" Domino began.  
"Dom, save it. It's not going to change anything between us" Logan said.  
Domino resisted the part of her telling her it was wrong, that he was a married man and she threw herself on him, kissing him.  
Logan pushed her off, "Domino what the hell?!"  
"Logan, I'm-" Domino said.  
Logan growled at her, making her back away, "Save it Dom, it's not gonna happen."  
Logan stalked off away from her and Domino smiled, that was fun.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
"What?" Nikki asked softly.  
"Um, Domino kissed Logan...but Logan pushed her away" Pixie said softly.  
"Oh that b^%%& is going to get it" Nikki snarled and walked away, her heeled boots clicking away angrily.  
"Domino?!" Nikki called, seeing her ahead.  
"Nikki, what's up?" Domino asked with a relaxed grace.  
Nikki snarled and punched Domino in the face.  
"Ooh!" Rockslide gasped.  
Josh and the others shyed back, away from the ensuing fight.  
Nikki and Domino clawed at each other, neither using any weapons but still Nikki was winning.  
"Holy-What's going on out here?" Scott asked.  
"They started kicking each others $$ out of nowhere" Santo said.  
Logan went out and pulled Domino off Nikki, pushing her aside and pulling Nikki to her feet, "Are you okay darlin?"  
"I'm fine" Nikki said.  
"Get back here b*^%#!" Domino shouted, lunging at Nikki.  
Logan pulled Nikki back into his arms, restraining her as she tugged, lunging back. Santo was holding back Domino.  
"What is wrong with you two?" Scott asked.  
"If she ever goes near Logan again, I am going to rip her %$^&ing head off!" Nikki snarled.  
"He wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss him, just face it" Domino said.  
Nikki let out a feral roar and struggled against Logan, trying to kill Domino.  
"Darlin calm down!" Logan said, stroking her hair, "You know I love you."  
His voice soothed her and she relaxed against his chest.  
"Domino, I think for the good of the team, you should stay away from Logan" Scott said.  
Logan took Nikki away from them, down the hall and into another room, "I'm sorry you were jealous. I can't exactly help what she does, I don't read minds."  
Nikki chuckled and pressed her lips to his in a kiss, "You really didn't like that?"  
"Not at all" Logan said, "I much prefer this instead."  
He leaned in close and kissed her deeply, his lips pressing to hers with a sudden desperate intensity.  
She smiled, their kisses slowing, "I really missed you."  
"I missed you too. I love you, you know that" he said, holding her tightly against his chest.  
"I love you too, and yes, I know that" she said. She relished the warmth of his embrace, the love in every word he spoke to her. She rested her head against his chest and smiled, it felt nice, really nice, to just be together.  
"You know what, let's go home" Logan said, rubbing her back softly.  
She smiled, "Laura might not like that."  
He grinned mischiviously, "Then I'm glad Charlie kept my room here."  
He lifted her up, cradling her in his arms as she giggled and carried her off.  
Laura snuck into Kyle's room and sat down on the bed, waiting for him. He really needed to clean the disorganized mess that was his desk, and pick up his clothes off the floor.  
Laura sighed at the instinct to clean up after him and grudgingly picked up his laundry, putting them in the hamper inside the closet and putting away his clean clothes. She started cleaning up his desk and straightening up his books and things, she even made his bed.  
She only noticed the sound of the water being turned off when it happened and she heard the ruffling of a towel.  
She froze, he had been in the shower?  
"Laura?" he asked, freezing in the door from the bathroom.  
It was a bit of an akward scene, an off white towel wrapped around his waist while he stood there, half between walking in and half way backing away.  
"Uhm, I didn't know you'd be..." Laura began, "Should I come back later?"  
"Uh no, I'm just going to be a minute" Kyle said and dropped the towel he'd been using on his hair on the floor.  
Laura sighed and picked the towel up, walking over to the closet and dropping it in.  
"Uh, did you clean my room?" Kyle asked.  
"Yeah, now please tell me your bathroom is cleaner than your room" she said.  
Kyle snickered at her approach to cleaning his room and bathroom.  
Laura turned after cleaning and looked at him, he'd changed into a nice-fitting Metallica t-shirt and ripped jeans.  
"Um..." she said.  
"Laura, would you do me the honor of going to dinner with me?" he asked.  
She nodded and let him help her up, smiling weakly at him.  
"You know, I think this is going to be the start of something that might actually last" Kyle said, smiling as he slung his arm around her.  
She blushed and smiled, oh things were changing indeed.  
The End

**Baseball (OS)**

It was unseasonably warm in the area near the Howlett home and the whole day had held rain, rain and more rain. Then, the thunderstorm started.  
The phone rang in a heartbeat from the thunder and Nikki picked it up, "Baseball?" Victoria asked.  
"Oh you know it" Nikki said, grinning.  
The Howletts headed out to a clearing twice the size of a football field and met up with James, Victoria, Laurent, Native and little Viviana and Alex.  
They rallied off positions and headed out to the field. It was the first time any of the Howletts had an oppertunity to see Nikki play baseball.  
Victoria wound up her curve ball and threw it, the bat making a thunderous crack as it slammed into the ball.  
James took off, faster than a bullett as Nikki raced off, her feet taking her as fast as possible around each base.  
She whipped around and slid into home plate, grinning as James re-appeared with the ball, pitching it over to Victoria.  
Nikki hopped up and dusted off her jeans, turning and smiling at them.  
"Wanna go?" she asked.  
Daken looked to Logan and Logan nodded, Nikki handing off the bat on the way back.  
"How do you do that?" Vincent asked.  
Sal chuckled, "Superspeed. That or super-shoe power."  
Nikki growled at him playfully.  
"Oh I'm so scared!" Sal said dramatically, "I'm gonna wet my pants!"  
"Yeah, we knew you weren't housetrained" James called over, earning laughter from Laurent, Daken and Vincent, and even a chuckle from Logan.  
The bat struck again and Daken was almost as fast as Nikki, managing third base before they brought the ball back.  
Laura went up next, managing to get Daken back and get to second base.  
"Come on Laura! You can do it!" Tayla shouted, whooping with Vincent.  
Nikki smiled and watched as Sal took the plate, knowing he could make the hit easily.  
He struck out twice and then, with a grin, Sal slammed the ball almost as far as Nikki.  
He made a home run and brought the game to it's first high point.  
They switched roles, Nikki being pitcher this time.  
Logan smiled, waiting for her pitch.  
James stepped up to bat, smiling at her smugly. He thought he was going to hit this.  
Nikki grinned, pressing her lips to the ball and throwing.  
James swung. He missed.  
Logan caught it and laughed, that was pretty good.  
James snarled softly and stood straight, swinging his bat back and forth.  
Logan tossed the ball back to Nikki and smiled.  
"Come on James! You can do it baby!" Victoria called.  
"Yeah, hit it mon ami!" Laurent called.  
Nikki pitched softer, letting him hit the ball.  
Daken caught it in the outfield, tossing it back in.  
James made it to second base when Laurent stepped up, intent on showing off.  
Nikki grinned, she wasn't going easy on him.  
She threw a wicked curve ball, similar to the style of Victoria's, only hers took a wider curve, giving her a better advantage.  
Laurent missed two out of three times, and by the time she had him blushing and Victoria snickering, she let him hit the ball.  
James came in and Laurent made it to third base.  
The storm picked up and they wrapped up thier game, not really caring who won or lost.  
"Good game, but I wish the rain hadn't picked up" Victoria said.  
Nikki smiled and gave her a brief hug, "Good game for you too. Later Vic, I'll see you!"  
Victoria and the others waved as they headed off.  
The Howletts reached home in a few moments, hurrying inside.  
Logan paused with Nikki by the doorway, "Wait a minute."  
"Hm?" Nikki asked.  
Logan took her face gently in his hands, giving her a tender, loving kiss.  
"You know what's coming up this weekend" he said, grinning.  
"Yep. And next Saturday too" she said, smiling.  
Logan smiled, taking her inside. There was nothing better than warming up inside after a spring baseball game.  
The End  
**The Academy**

Part 1

Even through stories Siberia had been discribed as a cold and desolate place where only the tigers and wild life that had adapted centuries ago could survive. That wasn't the whole truth. The Elysian council held a branch in Siberia, with their leader Vikas. The Elysian council weren't exactly what you could call human, either. There was an academy, a place for damphirs and Moroi, the half vampires and the mortal vampires, could live and train to brace the world when they grew up. The academy was protected by the others, the immortals always in the shadows for them. It was called Saint Vladimir's academy, and although the damphirs were trained to hunt and kill the immortal vampires, the Strigoi, they never knew they were being protected by the kind they were sworn to kill. Vampires like Vikas.  
Vikas had known Patrick Sean O'Mally since the time they'd both been children, growing up together and being best friends. Vikas had been the one to introduce Patrick and Tanya. News traveled quickly among the vampires, since most had nothing better to do than gossip, but when word had reached Vikas of his old friend's death, three years later, he was outraged.  
Vikas had to see how things had been going, how things had changed from before, when Vikas knew Tanya was truely happy.

Nikki smiled at the thought of visiting her mother before Valentine's day, she missed her mother a lot.  
The family boarded the quinjet with Tayla happily singing, "We're going to grandma's house! We're going to grandma's house!"  
Nikki smiled and sat beside Logan. He took her hand in his own, smiling, "Ready darlin?"  
"When you are love" she said, smiling back.  
The jet ride wasn't too long and Nikki smiled, it felt so good to be home.  
"Nikki?" Tanya asked.  
"Mom" Nikki said, smiling warmly as she walked down to her mother.  
Carlisle smiled at Nikki and Tanya as Tanya went to hug her son-in-law warmly, followed shortly by her grandchildren.  
"Oh Tayla! You've gotten so big! Vincent! Oh sweetie, you're so grown up! Laura, oh what a beautiful young woman you've become!" Tanya gushed over each of them and smiled.  
"She spend weeks shopping with Alice for this. She's going to spoil them" Carlisle said.  
Nikki smiled, "As if we haven't done that already."  
A black car with tinted windows pulled into the driveway, confusion coloring Carlisle's tone.  
"That's strange? I didn't think we'd have company" Carlisle said.  
"No, wait. I recognize that car" Tanya said, looking at it carefully.  
"Who is it?" Carlisle asked.  
"Tanya?" a thickly russian accented voice asked, stepping out from the car. A man who was immencely bigger than Emmett stepped out, actually surprising, and scaring, most of them.  
"Vikas?" Tanya asked.  
"Tanya" Vikas said with warmth in his voice.  
"Is he related to Santa Claus?" Tayla asked Vincent in a small voice.  
Emmett cracked up, turning around and doubling over onto the grass, "Santa?!"  
Tanya gave him a repremanding look and walked up to Vikas.  
"What do you think is going on?" Edward asked, looking over to them.  
"I'm not sure, but a friend of Tanya's is welcome here" Carlisle said.  
Vikas glanced over Tanya and spoke in soft russian, "Nikki? Is that you? Your father was right, you have changed."  
"My father?" Nikki asked, shocked.  
"I spoke to him not long before..." Vikas trailed off, "Well, let's not dwell on that. He was immencely proud of you. Know that."  
With shock and awe in her eyes, Nikki turned to her family and glanced back to Vikas, maybe this visit was going to be more intresting than they'd thought.  
TBC  
Part 2

They followed Vikas inside while Carlisle looked at Tanya in destress, he was more than a little nervous to trust him.  
"What has been happening in your life Tanya?" Vikas asked, sitting at the table.  
"Oh, well Carlisle and I got married a little over three years ago. Nikki was married almost two, actually just a day shy. Carlisle brought his family with him to add onto ours. We've been...drastically reduced since you've last seen us Vikas" Tanya said.  
Vikas started to rise but Carlisle beat him to it, putting his arms around Tanya and giving her a gentle squeeze.  
Logan wrapped Nikki in his arms and kissing her waves softly, brushing his fingers through her hair.  
"I apologize" Vikas said.  
"No, you don't have to Vikas, you didn't know" Tanya said.  
Vikas looked to Nikki, "And you mahlyenki angeil?"  
"What?" Vincent asked.  
"Mahlyenki Angeil, it means 'little angel' in Russian" Vikas said.  
Nikki looked up and Vikas chuckled, "The first time I saw you, you were hiding your face in your teddy bear's back. Though they didn't call it that back then. You were so adorable. Your father had to tickle you to bring you out of that shyness."  
Daken laughed, "My mom? Shy? You're kidding."  
"Oh she was the sweetest. She was so polite and obediant, then she slowly grew out of that. She never knew how to stand up for herself, but she learned. She got to be a real firecracker, that I know. Your father was telling me about you, he knew everything you went through. You were always his favorite, though he would never admit it. He felt especially protective of you, being such a tender child and having to become so mature so fast" Vikas said.  
"I'm sure I'm doing just fine" Nikki said defencively.  
"I know you are. Your father was so proud to see you handling things as well as you did. It was incredible, there was a lot of worry about you at first, but then we got over it. We knew you could protect yourself" Vikas said, "Not that you'd want to. You could, and would, make your share of mistakes, but you always learned from them. I'll never forget the time I was here and your father let you learn for yourself how to fight in a conflict. You were almost four and you were being yelled at so terribly. I wanted Patrick to step in so badly, but he just told me to wait. You stopped crying and agreeing and defended yourself and then you threw the biggest tantrum. It was marvelous! We'd waited so long to see you do that and to see you do it the way you did...it was marvelous! Simply marvelous!" Vikas said.  
"I threw a tantrum?" Nikki asked.  
"Oh you were the sweetest, most even tempered child. You always took things with your head held high, or when they'd wounded your pride you might cry and agree with them just to make it end and get over it, but you finally snapped. I must admit, it was the most fond memory I've ever had of you. When you were finished with this terrible tantrum you just laughed at the shocked faces and walked outside to play on the swings. It was fantastic!" Vikas said.  
Nikki blushed, but grinned, "That must've been fun. I do remember something like that. I guess that's where I learned not to take any crap."  
Vikas laughed joyusly, "Oh mahlyenki angeil, there is not a single thing on this world someone couldn't do for you. You simply attract people, they love you and support you. It seems like a very good thing now, doesn't it?"  
Logan pulled her into his arms as he sat down, "What was she like when she was young?"  
"She was adorable" Vikas said, "She used to be so sweet and well tempered. Then her father let her let out that inner rage, and she was so much happier. It surprised me. I have to say it, I love mahlyenki angeil like my own daughter. It's hard not to love her."  
Logan looked at Nikki, smiling at her, "I know."  
He stroked her cheek softly, smiling at her.  
"Everyone loves our mom, we know that" Vincent said.  
Tanya smiled, "Yes, everyone does."  
"Oh mom...we love you too" Nikki said.  
Logan smiled and nodded.  
"Vikas, I suppose we should let them go. They should get home before their anniversary" Tanya said, stepping away from Carlisle to hug them all a final time.  
"Goodbye mom, we'll be back when we can" Nikki said.  
Tanya smiled and waved them off, "Goodbye, we'll see eachother soon."  
They went back to the jet and Logan paused with her before going in, kissing her gently, but passionately, "I love you. Eight years hasn't diminished that at all. It's only grew."  
Nikki smiled and gently brushed her fingers along his cheek, "I love you too. There isn't a force in this omniverse that could change that."  
The End  
**Anniversary**

Logan smiled as he walked back into the bedroom. She was still sleeping soundly and he softly stroked her hair.  
"Happy anniversary" she said softly, smiling as she opened her eyes to him.  
"Happy anniversary" he said softly, leaning down and kissing her.  
She sat up and smiled, "You let me sleep in."  
"It's also Valentine's day, you're not just getting a couple more hours' sleep as a present. You did have to put up with me for two years" he said.  
"You make it sound impossible" she said, "You'd be surprised the things love can do."  
He smiled and put his arms around her, giving her another tender kiss before leading her downstairs to breakfast.  
He was a little surprised she didn't trip over her pajama bottoms, considering how long they were, and watched her reaction as she stepped into the kitchen.  
"You didn't have to do all this" she said softly, smiling joyusly.  
"I wanted to. Besides, I know you'll be doing the same thing next week" he said.  
She laughed, "Bait all you want, I'm not giving anything away."  
She had plans for his birthday, things that involved a great, now non-Sabretooth, day.  
He sat down with her, gently touching the smooth bands of the rings, "Two years, can you believe it?"  
"Yeah, I can. I can believe a forever" she said, twining their fingers together.  
He grinned, "Before I met you, I didn't think there was a way any woman on earth could put up with me the way you do. You actually love me, and have for eight years. We've been married two wonderful years, and I never want it to end. Every day is perfect as long as you're in my life. There's nothing we can't do when we're together. This much I'm sure of."  
She smiled, "I don't know what to say. You took the words out of me. I love you too. You're my life. There's nothing I won't do for you."  
He stroked her cheek gently, "This is only the beginning. Every day, every year, every waking moment will always be better than the next. As long as you and I are together."  
"Forever" she agreed.  
Being together was everything, nothing less than perfect. From the moment they met, and were still sure, even at that moment, that they would stay in this blissfully perfect forever as long as forever would be.  
~The End~  
**The Return Of Sabretooth**

Chapter 1- One of them was bad enough  
After a 'break' of sorts the past three days, Logan and Nikki returned to the X-Mansion, or well, Greymalkin Industries. A name they'd both had a chuckle at before.  
"Before you go in there, there's something Scott didn't mention" Bobby said.  
"This sounds bad. What is it?" Nikki asked.  
"Victor's got....mulitiple personalities. In other words, Sabretooth is, sort of, back" Bobby said.  
"Sort of? You mean Vic's still keeping control?" Nikki asked.  
"Some. He can't all the time. Emma's helping him too, apperantly Sabretooth has a thing for her, so having her pop up on the astral plane with him gives Vic a break for a while. She lets him sleep a lot. It's mentally exausting to both of them" Bobby said.  
Logan hadn't said a word the whole time, and Nikki was getting a bit nervous that he might be considering ways to kill Victor.  
"What about Kitten?" Nikki asked.  
"She's out of it. She's frantic and angry and practically every other negitive emotion there is. It's...a little scary to be around her to be honest. You want to handle her? Let Logan take on the Creed brothers for a while?" Bobby asked.  
"If Logan doesn't kill him, then sure" Nikki said, "Remeber what he was talking about with Kitten being scary. She'll be worse. Much worse."  
Bobby shivered, "I'll stay with him. For protection and to protect Creed. I never thought I'd say that."  
Nikki walked down the hall, following Kitten's scent. She stopped outside what she knew to be Kitten's room through all this. Ever since Victor had been controlled almost two months ago, through Timekeeper destroying what little of a life Kitten and Victor had built up together and now this. It must've been absolute hell for her.  
"Kitten? Koda?" Nikki asked, knocking softly.  
The door cracked open a bit, "What are you doing here?"  
"I heard. I wanted to see if you were okay. I'm supposed to be taking care of you remember?" Nikki said.  
Kitten scoffed, "Yeah, right. I'm almost 19, I can take care of myself."  
"Yeah, you're 19. You do realize my almost 63 year old stepson still needs my help at times, right?" Nikki asked.  
"I grew up fast" Kitten said.  
"Yeah, so did he" Nikki said, "He was in the army by the time he was 14. He got his powers when he was ten."  
Kitten looked back, "I bet he didn't have to suffer through vampire attacks and raids on covens where daddy dearest reigned the supreme werewolf superhero."  
Nikki busted up, "That's what he's calling himself now? I need to go knock some sense into that boy."  
Kitten cracked a smile, "Go, I'll help."  
"Are you okay? I mean with Victor. I know you're worried about him, but it's nothing. He'll pull through, he's Victor. You and both know he's unstoppable. Especially when he has someone to fight for" Nikki said.  
"Are you sure? Do you really think he can pull through?" Kitten asked.  
"I know he can. I can help him" Nikki said, knowing there was a big chance she was putting herself in danger there, but she stopped caring. This wasn't about her, this was about Kitten.  
"Then do it. Please" Kitten pled.  
"Okay. I'll be back" Nikki said, walking out.  
Logan was waiting outside the holding cell, watching with Bobby and Scott as Emma attepted to restrain Sabretooth. Victor was encoraging her.  
"She's loosing it" Scott cautioned.  
"Then let me help" Nikki said.  
"How?" Scott asked.  
Logan looked to her in worry, while Bobby gaped in amazement.  
"Let me through and you'll see" Nikki said.  
Scott let her through and she took a seat beside Emma, putting her hands on either side of Victor's head.  
"Just like old times isn't it?" she asked as she closed her eyes, putting her full trust in Victor's control.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Reawakening  
The astral plane in Victor's mind was split in two. Part of it, Sabretooth's side, was barren and bloody while he sat in his furs and leathers on a pile of bones and freshly killed bodies, a makeshift throne of bones being his seat. The other side, Victor's side, was a garden. Flowing flowers of freesia, orange blossoms, apple blossoms, lotus flowers, and Victor sat in his casual jeans and t-shirt combo on a stone bench. She realized where they were, they were in her garden from home.  
"Victor?" Nikki asked.  
"Hey Nikki" he said, smiling at her. She found it hard to be afraid with his golden amber eyes looking as warm and sweet as possible.  
"Hey frail" Sabretooth growled, waving over to her from his side. He sneered at her, his eyes more like a solid than the shimmering liquid Victor's appeared to be.  
"Nikki, come over here, please" Victor begged, he didn't want her hurt.  
Nikki looked to him, "I'll be okay, I'll be right back."  
Victor looked scared while Nikki walked onto the other side, her feet taking her the casual strides up to Sabretooth.  
He chuckled and once she was in his grasp, he pulled her down onto his lap, "It's been a long time frail."  
"Not long enough" Nikki growled.  
He chuckled again, "Are you finally ready to take me on? Or are you still too scared?"  
She met his gaze with her own, making her eyes appear more of a solid silver and emerald than before, "Me? Scared of you? Bring it on furball."  
He growled and threw her off the pile of bodies, his throne dismantling as he stood up.  
Nikki landed on her feet, smiling at him with a sinister light to it.  
"You don't have the blade girl, what makes you so confident you're going to win?" he asked.  
"Because I can genius" Nikki said, her hands taking on the golden glow and she blasted at him. He moved to the side, reaching out and slashing at her.  
She blocked his claws with her own, and she blasted him in the chest. He flew back, landing on the pile of bodies. They reached up, trying to pull him in, but he struggled free, leaping at her again.  
She knew all she had to do was wear him down to the point that he couldn't fight them, where he would be buried by the guilt Victor felt, the change that had overcome him. She kept blasting him, not letting up until she was running a constant stream of the magic.  
He pulled her tightly against him, "I still win."  
She snarled and her claws shot out, throwing him back into the pile of bodies, "Not this time."  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Alpha  
"Vic, you've got to take control now!" Nikki said.  
Victor pushed his will power, forcing Sabretooth under.  
"You can't win! I will come back, I'm a bigger part of him than he thinks!" Sabretooth snarled.  
"We'll see about that" Nikki said, using her magic to aid Victor's will.  
Emma was watching the whole scene in Victor's head, and as they both pushed as hard as they possibly could, Sabretooth was buried...for now at least.  
Victor caught Nikki's arms, steadying her, "Thanks."  
"No problem" she panted.  
Emma nodded, "How long was that?"  
"A few minutes" Scott said.  
"How-?" Victor began.  
"Time is different on the astral plane that it is in the physical world" Emma said.  
"Where's Kitten?" Victor asked.  
"Waiting for you" Nikki said, letting him past.  
Emma looked at Nikki, "Why would you do that? Victor's never been a friend to you, just a team mate at a few points. You have even said you hated him before, so why put your life on the line pushing your powers like that to help him?"  
"Because Emma, you can forgive your enemies when they aren't your enemies anymore" Nikki said, walking out.  
Logan and Scott were in conference so she walked outside, walking down the beach and looking out by the bridge. She sat on some rocks, folding her knees up to her chest and looking out over the sparkling water.  
"Do you ever check for stow-a-ways?" Daken asked, leaning on a tree not ten feet from her.  
Nikki turned, glancing at him, "I have to ask, did you ever regret what you'd done?"  
"All the time" Daken said, "I just didn't see it like that. I saw regret as weakness, and I didn't want to be weak. At all. I couldn't really help it, things were just changing so fast...it felt like my head was spinning and I just couldn't pass out. It absolutly sucked."  
Nikki chuckled, "Why the change of heart? You just walked in one day and became a good guy, I know that, but why?"  
"I don't know. I don't think I really ever will. I guess I was just sick of being alone all the time. I kept getting so bored, something not even going out and starting a fight could cure. I never really learned how to interact with people from a normal standpoint, so I just went to Logan" he said, "What about you? I know you did it for love but...any other reason? Or would I be the one convincing you to become a good guy if Logan weren't around?"  
"I got bored too. Having all that power and nothing to do with it, it got boring fast. I wanted a challenge, and well, 'with great power comes great responsibility' versus 'absolute power corrupts absolutely' was sort of the inner debate, though I've never been one to listen to stuffy old british guys talk" Nikki said.  
Daken chuckled, "If you weren't a hero, or a villian, what would you do?"  
"Probably be a writer. I never gave up my imagination. How do you think I can sit there and play peek-a-boo for an hour straight?" Nikki said, "Or something to do with cryptozoology."  
"What?" Daken asked.  
"Bigfoot, Loch Ness, stuff like that. I want to do something that puts my mind at work, something I could write a bestseller for" she laughed.  
"Are you ready to go or are the two of you going to sit here and talk all day?" Logan asked, grinning.  
Daken chuckled, "What about you?"  
"Pro fighter" Logan said.  
"Of course" Daken sighed.  
Nikki laughed, "You never answered your own question."  
"I don't really know. Maybe an actor or something" Daken said.  
"Well you are pretty good at that" Logan said, rolling his eyes.  
"Can't judge when you live up to your title too" Daken said.  
"Boys, drop the hostility. Please" Nikki said.  
They both sighed, "Fine."  
Nikki rolled her eyes, it was times like these you could really tell they were father and son.  
The End  
**Family Bonding**

Chapter 1- The Mall  
This had to be the single strangest idea she'd ever heard. Family bonding just wasn't something she was used to, especially with the fact that Tayla wanted to stay behind with Sal, leaving Nikki and Laura together and Logan and Daken off for some father and son bonding. Laura had busted up and asked to know the winner of that sparring match.  
"Are we taking the train?" Laura asked.  
Nikki chuckled, "I had a different idea."  
They walked out into the garage and Laura was immediately speechless, they were driving that?  
A beautiful, sleek red Lamborgini Diablo SE30 was waiting for them.  
"Oh my god" Laura whispered, "If the guys were still here then Daken would ask to marry this car."  
"It's my special occasion car. Don't you just love it?" Nikki said, the sleek doors slipping up.  
Laura was almost afraid to sit inside, the black leather interior was beautiful, almost too beautiful to touch.  
The drive was so smooth it felt like they were in a limo, and Laura was shocked. She could feel the pure speed and power as they drove, and looked over to see Nikki's wide grin as they moved.  
"How did you get this?" Laura asked in shock, starting conversation.  
"I've always had money Laura. I just decided to splurge one day, it was a very nice investment" Nikki said, "Aside from my family being, well, filthy rich, I've been very good at business. Not quite normal business either, but something that gets real money. My family all have an instinct for driving fast."  
"Wow" Laura whispered, watching the world through the tinted windows, not much tinting, but enough.  
"Why are they tinted?" Laura asked.  
"To keep sun out. I may not be like my uncle, and burn in the sun, or like Victoria, where I sparkle, but I do have sort of have a sparkle. I don't much, but it's just enough for some to notice."  
Laura stared in open-mouthed shock, "You...sparkle?"  
Nikki chuckled, "Yeah. Sadly. Most of us don't really care but...I think it's kinda wussy."  
Laura busted up laughing and held her sides, "You? A gasp wuss? uncontrollible laughter Yeah right!"  
"Oh quit it" Nikki said.  
They pulled in and there were the shocked faces of people around them.  
"Oh this is gonna be good" Nikki whispered.

"How much farther are we going?" Daken asked.  
"Not far" Logan assured.  
There was a soft growl in the forrest behind them and Daken turned, "Uhm, Dad?"  
"Yeah?" Logan asked.  
"Turn around" Daken said softly.  
Logan turned around and looked at a huge grizzly bear.  
"Aw $#^%" Logan said softly.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- This is what it's not supposed to be  
Eyes flashed to them the moment they stepped out. Laura couldn't help but blush as several cute guys looked in their direction.  
"You wouldn't happen to know what kind of car this is would you?" someone asked.  
Nikki flashed the guy a dazzling smile, "It's a Lamborghini Diablo SE30, it has a custom paint job and custom red-and-black leather interior. The V12 engine purrs like a kitten."  
He looked shocked, or dazzled, or both as she walked past. Laura felt lightheaded, her mom was like an older-looking teenager!  
Nikki flashed a perfect smile back in Laura's direction, "Are you coming?"  
Laura laughed and ran after her, this was perfect!

Logan pushed Daken back, the bear was advancing a bit.  
"How the hell didn't we hear it?" Daken whispered.  
The wind shifted and Logan growled, "'Cause it's not a bear."  
"Then what is it 'cause it sure as hell looks like one" Daken said.  
"Mystique" Logan snarled.  
"Well, you really are smarter than you look Logan" Raven said, smiling with a sickeningly sweet tone, "Who's your friend?"  
Daken looked at her and back to Logan, "Oh hell no. I am not flirting with some blue demon chick, not gonna happen."  
Logan chuckled, "My son. We share the same oppinion of you, obviously."  
"That's okay, you don't have to" Raven purred, sauntering forward and resting her hands on Daken's shoulders.  
Daken's eyes widened and he looked to Logan, mouthing 'What the hell?'  
Logan started laughing softly, earning a glare while Raven looked at him, "What made you turn to the side of the angels, little devil?"  
Daken held back laughter, this pathetic attempt at flirting with him really wasn't working, "I have a girlfriend blue, it's not gonna happen."  
Raven sighed, "Oh well then, it looks like we're going to do this the hard way."  
She whipped around, trying to kick him and Daken caught her leg, throwing her back.  
Daken was handling it perfectly and Logan was standing off to the side, watching as Daken quickly took care of Raven.  
"So, what should we do with her?" Daken asked.  
Logan looked at the good work Daken had done with tying Raven to the tree and inhibiting her powers, "We'll call Cyke tomorrow. He'll come for her."  
"Tomorrow?" Raven asked.  
"Come on, we still have trails to cover" Logan said, walking into the trees.  
Daken looked over to Raven, "I'll call Scott in a little bit, when he's not listening. You won't wait too long."  
Raven looked after him in shock, was Wolverine's legendary evil son just...nice to her?

Laura was having the time of her life! They'd already been to a shoestore and they'd just left Hot Topic, Laura's absolute favorite store, something she learned she had in common with Nikki, when they saw it.  
"Oh" Nikki whispered.  
"My" Laura whispered.  
"God" they both whispered at the same time.  
In awe, they both walked toward the Macy's window.  
"The Twilight movie outfits?" Laura whispered in awe.  
Nikki giggled, "Alice will be so happy to know she has something in the mall named after her, or had."  
"Are you serious?" Laura asked, grinning.  
Nikki flipped the credit card between her fingers, "The power of platnum, let's."  
Laura beemed as they walked in, "Hm, I wonder what the guys are doing?"  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Battles on both sides  
The girls had stashed their bags in the car before they'd headed off to the food court, more than happy to take a break from all the walking.  
Shouts and gunfire were heard and Nikki sighed, "Do we ever get a day off?"  
They leapt into action, hopping over the rail and taking a few steps in the opposite direction of the crouds running away.  
"Oh you've got to be kidding me" Nikki said softly.  
"Who is that guy?" Laura asked.  
"Some idiot Deadpool took down. Yeah, that says a lot doesn't it?" Nikki asked, "But as stupid as he is, he can be pretty smart. He can be outsmarted though, so keep on your game."  
They were looking at none other than...Doctor Newton. The one and only moron of the west.  
Nikki took the lead, racing at him, claws bared.  
He turned, a neon green blast slamming her into the tile. She groaned softly, turning on her side, "What just hit me?"  
Laura stared in shock, "Mom!"  
Nikki looked over to her and Newton looked in the same direction, "Oh, how sweet. A mother/daughter outing. Too bad you picked the wrong day to come out little girl."  
"Don't. Leave her alone" Nikki said, pulling herself up.  
Another blast threw her into the wall opposite Laura, dropping weakly to the ground.  
"Leave my mother alone" Laura said softly, growling.  
"Do you even know what this does to her? This is taking her power from her, her life force. Do you really want to be in her place instead?" Newton asked.  
Laura growled and bared her teeth, "You're not getting anywhere near her."  
He took a step forward, "What are you going to do about it?"  
Laura looked to Nikki, distracting him and she lunged, her claws slicing his gauntlet and throwing him back into the foutain, "Do yourself a favor, stay with SHIELD this time."  
Nikki chuckled weakly and smiled, "You did good Laura."  
"How do I fix you?" Laura asked.  
"Think you're strong enough to get me to the car?" Nikki asked, "I'll take it from there."  
Laura nodded and lifted her up as much as she could.

"We're here" Logan said.  
Daken dropped onto a rock, "That took forever."  
"You okay?" Logan asked.  
Daken nodded, "Just haven't had a hike like that in...ever."  
Logan chuckled, starting to put camp together.  
"Camping. Out here. Really?" Daken asked.  
"Yeah" Logan said.  
"Does this bring back memories? I mean...you know" Daken said.  
"Yeah, sometimes. It doesn't matter anymore" Logan said.  
"We don't have to camp here. We can go somewhere else, I can keep going" Daken said.  
"You don't have to. I'm fine" Logan said.  
"Dad..." Daken began.  
"Daken, you don't have to. I'm fine" Logan reassured him.  
"You may be, but he won't be" a voice said, making them turn.  
"Raven, what are you doing?" Logan growled.  
"Sorry Logan, but the good doctor offered too much money for me to pass this up" Raven said.  
She'd disguised her scent with a chemical like the trigger scent, but different. Daken lunged and Raven turned, using the compound against him.  
"Raven" Logan snarled, lunging at her.  
She dodged the blow, pushing him off her into the trees, "As if you didn't think they'd be coming after your little boy next."  
The blades of a helicopter came close as it decended and Logan lunged at Raven a final time, this time having the compound used against him.  
"Once again, I'm sorry Logan, but we both made our choices. If he makes it through this like you did, then I'll take good care of him" Raven said, smiling wickedly at Logan while the haze spread over his mind, the chemical poison slowly working it's way into his system.  
His healing factor was fighting it, but he couldn't move yet.  
"We'll be seeing you soon, I hope" Raven said and sighed, "I wish you'd been on our side Logan, we could've made such a good team together."  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Oh Hale no!  
Laura was surprised to see Nikki could slam her foot down on the gas with such intensity.  
"Where are we going?" Laura asked, scared partly for herself and partly for Nikki.  
"I need to hunt" Nikki said, her voice strained.  
They pulled up in the city and Nikki stumbled out, inhaling and turning. The primal instinct of the hunt had taken over. Laura locked the car and sprinted after her.  
Nikki rounded a corner, the sweetest scent pulling her in.  
"Nikki! Wait!" Laura shouted.  
With an inhuman leap, Nikki jumped onto the middle of a fire-escape, climbing the rest of the way.  
Laura sighed and scaled with her claws, following closely.  
There was shouting...and then nothing. Laura was now offically scared.  
"Nikki?" she asked.  
What had probably once been a slave trade unit from the Russian mafia had been taken out, the bodies strewn around the room like confetti.  
Nikki dropped the last one to the floor and gave a familiar, exasperated sigh, "We probably should head back. Thanks for the help Laura."  
Laura was standing in the window, the mass murder had never scared her before. But then again, she'd never seen someone willingly murder five people and drink their blood.  
"Are you okay?" Nikki asked.  
Laura nodded, "Fine."  
Nikki laughed, a bubbly, windchime sound, "Logan was the same way at first. He got used to it."  
Laura nodded absently and followed Nikki out.

Logan had tracked the helicopter to one of the old Weapon X bases in Northern Canada.  
"Logan?" a familiar voice asked.  
"Hey Jasper" Logan said, "Hunting?"  
"Yeah. We were up in Denali with Kate, she's helping Bella with her shield. Emmett's...somewhere" Jasper said, "What're you doing here?"  
"Following Mystique" Logan said.  
"Ah. Need a hand?" Jasper asked.  
"Let me finish, I'm following her because she's working for Romulus. He's trying to take my son back" Logan said.  
"$#^%!" Emmett shouted, lumbering out of the trees, "We're helping you now."  
Logan chuckled, "Fine. But when it comes to Raven, let me handle it."  
"I thought you killed Romulus" Jasper said.  
"So did I, it turns out the man's better at science than I'd thought. He cloned himself, but ran out of the genetics to give it the mental capacity he has. Or had, by the time I'm done with him" Logan said.  
They stalked forward slowly, taking in the scenery.  
"Not many guards. Electric fences. Did they think they were going to catch him alone or something?" Jasper asked.  
"I doubt it. The real threat's inside. Smell that? Carbonadium. They use that against us, we're down and out for a while" Logan said.  
"We'll help" Jasper said.  
"Ready?" Logan asked.  
"Oh Hale yes" Emmett said, snickering as he lunged at the fence, starting a helluva fight.  
TBC


	14. Part 14

Chapter 5- Time  
Nikki walked back to the car, beeping it open. She flipped open her phone and read the new text.  
"Laura, we've got to go" Nikki said.  
"Why? What's wrong?" Laura asked.  
"Logan texted me, Daken's in trouble" Nikki said.  
Laura felt a jolt of fear as she climbed in shotgun. What did Nikki mean by trouble? Was it more than back there? She really didn't want to know. Not yet.  
******

Logan took out the small amount of guards with Jasper, careful not to spill any blood. If Jasper went into a frenzy now...he didn't want to think about it.  
Emmett put a trashcan on his head and charged at the wall, breaking it open.  
"What was the trashcan for?" Logan asked.  
"Theatrics" Jasper replied, following Emmett in.  
"Wow, it's like a ghost town in here. HELLO! Wow, listen to that echo. ECHO ECHO ECHO!" Emmett shouted, earning a smack from Jasper.  
"Be quiet. We don't know what's in here" Jasper said.  
Lights streamed from cells with mindless shouting and they all stepped back.  
"Holy crow! It's the people under the stairs!" Emmett shouted.  
"Emmett" Jasper sighed.  
Logan followed the misplaced sounds, the sounds of a laboritory.  
"Emmett might be right, but instead of 'People Under The Stairs' think 'The Unborn'" Logan said.  
"Wait, so there's going to be a hot chick, that guy Nikki and Victoria like, and a ghost of a kid in there? I'll go" Emmett said.  
"No. This isn't failed experements. This is an insane asylum. If Romulus wasn't theatrical already then he is now" Logan said.  
They could hear the shouting and Logan felt deja vu coming on, they were even yelling the same things.  
"Holy $#^%" Emmett whispered.  
Logan growled and took a step back, "Forget the plan, this is the part where we wing it."  
He took to powerful strides forward and jumped off the rail, easily taking out the two guards and beginning the scientists.  
Jasper took in a deep breath and panted, "God help me."  
Emmett quickly locked Jasper back, holding him back, "Hey Logan, you forgot the blood thing!"  
Logan saw the immediate threat, Jasper.  
"$#^%" Logan said softly.  
He cut the wires and tubes while Emmett pulled Jasper out.  
"Daken, can you hear me? Daken, come on. We gotta go" Logan said.  
Daken coughed and nodded, pushing himself upright, "Right. Okay. Going."  
Logan offered support, which Daken turned down at first, before realizing he'd probably need it.  
"What'd they do to you?" Emmett asked when they'd gotten outside and Jasper had dissappeared into the trees to hunt the first animal he saw.  
Daken's claws came down and he winced, "The first time they didn't get the metal in me, now they did."  
Logan cursed under his breath, "They're all dead, execpt Raven, but then again, when does the b%&$^ die?"  
Daken chuckled weakly and let Logan set him down onto the snowy ground. The cold was helping the adamantium cool on his bones.  
"God this hurts" Daken said softly.  
Logan sat with him, "It does doesn't it?"  
Daken managed a smile, "Not that bad. I didn't know snow had novacaine in it."  
Jasper ran in, "Nikki's on her way, she's pulling up the drive now."  
Logan nodded and Daken sighed, "I sort of feel guilty about this."  
"What?" Logan asked.  
"The girls didn't need to come. They could've had a day off" Daken said.  
Nikki went over, "Daken, are you okay?"  
He gave a small nod, "I don't think it's gonna stop hurting for a while."  
Nikki placed her cool fingers on his forehead, "It'll be okay. We're here."  
"Have fun while it lasted?" Logan asked.  
"Not much, you wouldn't believe the killjoy that Doctor Newton guy is" Nikki said.  
"Wait, Newton, as in Mike Newton?" Emmett asked.  
"Yeah, why?" Nikki asked.  
Emmett busted up, his loud gaffaw echoing off the trees, "You giggle got beat up by snicker Mike NEWTON?! uncontrolable laughter"  
"I'll have you know Laura took care of him" Nikki said.  
"I stand corrected" Emmett said.  
"Don't you two have a home to get back to?" Nikki asked.  
"Sure, sure. We'll go now. But if we hear something we don't want to..." Emmett said.  
"Emmett Dale Mcarty Cullen get the hell outta here!" Nikki shouted.  
Emmett snickered as he ran off and Jasper gave a mild wave.  
"We should get home" Laura said, looking at the setting sun.  
"When we do, I'm staying in bed for a month" Daken said, and drew in a sharp breath when he sat up.  
"It's okay. It'll cool down soon and you'll feel better" Nikki said, gently brushing back his hair.  
"Okay. I'll take your word for it" Daken said.  
The End...for now

**Happy Birthday Logan! (OS)**

"Can I see now?" Logan asked, amused by Nikki's persistance.  
"No, wait until we get there" she said, her hands still over his eyes.  
He chuckled, "I said I didn't want anything for my birthday."  
"Don't blame me, I'm not the only one who didn't pay attention to that" she said.  
Logan sighed, "Kurt?"  
"And everyone else" Nikki admitted.  
"Who else is 'everyone else'?" Logan asked.  
"Well...the X-Men. The NA, The X-Warriors..." Nikki said.  
"Anybody else?" Logan asked.  
"Oh yeah" Nikki said.  
Logan sighed, "I can't believe you set this up."  
"It wasn't just me, thank your best friend too" Nikki said.  
Logan seemed almost happy knowing Kurt had helped with this.  
Nikki smiled, stepping back, "You can open your eyes now."  
"Surprise!" everyone yelled.  
Logan smiled and chuckled, "Thanks."  
"Do you like it?" Kurt asked.  
"Elf, how can I not?" Logan said, shaking his head, "You didn't have to do this."  
"We wanted to" Laura said, running out of the crowd to give him a hug.  
Logan felt out of his element like this, he wasn't used to being the center of attention for, well, anything.  
"It's not just heroes here you know" Laura said, giving him a hint.  
"Who else did you guys invite?" Logan asked.  
"Go, go see" Laura said, pushing him off to Kurt.  
He walked with Kurt, enjoying the surprise.  
"This was great! How did you know he'd like this so much?" Laura asked Nikki.  
"Because he did the same thing for me last year. I wanted to do something other than a day with just us" she said.  
Daken was clearly out of his element with the party, and stood off to the side, minding to himself.  
"You know he's really happy you're here" a little girl's voice said beside him.  
He turned, "Hey Pixie."  
"Well? Did you know that?" Pixie asked.  
"Yeah, I thought so" Daken said, cracking a smile.  
"Are you going to go talk to him?" Pixie asked.  
"Nikki put you up to this didn't she?" Daken asked.  
"She asked me, but I wanted to" Pixie said.  
Daken sighed, "Sure."  
Logan had walked off, trying to avoid the crowd. He wasn't too good with stuff like this.  
"Hey dad" Daken said, walking out.  
"Hey" Logan replied.  
"Happy birthday" Daken said.  
Logan looked up, Daken was looking around, clearly at a loss for anything else to say, "Thanks."  
"For?" Daken asked.  
"I know I haven't always been the best father, but I'm jsut glad you decided to come to me. To stay. and, you know, having you here now...it's...it just feels a lot better to have all of my family here" Logan said.  
"No, I hae to thank you for that. I came to you when I had a pretty good idea you were going to disown me for being the stupid, stubborn jack$$ I've been for...well a while, a long while, but you still cared so...thanks" Daken said.  
Logan nodded, "Hungry?"  
"Sure" Daken said.  
"Good, 'cause I know that if Kurt had help planning this then there's going to be a pretty huge cake in there" Logan said, chuckling.  
"Why are we still out here again?" Daken asked, leading the way inside.  
~The End~

**The Reason Why (OS)**

It had been a long, terrible day. X-Force had to go out and kill a lot of people, and it had not been fun. They'd both gotten in late, surprised to find that Daken had arrived home earlier and made sure everyone was taken care of before they all had gone to bed.  
Nikki curled up on the couch after a long shower, washing until she was sure the blood was off of her.  
Logan went to sit beside her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Her anxiety was almost tangible, despite her efforts to relax.  
"It was really hard for you wasn't it?" he asked, knowing the answer.  
She nodded, tears gathering in her eyes, "Scott has to be insane."  
Logan stroked her hair and sighed, "I know. I couldn't look at them."  
Nikki clutched him tightly, "I will never do that again, ever."  
He sat with her, just holding her, "You never would have unless Scott hadn't ordered you, would you?"  
She shook her head, "They were just kids Logan! They couldn't have been more than sixteen! They couldn't have done anything, nothing that couldn't be forgiven!"  
"I know" Logan whispered, "I killed the man that killed my father the moment I saw I had something to use against him. I don't know how, but I was forgiven. I've killed a lot since then, and somehow fate is just letting me have you. I couldn't feel luckier."  
"That could've been one of them" Nikki sobbed, "They really could've had a good life! and Scott made us take that from them!"  
Logan turned and saw Laura there. He knew the reason Scott hadn't let her come, he had wanted her to be human, but he had no problem with the one person who had real morals on killing people go.  
Nikki looked up and saw Laura, "Oh Laura."  
"Who? Who did he make you kill?" Laura asked.  
Nikki looked away, "Kids."  
"I don't believe it" Laura said, "It's the only thing I could believe, but I still don't belive it."  
Logan sighed, "Go to bed."  
Laura nodded and left them alone.  
He gently rubbed Nikki's back, holding her in his arms, "You know what? This is my team and I'll be damned if Scott's going to order me around like that."  
Nikki looked up, "Yeah. Better now than later."  
She managed a weak chuckle and he rested her against his chest, "I promise. If I can't get Scott off my case, then you have every right to leave X-Force. I love you, you don't have to kill with me."  
She nodded and let her eyes droop.  
"Rest, it's okay. I'm here" he whispered.  
She looked up, looking into his eyes, "Take my mind off this."  
He smiled mischiviously, "As you wish."  
She giggled as he lifted her up, a sad smile pulling at her lips, "In the morning?"  
"Of course" he said and kissed her gently.  
Laura lifted the phone quietly, her cell was on silent as she dialed the familiar number to Cessily's phone. She had to know what to do.  
"Hello?" a sleepy Cessily asked.  
"Cessily? Did I wake you?" Laura asked.  
"Laura! Oh no, go ahead. Oh Laura we miss you! Megan and I are sharing a room now, she's awake too now. Hang on, let me put you on speaker" Cessily said.  
"Hi Laura! How's everybody?" Megan asked.  
"Hello Pixie, we're fine. I need your help with something" Laura said softly.  
"What?" Megan asked.  
"I need you both to go get the guys and storm Mister Summers' office. I need you guys to make a big scene, make sure he gets the point. Nikki's really upset, and so is Logan. I can't stand this guys, they're good people, they're my family. I can't stand seeing them feel so guilty."  
"Oh!" Megan gasped, "We will. Right now, come on, let's go get the guys!"  
Cessily picked up the phone, "Anyone in mind?"  
"Santo, Dust, Josh, the triplets, everyone you can get, even Mr. Wagner and Mr. Rasputin. I even think Ms. Frost will stand with Nikki" Laura said.  
"Ms. Frost? As in the same Emma Frost that wanted you, Nikki and Daken to leave?" Cessily asked.  
"Is there another one I don't know about?" Laura asked.  
She heard soft murmuring beyond the phone and movement, "Okay, what should we do?" Megan asked.  
"Anything" Laura said, "Get creative."  
There was crashing, banging and shouting, and then it sounded like Santo ran through a wall. Laura held the phone at arm's length.  
She could hear demands being made and smiled, "That'll do."  
Cessily giggled, "Tomorrow, come with them."  
"Okay" Laura said, grinning.  
"Nikki, Logan, I was wrong to ask this of you" Scott said.  
He looked like he'd really suffered lately, and Nikki felt and oddly and twistedly pleased at it.  
"I will never ask something so henious of you again. Now please, please call off your fan club" Scott said.  
"Fan club?" Logan asked.  
"The students, they all stormed in at the middle of the night and practically ripped my head off" Scott said.  
Nikki smiled and looked to Logan and he looked to her, "We know what happened, we'll talk to them."  
Scott sighed and ushered them out.  
"Laura" Nikki said, walking in.  
"Yes?" Laura asked innocently.  
"Thank you" Nikki said, giving her a light hug.  
Laura beamed, "You're welcome."  
The End  
**Croatoa**

Chapter 1- No Time  
They covered terrian fast. It was almost impossible to outrace these things, but without the use of their healing factors, using their claws against them, or even fighting them, could probably cost them thier lives.  
Laura pushed herself to run faster, with her healing factor delayed she was really feeling the fatigue set in.  
"Keep going!" Daken shouted.  
Laura looked over and nodded, her focus slipping for a moment and when Daken slowed, she didn't know why.  
He caught her by the shoulders, pulling her back and she looked down, "Holy-!"  
Daken turned, "We're gonna have to jump."  
"Jump? What?" Laura asked.  
Daken pulled her back a few steps and made her run with him, both of them barely landing on thier feet as they touched land again.  
"Nice job, both of you. You made it out of there without ending up Dino chow, so I'd consider that a success" Nikki said over the intercom.  
The simulation ended and both gained the use of their powers again.  
"Please, make a simulation I can sleep in" Laura begged, dropping.  
Daken leaned against the wall, "You'll be fine. Give yourself a minute."  
"Here's the bad news, we have to go" Nikki said.  
Laura groaned, "Now?"  
"Sorry. Scott just called us, people started disappearing in Rhode Island, we're the only ones that aren't busy" Nikki said, walking in.  
"But Logan's out on a mission" Laura said.  
"That doesn't mean we can't go. Look, I'm sure this won't take long. We'll probably be back before he is" Nikki said.  
"Why not?" Daken asked, "Where?"  
"The oldest town in the state. The coordinates are in the jet's GPS already" Nikki said.  
Laura sighed, brushing herself off as she stood, "Fine, the sooner we go the sooner we can get back."  
Nikki chuckled, "That's the spirit. Missing persons in small towns aren't that hard to figure out, just look for the creepy old guy running Camp Crystal Lake."  
Daken chuckled, "That'd be cool, I'd like to come back with a war story that's Jason related."  
"You can always do it anyway" Nikki said.  
"Yeah, sure" Daken said.  
They took off and Nikki's cell rang, "Hello?"  
"Hey darlin, Scott told me he sent you out" Logan said.  
"Oh sweetheart, we won't be too long" Nikki said.  
Daken gave a silent groan, pretending to shoot himself.  
Nikki rolled her eyes.  
"Hurry back" Logan said.  
"Miss you already" Nikki sighed.  
Laura busted up in giggles and Nikki turned, giving her a questioning look.  
Laura shook her head and giggled.  
"Okay, can I ask what's so funny?" Nikki asked.  
"Well, you sound like you're my age" Laura said and disolved into more giggles.  
Daken rolled his eyes, "Yes, because only so many people realize youth is wasted on the young."  
"You're not that old" Laura said.  
"Yes, but I'm still 50 and some years older than you, I've seen more, done more and been more in the world than you have. I've seen youth waste away in people while we remain young. We do have to live it while we still can" Daken said.  
Laura sighed, "You're very morbid, know that?"  
"Yes, I know" Daken said.  
"Okay, we're here" Nikki said.  
They sighed and looked out, "Holy crap, we are so not in Rhode Island" Laura said.  
The town was quaint and ancient, with not a soul in the streets until the jet landed in town square. Then people flooded to doors and windows, retreating under their gaze.  
"I don't like this" Daken said.  
"Witches! The witches have returned!" someone cried.  
"Yeah, now I don't either" Laura agreed.  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Way back when...  
"Where the hell are we?" Daken asked.  
"I'm guessing back in the 1700s" Nikki said.  
"Wait, where's the jet?" Laura asked.  
"S#^%!" Nikki shouted.  
"Your com, does it work?" Daken asked.  
"Yeah, oh thank god yeah" Nikki said.  
"Come on, we have to go. Now" she urged, pulling them out of the town and started running.  
They slowed, hearing panting ahead.  
Nikki looked down the alley and her jaw dropped, "Laurent?"  
The boy was only about fifteen and he looked younger than he was, his eyes a warm chocolate brown that matched the tone of his skin.  
"Wait, don't be afraid" Nikki whispered softly, easing the fear in his eyes.  
"W-who are you?" he asked softly.  
Nikki knew they could never make it in this time if they didn't lie, just to make people think they weren't crazy.  
They looked to one another, as if to say, 'think of something!'  
"I'm Victoria" Nikki said, saying the first name coming to her mind besides her own. When she'd get home Victoria would get a kick out of this.  
"I'm Jack Sparrow and this is my sister Alice" Daken said.  
Laurent nodded to them, "Hello."  
"Jack Sparrow?" Nikki whispered.  
"Well if you get to be Victoria, then I get to be a freakin' pirate" Daken said.  
Nikki smiled, "Touche."  
"How did you know me? I didn't know my master would spread word so fast..." Laurent said, his face creasing with worry.  
Nikki reached out, her hand resting on his shoulder, "He didn't. We just heard of you. We'll help you."  
"Thank you" Laurent said, his eyes warming to her.  
"Ooh, Logan's not gonna like this" Daken said softly to Laura.  
"Did you say something?" Laurent asked.  
"Oh, nothing" Daken said, "Just thinking."  
Laurent nodded, "Please don't turn me in. I don't want to go back there."  
His warm chocolate brown eyes filled with tears and Nikki momentarily forgot what time they were in, giving him a supportive hug, "We won't."  
He smiled, flashing pearl white teeth. A human aspect too apparantly, "Thank you."  
"Where do people not believe in witches?" Nikki asked.  
"I don't know. The people in New Orleans, where I'm from, they accept the supernatural. I don' care. They don' matter" Laurent said, allowing his voice to carry a thicker french accent with rage.  
"We can go somewhere else. What year is it?" Nikki asked.  
"1790 Miss Victoria" Laurent said, looking at her for a moment, "What are all of you wearing?"  
Laura snickered, in thier time she was the one dressed closer to normal anyway, and apparently she still was.  
"Well, we were at a costume party. You don't believe in witches do you?" Nikki asked, changing the subject. Laurent smiled, "Yes ma'am. They're out there, but not all of them are bad. Jus' like everything else."  
"Everything else?" Nikki asked.  
"Sonja" Laurent said, flashing his pearly teeth in a smile, "She's the most beautiful woman in all of America. She is far from human, and they all know that. That's why I helped her come up here. She needs a new place to hide, new people to hunt. I don't mind, I'd do anything for her."  
Nikki smiled, suddenly knowing more about him than she thought she did, "Why? How is Sonja so important to you?"  
"She's beautiful. I fell in love with her. She says if I help her for a while, then she'll make me as beautiful as her, make me one of them" he said, a gloating pride in his voice. "Come, we'll help you. Let me take you to meet Sonja."  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Sonja  
They walked up the steps to a regal brick building. Laurent led them through the hallways, the ancient objects proving what Nikki was sure it was, a coven house. An old one from the looks of it.  
"Sonja" Laurent sighed as he walked in.  
"Laurent!" Sonja cried, leaping up from her wooden throne and rushing over to him. She had black hair cut to her shoulders, pale white skin the color of snow, and a flowing lavender gown. Her eyes weren't like many others, they were a clear, crystal blue. An Ozera, a powerful moroi family.  
"Oh my" Nikki whispered.  
"Who would they be?" Sonja asked, smiling.  
"Sonja, this is Victoria, and Jack and Alice Sparrow" Laurent said.  
Laura rolled her eyes.  
"It's an honor to meet you. You're a moroi?" Nikki asked.  
"Yes, a Dragonmir. Surprising, is it not?" Sonja asked.  
Nikki nodded.  
"Well, my friends, let me get you some clothes and food. You can stay with us" Sonja said, gliding off.  
"Isn't she beautiful?" Laurent asked, his eyes glowing with love.  
"Will you be her mate?" Nikki asked.  
Laurent turned, sadness replacing love, "No. She is happily mated. She loves him, but wants me to stay. She says I'll be special, that I may have a gift of influincing others. She needs me, so I stay."  
"She's using you?" Laura asked.  
"No! Nes pas! Never! Sonja is the kindest, most loving woman I have ever met. She could never do such to another. You see the way she takes wanderers into her home, helping them and allowing them to go as they please. She has a record coven, more than the Volturi" Laurent said.  
"You know about all of this?" Nikki asked.  
"Oui, of course. Sonja wouldn't hide anything from me. Our date is set soon. She promises a life to remember for others" Laurent said.  
"Yeah, until you get killed by werewolves and brought back in time to see your mate die" Daken muttered.  
"Say something?" Laurent asked.  
"Never mind" Daken said.  
Laurent looked at him and turned to Nikki, "Why is he so depressed?"  
"He wants to go home" Nikki said, "We all do. But we can stay a bit. If you will let us."  
Laurent nodded, "Of course. Sonja would be more than happy, I'm sure."  
Sonja returned, her arms overflowing with clothes, "Come! I'll give you each a stack to try and take what you like."  
She handed them each a stack of clothes and ushered them off to rooms.  
Nikki looked through the clothes at Laura's side and groaned, "I forgot how women used to dress. Ugh."  
She held up a very thick and frilly baby pink dress.  
"What about this?" Laura asked, holding up a violet dress with long sleeves, it was thin, "Just make a few alterations and it looks pretty much like what we would wear."  
Nikki handed over a deep indigo dress to Laura and they changed it, cutting off the sleeves and making it look less like that time and more like their own time. They brought their clothes along in a leather bag.  
"I have to see who we can contact" Nikki said, opening her com.  
She sent out a signal and listened with relief as the com rang.  
"Nikki? Where are you all?" Hank asked.  
"I think we flew into a time warp or something" Nikki said.  
"No, you went to the place all of the others went" Hank said, "They all appeared in the same location once you were there. They're being held captive."  
"Yeah well I just met Laurent when he was fifteen! He's in love with a moroi vampire named Sonja who's mated and Laurent's getting into deep trouble, I can feel it" Nikki said.  
"If you change time Nikki-" Laurent began.  
"I'm not" Nikki snarled, "But if he's going to die now I have to stop that. Maybe that's the whole thing, maybe we're supposed to help him."  
"Yeah, sure, and flat-screens are going to grow wings" she heard a familiar voice say sarcastically.  
"No. Hank, you did not call my family" Nikki said.  
"Scott did" Hank said.  
"Where's Logan?" Nikki asked.  
"He's...coping. He misses you terribly" Hank said.  
"Put him on" Nikki almost pleaded.  
"I can't" Hank said.  
"Why?" Nikki asked.  
"Because, Scott is bringing a team after all of you. He needs this new information" Hank said.  
"Well tell them not to come!" Nikki shouted, "We can't have them get stuck here too!"  
"Alright, just stay there and don't panic" Hank said, hanging up.  
"Oh, sure. My husband is coming into the time warp to cause a huge battle and I'm not supposed to panic?!" she said to no one in particular.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Not again!  
"Scott, Logan you have to get out of there" Hank said.  
Logan picked up the com, "Like hell Hank, I'm going after my wife."  
"She's okay, she's got it handled! Trust me Logan, trust her" Hank said.  
Logan faltered and looked at Scott, "Go back. Now. Wait outside the town."  
Scott nodded and touched the jet down.  
The past-  
"Oh how beautiful!" Sonja said, gazing at their gowns.  
Nikki smiled, "Thank you Sonja."  
Laurent looked at Nikki and shyly looked away, "You look beautiful Miss Victoria."  
"Someone has a crush on you" Laura teased.  
"You also look beautiful Miss Alice" Laurent said.  
Nikki snickered as Laura sighed, "Thank you Laurent."  
"Do you know where the so called witches are being held?" Nikki asked.  
"Yes, they're holding them in the jail, off of main street. They're waiting for the river to rise" Sonja said.  
Laurent looked to them in panic, "They know who you are. I can help you, help you elude them."  
"Why? What are we to you?" Laura asked.  
Nikki gave her a chiding look, "Laurent, if you could, would you?"  
"Of course" Laurent said.  
Laurent went out with them, walking through the streets until they reached the jailhouse.  
"There it is. I would go inside but..." Laurent began.  
"We'll do it" Daken said.  
"Alone? No, I can't allow two women to fight them. They are brutal" Laurent said.  
Nikki chuckled, her smile turning sinister, "So are we."  
Laurent shuddered, a smile forming, "Then allow me to aid you ever so brutal ones."  
They blazed in, handling the guards and their old weapons. Allowing the people to leave, they walked outside, "I suppose we'll be seeing each other Laurent."  
"Yes, I suppose so" Laurent said, smiling sadly.  
"Why isn't it changing?" Daken asked, "We should be able to go home now."  
"No. I was right. Laurent was the key to this all along. We have to stop Sonja's mate, he's going to kill him" Nikki said.  
Despite the dress Nikki bolted down the street. They sounds of a scuffle made them slow.  
"Listen boy, you don't go near my mate. I know she think's you're special, but she's not yours. She's mine" the man growled.  
"Then why do you treat her like a possession rather than a person?" Laurent snarled.  
The man was about to crush Laurent's neck in his hands when Nikki lunged at him, "Leave Laurent alone!"  
"Victoria!" Laurent shouted.  
"Let go of me" Nikki growled.  
"I don't think so, you want to stand up for the boy then you'll pay for it too" the man growled.  
Daken and Laura pulled him off of her, "Laurent, rip off his head!"  
Laurent nodded and pulled, closing his eyes as a sharp snap pulled off his head.  
Laurent dropped it and scrambled back, "Oh my god."  
Nikki pushed herself upright, "Laurent, are you okay?"  
"Fine, and you?" Laurent asked, pulling her upright.  
"Good. We saved you" she whispered.  
"Yes" Laurent said.  
The world began to change and everyone gasped, "It worked. All we had to do was change one thing."  
They scene shifted and changed until they were standing together in an alley, shouts and cheers pulling them out of the daze.  
"We did it. We're back" Laura whispered.  
Nikki bolted out of the alley and sighed, the town was back to normal!  
"Nikki, Laura, Daken!" voices called from behind them.  
"Logan!" Nikki shouted, grinning as she ran over to him.  
He pulled her into his arms, lifting her off the ground and kissing her hair, "I missed you so much."  
"Relax, I'm here. We're okay" Nikki whispered.  
"I love you" he whispered.  
"I love you too" she whispered back, kissing him gently.  
"Are we ready to go home?" Scott asked.  
"Never again Summers. There is no way in hell I am going back in time EVER again" Nikki snarled.  
"Okay, okay. Put away the claws miss kitty" Scott said.  
Nikki growled and bared her teeth at Scott. Logan laughed and wrapped his arm around her waist, "Come on, let's go."  
The End  
**Hunters and Lovers (OS)**

The private missions for X-Force had tested their skills time and time again, proving they were two of the best. Between missions was a good time, a time where they could let their skills rest...aside from some friendly compition.  
They'd made a bet, to see who could follow the other's trail and keep up as well. Basically, they were going to lead each other in circles and wait to cross paths.  
"Ready baby?" Logan asked, a smirk playing on his lips.  
"Be careful sweetheart, I've got aces up my sleeve" Nikki purred, grinning and raced off.  
Logan raced off after Nikki, taking in her scent and smiling, "Too easy."  
He slowed to a walk and sniffed, going in one direction and hearing a soft chuckle as he climbed up the tree she was hiding in.  
He crept up behind her, making sure not even the vibrations of his feet could alert her to his presence. He snaked his arm around her waist and whispered, "I win."  
She turned around quickly and grinned, "I was waiting."  
"You wanted me to win?" he asked.  
"Mm-hm, so I could give you the grand prize" she grinned playfully and kissed him.  
He swept her up into his arms and agily dropped to the ground.  
Their little game with him in pursuit of her had been fun, undoubtedly. He loved spending time with her, whatever the way.  
She sprung out of his arms lightly and grinned the same playful, mischevious grin she'd grinned in the tree before putting both of her hands against the tree behind him and kissing him.  
He surrendered to whatever plan she had, letting himself relax. He could put his trust in her, it was a nice feeling.  
He kissed her back, allowing her to smile against his lips, "What're you planning?"  
"Something fun" she said.  
He pulled her against him tighter, chuckling at the smile that crossed her lips.  
"Want to tell me now?" he said.  
She giggled, "I don't think so. You'll figure it out."  
Trapped between the two trees, he had an idea, "Well if you won't tell me, then I'll just have to play along won't I?"  
She nodded and he trapped her against the tree, kissing her deeply.  
With unbelievable speed he'd leapt into the tree, leaving her on the ground.  
She sighed and leapt up after him, they continued climbing until they were at the very top, as far up as it could hold them.  
"So, what is the grand prize now?" he asked.  
She grinned, "Not that easily. Want to know, gotta keep up."  
She leapt down and he sighed, this was her game.  
He followed her, never straying far enough to let her out of sight. She finally slowed, letting him catch up a bit and he caught her, pulling her into his arms and kissing her, "Now?"  
She smiled, "Yes, now."  
Let's just say, the prize was better than the game.  
~End~  
**Spring In Canada....not what you'd expect**

Chapter 1- Irritable grizzlies  
It had been nothing but a long, cold, unhappy winter. That was, until morning shone over the lake and Vincent was able to look out the window.  
"Mom! Dad! It's spring! There's water! And grass!" Vincent shouted, running into the room and jumping on the bed.  
"Vincent, sleep in please" Logan said.  
"But it's spring" Vincent said, halting his jumping and pouting.  
Nikki smiled, sat up and ruffled his hair, "It's March now, of course it's spring. Thank god, winter's too long."  
Vincent grinned, "Can I go outside?"  
"Get dressed and get downstairs for breakfast, after that we'll see" she said, smiling.  
Vincent hopped down and ran out of the room.  
"Do you have to get up yet?" Logan asked.  
Nikki smiled, leaning over him and giving him a gentle kiss, "Well there's no stopping Vincent and Tayla when they want something so..."  
Logan sighed, "Great. Our kids just had to take on the perservering trait."  
Nikki chuckled and got up, "You can still sleep in. At least they're happy."  
"What about you?" he asked.  
"I love the sun, I might let them go out to play just to go see the sun" she said.  
"Watch out for grizzlies" Logan said.  
"Ah, if only Emmett were here, he loves irritable grizzlies" she said, grinning.  
"No offence, but your family scares me" Logan said.  
"Eh, they do that a lot" Nikki shrugged, "I'll be back...maybe."  
He grinned and playfully smacked her bum as she walked out, making her stick out her tongue immaturely. He chuckled.  
She had on a long red-and-white tie-dye sundress and she carried her favorite book, Twilight, in her hands while she went downstairs to make breakfast.  
To her surprise even Daken, Claudine, Laura and Sal, who were most prone to sleeping in, were awake.  
Tayla was bouncing on Sal's lap, "Hurry up Momma, I wanna go outside!"  
Nikki grinned, "and you will. You still have to eat breakfast before you go."  
Tayla and Vincent groaned in unison and slumped back in their chairs.  
Vincent crossed his arms over his chest, "S'not fair."  
"Doesn't have to be" Laura said, ruffling his hair, "Life isn't."  
"You sound like Dad" Vincent said.  
"Well Dad's right" Laura said.  
"Laura, Vincent, if you two are going to fight take it outside" Nikki said.  
Daken chuckled, "Ten bucks on the kid."  
"Oh you think you're so hot Mister Big Shot? I'd like to see you hold your own in a fight against me" Laura said.  
"Oh sure Miss X, when I own you don't go crying to Mom. I know she can see this coming" Daken said.  
"Oh I see something coming alright, you two aren't fighting in the house that's what. If you two want to challenge each other, take it outside" Nikki said.  
"Fine, ready when you are brother dear" Laura said.  
"Of course little sis" Daken said.  
"Oh great, this is probably not going to work out too well will it?" Nikki asked.  
"Probably not. I hope you're not fond of any trees in particular" Claudine said.  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "Oh great. Now they decide to compete."  
TBC  
Chapter 2- One thing worse than Wendigoes  
The Howletts went outside, enjoying a peacefull spring day. Laurent and Native sat in the grass by the lake, Nikki, Victoria and Elie chatted happily on the small dock they'd built for small canoes, and Logan, James and Connor played sports with Daken and Vincent.  
Laura groaned, "Incoming."  
They all looked up to see the helicopter overhead. Sal stepped out of the water, shaking off his hair and scooping Tayla up in his arms. The others stood, and the guys brushed themselves off from the grass, starting toward the house.  
"What's going on?" Elie asked.  
"That's Norman Osborn, the 'Iron Patriot'. He's the biggest hypocrite I've ever seen" Nikki said.  
"What do you mean?" Elie asked.  
"Trust me, she'll tell you later, just try to stay out of this one" Victoria said, pulling Elie inside.  
The others gathered in the living room while Nikki, Logan and Daken stood outside, the helicopter landing not far from them.  
"Hello Daken" Norman greeted.  
"Osborn" Daken said.  
"Can we talk?" Norman asked.  
"Anything you can say to me you can say in front of my family" Daken said.  
"How's the girlfriend doing? I forget...was it Claudine?" Norman asked.  
"What the hell do you want Osborn?" Daken snarled.  
"Now we're getting somewhere. You can take her back into your life, even when she betrayed you the way she did, and yet you won't come back to the Avengers" Norman said.  
"You mean the Dark Avengers" Daken said, "Claudine became one of us, she doesn't play those games anymore. Not like you."  
"Games? Daken, do you really think so low of me?" Norman asked.  
"Yes" Daken replied emotionlessly.  
"You must be very proud" Norman said sarcastically, glaring at Logan.  
"Yeah, we are" Logan said, his arm wrapping protectively around Nikki.  
"How about you Nikki? You used to know what mattered" Norman said.  
"I also know if that idiot comes anywhere near me I'll personally turn him into a woman again" Nikki said, glaring at Venom who, until she'd mentioned him, been creeping closer for a better look.  
"Hey Nik" Venom said softly.  
"Mac" she regarded him.  
"It'd be nice to have you around, you know" Mac said.  
"Why are you over there? They're not the best of souls Mac. Daken left, so can you. Gorge wouldn't want this" Nikki said.  
"You've talked to him?" Mac asked, hopeful.  
"Not in a while" Nikki admitted, "He stopped trying to talk to any of us."  
Venom walked forward, scribbling something on a piece of paper, "Tell him we need to talk again. I just heard my son was coming back, tell him I don't want to loose him again."  
Nikki nodded, "I will."  
Mac went back, "I look forward to talking with him. I guess we'll see each other around."  
Nikki shrugged, "Maybe."  
Norman moved after Venom, "I'm sorry you've both choosen differently."  
"Please Ozzie. You're only scared we'll bring more of them on our side" Daken said.  
Norman scowled and went back on the helicopter.  
"Wait a minute" Mac said and jumped out again, "Please, tell Gorge. Please."  
"We will" Nikki said, "Don't worry Mac, we'll get Gorge to talk to you."  
Mac nodded and went back slowly, "Please."  
Nikki nodded and Mac left.  
"Darlin, I think it's time we started telling Elie and Connor" Logan said.  
"Okay" she looked over to Daken, "Meet me inside."  
Daken looked confused at them, but when Logan turned he saw why.  
"Dad, what's wrong?" he asked.  
"Did you see how badly it hurt Mac to be away from Gorge? To be on opposite sides?" Logan asked, "That was what it used to be. I was still afraid that maybe you would've taken that offer. I get that you're older than your brother and sisters, but we still want you to stay. We want you around. I wanted nothing better than to have my son with me, now I just want to be sure you'll never leave us."  
Daken sighed, "My adoptive father said something like that to me once. I won't leave dad, there's nothing for me anywhere else."  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Reveal  
"So, what's going on?" Elie asked.  
"Nothing, don't worry" Nikki said.  
"C'mon Nikki, we've been friends for a long time. You have to tell us" Connor said.  
"Okay, but you have to stay unbiased" Nikki said.  
Connor and Elie nodded.  
"Back before I joined up with the X-Men, Daken was one of the bad guys. He and I were on the same side. He acted like a big time hotshot and, let's be honest, p&^^ed me off. I took him down a notch and we found some real respect for each other. We ended up friends, while I was sort of his mentor. He and I clashed a lot because of our similar personalities, but we could work together. When I fell in love with Logan, he knew all about it. He went and joined up with the X-Men and Logan told him. He just about stopped breathing he was laughing so hard" Nikki said.  
"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said...wow" Elie said.  
"What? You were a bad guy? When?" Connor asked.  
"A while ago, it's no big now" Nikki said.  
"Wow" Connor said.  
"Are they okay? I mean they're not in yet so..." Elie began.  
"Don't worry Elie, they wouldn't fight much" Nikki said.  
"You know that's not true" Logan said.  
"It's true, I have no where else to go" Daken said.  
"Anyone would be lucky to have you. I'm just more than happy that you've choose us" Logan said.  
"Daken, Logan?" Nikki asked out, "It's dinner."  
They both nodded as they walked inside. Norman wouldn't leave them alone, but it would be good enough for now.  
The End  
**Honesty (OS)**

Daken was sitting outside. The sunset had broken and twilight dawned over the lake, casting the pool into indigo darkness.  
"You okay?" Nikki asked, sitting down on the rocks by the shore with him.  
"I don't know" Daken whispered, "I can't remember ever feeling like this."  
Nikki reached out, "Maybe I can help."  
He looked at her, "Why did that hurt? Seeing them again?"  
"Because. You didn't want to face who you used to be. Trust me, I try not to dwell on my memories for that reason" Nikki said.  
He could see the flash of her old persona, the one that he'd felt the need to support, even though she was more than capable of helping herself.  
"Nikki, please" he whispered.  
Her eyes flashed to him, "What?"  
"You look depressed again. Don't do that, the past doesn't matter and you know it" he said.  
"It used to" she whispered, curling up and wrapping her arms around her knees, "I'm not telling you as a mother, but as a friend, I worry about you. There have been more than enough times when you've been my closest friend, when you were the brother I never had, and now you're my stepson. I can't ever find a way to repay you, but I've been trying."  
"Logan's worried isn't he? About me going back?" he asked.  
"He doesn't like admitting it, but it's one of the things I know he thinks about. He doesn't want to loose you, not when he's only just got you back" she said.  
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here. We'll be like your family, we'll stick together" he said.  
"But when everyone's story is done, and when we're all living peacefully in a few hundred years, then what?" she asked, "I've been thinking about it, and I know you'll all branch off to develop families of your own, maybe in a few years, maybe in a few decades, but you will. Then, maybe I'll go travel. Just for fun. Take a vacation, just go relax on a beach in Puerto Rico or something."  
Daken chuckled, "You could swing by Panama and join me and Claudine."  
"We wouldn't want to intrude" Nikki said, smiling slyly.  
He laughed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Only you would know about that."  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "I don't think there's someone who doesn't know. You two aren't exactly discreet."  
"Like when?" he asked.  
"Like the time with the danger room...and Scott found out when Emma walked in?" Nikki said, trying to restrain giggles, "I will never forget the look on his face when he saw that through Emma's eyes."  
Daken busted up, "You're kidding! What'd he think?"  
"I'm no telepath but I guessed he started to like what he saw" Nikki giggled.  
"Oh great, Scott's...wow. And he still has Emma" Daken said, shaking his head.  
"No, he isn't. He was mainly picking up on some of Emma's thoughts. I have a feeling being a telepath is a good thing when you have a mind in the gutter" Nikki said.  
"Great. Just what we need. The school stripper" Daken rolled his eyes.  
Nikki smiled, "That was her profession in the first place, didn't you know that?"  
"For who? Tony Stark? Please don't tell me that, otherwise I might as well rat him out to his fiancee" Daken said.  
"The Hellfire club" Nikki said.  
Daken looked over, "You've gotta be kidding me. They did a lot better getting Claudine, I'll tell you that."  
"Only in the minds of men" Nikki sighed, rolling her eyes.  
"Yeah, from one friend to another" Daken said, "So I suppose you're going to tell me to finish my homework and go to bed?"  
"Okay smart$$, go ahead. Just feel lucky you're too old for school, or I'd tell Emma about that" Nikki grinned.  
"Ooh, I'm so scared! What? Will she break a nail at me?" Daken asked.  
"Oh you better hope that's all she does" Nikki said.  
"You're not actually going to say anything...are you?" he asked.  
"Maybe, maybe not" she said, smiling innocently.  
"I know your wicked, twisted mind, it won't work with me" Daken said.  
"Oh, we'll see about that" Nikki grinned and bolted off at immortal speeds.  
Daken rolled his eyes, "And she thinks I can be immature."  
His statement was only met with laughter from inside.  
The End  
**What If-? A Twilight Story (NPOV)**

Prelude- Decision  
I was almost sure I was dreaming. Victoria was pulling me through the trees at almost an inhuman speed. We could hear the wolves howling behind us.  
"Come on, we have to find James! We have to hurry!" she said, pulling me through the ferns and whatever else plants seemed to be around us.  
She screamed as we left the forest behind and stepped onto First Beach.  
The jet black wolf, Sam Uley, turned up from his kill, his muzzle dripping with venomous blood.  
I couldn't force my eyes from James. Sam had torn his throat out.  
I hadn't paid attention to Sam, but Victoria pushed me aside. Hard.  
I turned quickly, my eyes widening in fear while Sam lunged, his loud snarl ripping through the air.  
"NO!" I screamed as Sam lunged.  
I was trying to force myself to look away as he tackled her to the ground.  
It was over. We lost.  
A sinister chuckle brought me away from the carnage to see Laurent, surrounded by wolves. He wasn't terrified as James and Victoria had been. The wolves were around him as if he were a god and his eyes were alight with amusement. I felt a shudder coming through my form as he smiled, his burgundy eyes lighting up sinisterly as his lips pulled back, exposing his venom covered teeth.  
It was over. We were dead.  
All I could think was, I love you Logan.

TBC  
Chapter 1- One way or another  
"Nikki? Nikki!" Kamron shouted, slamming her fist down on the desk.  
"Huh? What?" I asked.  
She shook her head, "You fell asleep. You are so lucky Mrs. White didn't catch you."  
I sighed, running my fingers through my messy orange/crimson hair. Normally it was orange, but because of the Twilight DVD premire tonight I had dyed my hair bright crimson. A wash in, because my mom wouldn't let me keep it perminant.  
"I need the sleep Roonie, I'm not going to bed tonight" I said.  
"Pulling a Cullen?" she asked, giggling as the bell rang and we walked out to get our stuff.  
"Roonie, we're going to the party" I said, "You're staying over still aren't you?"  
"I wish this wasn't what it is" she said softly, pulling her bag out of her locker next to mine.  
"Stop. This is good. I'm going to meet Edward. I'll send you pictures and you and I are going to unravel a lot of mysterys of the small town Forks" I said, grinning.  
Kamron sighed, "I wish you didn't have to go."  
Joe walked over to us, "Am I still invited?"  
"Of course!" I said, hugging him, "You're my best guy friend, my Jake, it wouldn't be a party without you!"  
I'd already said my goodbyes to everyone else, but Kamron, Joe and my best girl friends, Danielle and Melissa, were going to stay with me until I left.  
"Okay, we're meeting up at your house at Eight. We're getting there mucho early" Melissa said.  
I sighed, "Do you have to do that? It's bad enough everyone else had Spanish homework exept me."  
Danielle was quiet. She was my best friend out of all of them.  
"Why do you have to go?" she asked, her soft, whispery voice was depressed.  
"Dani" I said soothingly, "I wouldn't if it wasn't Forks."  
She shook her head. Melissa wasn't a Twilight fan, so she had no idea what this meant to me. I had one thing in mind for this place, something I'd found but had never had returned here. Love.  
Brian Walton and Sam Stuart were two impossibly gorgous guys. Sam was recreational and sweet...and he looked like he could be Edward's brother. Brian was popular and sporty...he could be Laurent's younger, better looking brother.  
"Hey, when I fall for Edward, don't miss me too much 'cause I'm not coming back" I said, laughing.  
We forgot about the move until we returned to my house at 1 AM. We walked into my packed up room and I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. My posters were put in protective tubes, the others folded in boxes with my other things. The moving van would be here at 9, and I would be in Forks by lunch time.  
"I wish you didn't have to go" Danielle said.  
"We all do, but this is for the best" I said, putting on my brave face.  
"Why?" Melissa asked.  
"Because, when I come back here with James after me, don't help me, I want to be alone with him" I said.  
They giggled and we all sat, watching my favorite parts and my favorite part ever, the James/Victoria deleted scene.  
"Oh my god! They filmed this?!" Roonie shouted.  
I giggled, "Please! Rachelle Lefevre is so lucky to get to do this with Cam Gigandet!"  
I wished so badly I could be her. Not just Rachelle, but Victoria. Love, freedom, happiness. Everything I've ever wanted.  
We stayed up all night together, wishing there was no end to our time together until my mom came.  
"Okay everyone, it's time to go. You too" she said to me.  
We packed up our bags and I walked downstairs with my two boxes, my duffel, my bad vamps tote bag and my backpack.  
I loaded everything in the back of the Explorer and looked to each of my friends, their parents lining up along the street, "I love you guys."  
They all nodded, unable to hold back tears and we made a big circle, a group hug.  
"Okay, I'm gonna promise y'all something" I said softly, "I ever become a nomad I'm stoppin' here first."  
We all laughed and hugged individually while we piled in our cars and I looked away, unable to stop the emptyness from taking over. While I still had my friends online, I would only be back every once in a while. I could only email them or call them. I would never spend all the school day together with them.  
I looked at my notebook with the words 'Forks High' written across it.  
"You know, you were the one who wanted me to take this job" my mom said.  
"I know. I want to go, but I wanted to bring them with me. Is it so wrong to have a coven?" I asked.  
"Watch the attitude. No, it's not so bad. You'll like High School, and you'll tell me if you see Emmett right?" she asked.  
I sighed, "No. Because Rosalie will kill you, blood or no blood."  
I looked out the window, watching my familiar land go by. I'd have to subscribe to comics over the internet, which limited my social interaction.  
I groaned internally as we left my perfect, small town where I'd spent my whole life. I was going for one reason and one reason only: This Victoria was going to find her James. One way or another.

TBC

Chapter 2- Forks  
"Nikki? Honey wake up, we're here" my mother said softly.  
Ironically, my iPod was playing the same song from the intro of the Twilight movie when we drove into town. It was so unbelieveable! It looked just like the book/movie!  
"Wow" I whispered.  
Tours of Twilight fangirls were walking along the roads and I smiled, happy to be a new part of the bizzare culture that I totally and compleately understood.  
The house was next door to a place that looked just like Bella's house in the movie.  
"What do you think?" my mom asked me.  
I turned to look at the house for the first time, it was a light gray, the siding making it look like a cottage or a cabin rather than a house.  
"Um...it's quaint" I said.  
I looked at it, it hardly looked big enough.  
We began to unpack and I smiled as I claimed the room taking the whole west side of the house. I had a window facing the back and one facing the front, both with window seats, like I'd always wanted.  
I had my furniture brought in and took out my boxes and bags, piling them up in my room. First order of business, my style.  
I took a can of red paint out of the garage and walked it up to my room. I painted the walls, drying it quickly with the hair dryer, something I'd learned from art projects past.  
I put up my posters and took the lace curtains and took them out to the attic above the garage. There were all sorts of dyes there, and I proceeded to dye them black.  
After drying them and hanging them up, I smiled at the weathered black cushons on the window seat with it's secret storage compartment.  
I unpacked, stuffing my dresser and putting space bags away under my bed. I took my favorite clothes and hung them up in the closet. Then I went to customization, putting out my random items from everywhere and arranged them with my many lamps.  
I set up my TV, with digital of course, and went to hook up the computer to give myself something to do.  
I walked downstairs, setting up things after the computer was booted and alive, surprisingly unscathed after the move and unpacking everything possible.  
I heard the crunch of the gravel driveway as the moving van pulled away and my mom walked in with the last box.  
"Wow, you've made progress. Are you done with your room yet?" she asked.  
"Yeah. Now the living room's done too. The computer's up" I said.  
She nodded. There wasn't much comunication between us, we really didn't need it. We were on the same page for the most part...mostly.  
"Hey, you can handle your room and the kitchen right?" I called in.  
"Sure. No big rush. Why?" she asked.  
"I wanted to go for a walk" I said, "You know, exploring?"  
"Great, I could use some exersize" she said.  
"I meant alone" I said.  
"It's dangerous. There are wild animals-" she began.  
"None of which can hurt us. Racoons are hardly werewolves mom. The big animals are either farther north or farther east" I said.  
She knew not to argue with me, I'd done my homework on this place.  
I walked out without another word, the front door creaking closed behind me.  
"Wait, Nikki, you have school tomorrow!" my mom called.  
"What?" I asked, "We just got here."  
"I know, but it's the middle of the second semester and-" she began.  
"Relax mom, I'm good. I'll go" I said.  
I walked up to my room. The rain had begun to fall. I was more than happy to be here, in the cozy, big room that was now mine. I made up my bed and changed into my Twilight pajamas. Listening to Linkin Park's Leave Out All The Rest from the Twilight Soundtrack, I fell asleep. Dreaming of James again, just like that day in my last period.  
I walked outside the next day, more than surprised to see my mom awake.  
"Come on, we're going to be late" she said.  
"No way. I'm seventeen Ma, too old to have Mommy dearest taking me to school. Just go ahead to work it's twomiles, I can walk it until I get a car" I said.  
"Okay" she agreed hezitantly and pulled out.  
I groaned, where would I find a car around here?  
"Hey, do you need a ride?" I heard a voice ask.  
I turned around and gaped. The girl was beautiful, like a mix of Alice and Rosalie. Her black hair hung straight around her face, pale as a vampire's. Her eyes were a strange burgundy. I wanted to gasp, to have an utter fangirl moment, but I only stared as she was approached by someone I assumed was her twin brother.  
He had the same jet black hair and burgundy eyes, but his hair was styled in a mohawk. He looked at me with a dark curiousity.  
"Oh, I'm Laura. This is my brother Akihiro" she smiled, flashing pearly white teeth.  
'Probably venomous' I thought to myself.  
"Nikki" I said.  
"Laura, Akihiro, come on, I'm not waiting all day" he called, and he was the most beautiful of them all by far.  
His jet black hair was glossy, slicked back into messy spikes. He looked like a rockstar god.  
"Oh, Nikki, this is our brother Logan" Laura said, pulling me by the hand.  
He looked me over and smiled, "The new girl right?"  
I nodded, not sure if I was able to speak.  
He smiled even wider, "Want a ride?"  
"Sure" I said, smiling back.  
Laura and Akihiro climbed in the back, Logan pulling out and down the street.  
"You live next door?" I asked casually.  
"Yeah. We've lived here since Cheif Swan moved closer to his daughter" Logan said.  
"Wait, Charlie Swan? As in from Twilight?" I asked.  
Logan chuckled, "Yeah. Twilight fan, I guess? Who's your favorite guy?"  
"James" I answered.  
He chuckled, "Who else. Girl?"  
"Victoria" I said.  
He smiled even wider, "Finally someone shares my opinion."  
I blushed and his smile started to falter, "We're here. Need help getting to class?"  
I nodded, "Would you mind?"  
He smiled, "Not at all."  
He climbed out and before I could touch the latch he pulled the door open for me, "Like it?"  
"It's a BMW" I said, grinning at my limited knowledge of cars.  
"What kind?" he asked, almost quizzing me.  
"M3" I replied.  
He grinned, "You know Nikki, I think you and I will get along great."  
He offered his arm and I took it, smiling and blushing. His burgundy eyes smoldered, lighting up his angelic face and I felt my blush run deeper.  
"Shall we?" he asked.  
"We shall" I replied, using the perfect tone Victoria had used in the baseball scene. He smiled and led me off.

TBC  
Chapter 3- Vampires. Big surprise.  
At lunch Logan went over to his table with his siblings. People were looking at us as we walked to the table together, even beside the fact we'd been together all day people still talked to me.  
"Hey Nikki" the boy from my English class, Mike, said.  
"Hey Mike" I said, smiling.  
He grinned, "So, hanging out with the Howletts now?"  
"Yeah, what about it?" I asked.  
"I don't like it" he said, "He looks at you like you're something to eat."  
I stifled a giggle, "Yeah, sure Mike. Go try that one with Bella."  
"You met Bella already?" he asked.  
I stopped, "No, not yet. I've heard about her though. Look, I have to go meet Logan, see you later."  
I walked into the cafeteria and walked to the back where Logan, Akihiro and Laura sat.  
"Hey" I said.  
Logan smiled warmly at me while the other two picked at their food.  
"You're vampires" I said.  
All eyes focused on me.  
"What?" Laura asked.  
"Yes" Logan said.  
"What? Logan!" Laura gasped.  
"No, she's with us. She has a right to know" Logan said.  
"Tell me. You're like the Cullens aren't you? Only...not" I said.  
Logan chuckled, "Yeah. We don't abstain from human blood, we're more like our nomadic...cousins, if you will."  
"Cousins? You mean you actually know James, Victoria and Laurent" I asked.  
Logan nodded, looking at me solmnly.  
"What?" I asked as he scrutinized my reaction.  
"I'm waiting for the running and screaming part" Logan said.  
I grinned, "Sorry to dissappoint you, but I don't scare easily."  
He looked at me, "Aren't you going to accuse us of being crazy?"  
"No, I figured it out when we first met" I said.  
He smiled, "I knew you were a fangirl."  
I scowled at him, even though it was hard to be angry with his angelic smile directed at me, "I am not a fangirl. I just love Twilight."  
He looked at me, "How about if you came with us to see our cousins?"  
I grinned, "That would be wicked."  
He rolled his eyes, "You're so absurd for a human."  
I grinned like Victoria and leaned across the table, "I never said I was an ordinary human."  
He looked at me, the black suddenly blazing in his eyes, "Oh?"  
I felt the electricity running through my veins as he leaned closer, his eyes closing and he took a deep sniff. I almost did a fangirl scream as he let out his breath in a sigh, the same way James did in the Twilight movie.  
"You smell...unbelieveable" he whispered, his sweet breath dazing me.  
I moved closer, taking in his beautifully inhuman features.  
"We'll meet you in biology" Laura said, pulling Akihiro along with her.  
Akihiro paused, "Nikki, tell me something."  
I froze, this was the first time he'd spoken to me and I was a bit shocked by his voice. It was soft, warm and sweet. The utter epitome of happiness.  
"Yes?" I asked.  
"Do you know if this is worth it?" he asked.  
"Completely" I said.  
He nodded, "Okay. That's all."  
Logan chuckled, drawing my attention back to him, "Edward's staring."  
"What?" I asked, "Edward Cullen exists?!"  
Logan rolled his eyes, "You're so eager to accept the presence of mystical creatures but you can't accept that Edward Cullen sits in front of us in Biology."  
I looked over to him, "Can I be honest for a second?"  
He nodded.  
"Edward has nothing on you."  
He laughed, a vibrant, musical sound I lost myself in.  
Everyone turned to see him and I saw Mike, blaching at seeing me alone with Logan.  
"He wants to come to your rescue, I can tell. His fear just spiked, he doesn't want you alone with me" Logan whispered.  
I shivered. To say it was a plesant thought was an understatement. Me, alone with Logan. It felt too good to be true.  
"Then why don't we go out without everyone to stare at us?" I asked.  
He looked at me, his burgundy eyes smoldering, "Did you just ask me out?"  
"Yes" I said.  
Logan stared me in the eyes, "I'd be honored to take you out. Just promise me one thing."  
I nodded.  
"You have to be safe without me. I can't let anything happen to you. I don't trust the werewolves at all. The Cullens we can deal with, but if it's us versus the wolves, we can't handle that."  
I nodded again.  
He took my hand and lifted me up, pressing his lips to my wrist. He sighed, his cool breath against my skin, "Be safe."  
The cafeteria was almost empty, all chaperones long gone, and I moved closer.  
"Nikki?" he asked.  
"I know it would be hard for you, but don't move" I whispered. I was more sure of myself in this moment than I ever had been.  
I stretched on my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him.  
A soft sigh slipped from his lips and he deepened it, pulling me closer and tracing his tongue against my lower lip. Our lips molded together, his arms tight around me. I could feel my heart beating erratically in my chest while he leaned me back against the wall. I gasped desperately for air against his lips, fighting the urge to give up the air and just dive in to the kiss. He kissed me gently on the lips twice more before drawing back.  
"Next time, warn me before your ambush" he said. His eyes were burning, the burgundy almost gone. The onyx of his eyes were perfectly dark.  
"Hunt later, but for now I have to go to my first day of Biology. We can ditch tomorrow" I said.  
He grinned, "I'm holding you to that."  
We began walking together but he paused with me outside the classroom, wasn't here yet.  
"Are you sure you're not afraid?" he asked.  
I smiled, "Never. It's always the same question with people, 'Aren't you scared?' Ugh, I never am."  
He smiled, "After school, you come with me. You really shouldn't have said that."

TBC  
Chatper 4- Baseball  
The thunder cracked and lightning flashed overhead as we ran out in the rain toward Logan's car.  
"This is gonna be great!" Laura said enthusiastically.  
"Let me guess, I'm meeting your 'cousins'?" I asked.  
Logan grinned, breathless and nodded.  
"They're going to love you" Akihiro said.  
I smiled, this was nice. I was accepted by a coven of vampires I hadn't known before today and now I was meeting their extended family. Wow. Things had gone by fast.  
We drove to the end of the road by the one-ten, over by the medow's trail in the book.  
"Weren't we supposed to go the other way?" I asked.  
Logan chuckled, "We have to leave the car here."  
I was suddenly breathless, "We're going to run it?"  
He grinned, "Of course."  
He held out his hand to me and I took it. He pulled me onto his back and started running.  
I could've shouted with exeleration, but all that came out was a giggle. I couldn't believe it!  
"How're you holding up?" he asked.  
"Perfect" I said, "No motion sickness here."  
He chuckled and ran faster. I loved it. The speed, and the fact that I was holding onto him.  
"James! Victoria! Laurent!" Laura shouted as she danced in. There was no other way to describe it. The way her speed made her look made her appear to be dancing in fast forward.  
Logan set me down at the edge of the clearing and walked in with me, Akihiro falling into step at my other side.  
The wind shifted and I was sure of what would happen next.  
I saw them, even more heartbreakingly beautiful in person than in the movie, or the book. I was shocked, the actors looked like them.  
James smiled, "Bring a snack Logan?"  
Logan growled softly and I rolled my eyes, "Is that how you greet everyone James?"  
Victoria giggled, "You're with him now aren't you?"  
I looked over to him. I had no idea if 'with' was the right word.  
He grinned, "What else would she be?"  
Laurent appeared by my side anf Logan looked over, watching my reaction to him.  
"Hello" Laurent said, taking my hand in his and pressing his cold lips to my knuckles.  
"Hello Laurent" I said.  
James and Victoria exchanged a surprised glance. Even Bella was afraid of them, yet I wasn't.  
"You know, I'm surprised, ususally out little cousin doesn't have as good of control as he seems to be now" James said, walking forward with Victoria close behind him.  
Logan stiffened, but I smiled warmly, "Then he must be shocking everyone today."  
"You're showing off again aren't you?" Victoria asked.  
"A little" Logan admitted.  
James grinned, "Good for you."  
Logan smiled at a crack of thunder and Laura pulled me out to the side, "Nikki, you're going to be refereeing with Victoria. If we want to play today, we have to continue this later."  
Victoria walked with me and I smiled, "So, how long have you and James known them?"  
"A while. Ever since they came here from New York two years ago. They've had some problems with the Cullens, so have we" Victoria said.  
"Like what? I mean, I know what happened with all of you, but what about them?" I asked.  
"Did you hear their stories yet?" Victoria asked, sitting down on a log with me.  
"No" I replied.  
"Well, they're all related. That's all true. Logan and Akihiro were really close as brothers, and when a vampire attacked them Logan covered his little brother so Akihiro could get away. They ended up attacking him anyway. Laura knew about this world before either of them. Their parents were going to have her comitted, but then the vampire attacked" Victoria said, "Laura was the first to change, then Logan, and Akihiro was last. It was probably more comforting that way, having both of them ahead of him."  
"Oh wow" I whispered, at a loss for words, "What about you? I mean...can I ask?"  
"We all have pretty complicated stories. We'll tell you later" Victoria said.  
She looked zoned out for a minute before she called the out in the game.  
"Are you okay?" I asked.  
She looked at me, "Are you sure you wanted to hear the story?"  
"Anytime" I said, smiling.  
"Did Logan ever tell you who changed me?" she asked softly.  
"No" I said.  
"James did. He saved my life" she said softly, glancing over to him edgily, "When I thought I lost him after the incident in Phoenix..." She winced.  
I reached out, not sure of what to do, but rubbed her shoulder, "It's okay. I know."  
"I wanted to be able to save him too. What I didn't know was that he'd gotten away" she said, "He got out before the fire could spread. After the Cullens left. He timed it perfectly."  
"What about you?" I asked, "I thought you and Riley were both..."  
She chuckled, "I had to time it too. I wasn't dead yet, but I was close. I had to get out and I did. The Volturi provided a nice distraction for me to escape. Riley was a good kid, but I wouldn't have been able to help him anyway."  
"Laurent? I thought the wolves were smarter than that" I said.  
She started laughing, "So did I. Even though I'd needed his intel, I had to admit I felt a little releved hearing werewolves got him."  
"Releved?" I asked.  
"It's complicated" she said, her smile falling.  
"This was the story you didn't want to tell, isn't it?" I asked.  
"I can't remember my human life too well. Just bits and peices. I rememer what my best friend looked like, but I can't remember her name. I remember my dog, and my house, but not my family or...anything else" she said.  
"What about being a vampire?" I asked.  
"I was alone in the beginning. Then I met Laurent and...well, I was just really happy to have found James. Laurent's been...put out with him ever since" she said.  
"Put out?" I asked.  
"I'll tell you later" Victoria said and her head snapped up.  
Logan ran over to me, "We have to go."  
James was close to Victoria in a heartbeat, with Laura and Akihiro behind us. Laurent stood, exposed to the hidden threat.  
"Laurent, come on" James said, backing away in the direction of the trees.  
"No. They are as much our family now as they should be" Laurent said.  
Then I understood, the snap of a tree not far away meant different that I'd thought. The Cullens were coming out to play.

TBC

Chapter 5- Trails  
James turned and sprinted off into the trees with Victoria at his side. Laura and Akihiro followed close behind while Logan pulled me onto his back, sprinting away last.  
"Where are we going?" I asked.  
"Home" he replied.  
I couldn't help glancing over my shoulder at the trees around us, hoping no one could find us.  
"What about James and Victoria?" I asked.  
"They'll come back with us. Laurent is stupid, he always does things he ends up regretting later" Logan said. We ran in and Logan put me down gently on the floor, on my feet.  
"Are they coming?" Logan asked Victoria.  
"What are they doing?" I asked.  
"He's using Victoria's power to see if the routes around the house are still safe. He wants to keep them away from you" James said, worry creasing his forehead.  
If I'd thought he was beautiful before, there was nothing compared to this moment. He was utterly, heartbreakingly gorgous, but he still had nothing on Logan.  
"They're coming" Victoria gasped, "All of them."  
Logan slammed his fist down on the table, "Dammit!"  
James looked at Victoria. He went to her side, sitting beside her and taking her in his arms.  
"We can hide" I said.  
"How?" Logan asked, "They'll come here. They know where we live."  
"But they don't know me" I said, "They'll never know to look for you where I am."  
Victoria looked up, meeting my gaze, "That just might work."  
"Why are you all afraid of the Cullens anyway? You're all stronger. Together, as a big coven, you could win" I said.  
"You're kidding" Akihiro said. His voice was the picture of joy, but his expression was like the inside of a tomb.  
"You could and I could help you" I said.  
Logan snarled, jumping up, "No. Not at all. Don't even consider it."  
"I can and I am. If you won't, who says they won't?" I said.  
"You don't know what you're asking!" Logan said.  
"I do" I said, calmer.  
He sighed, "So eager for eternal damnation."  
"I wouldn't be" I said, "I know I wouldn't be."  
James crossed the room, "Do you think it could be possible all of us together could work?"  
"Yes" I said.  
He nodded, "Okay, let's go."  
"We're going with her plan then" Laura said.  
James nodded.  
"No. James, she can't be ready for this!" Logan said, as if to accentuate his point, thunder crashed overhead. "I am" I said, "I could be like Bella, just control myself. I could be like you."  
Logan looked at me, "No. Not yet. No."  
"We don't have time to argue Logan, they're almost here" Victoria said.  
"Your power, it's to see safe havens right? Like a hightened self preservation sense?" I asked.  
She nodded.  
"See if they'll circle around by my house" I said.  
She focused, her eyes zoning out for a moment, "No."  
"Then we'll have to be incredibly careful here" I said.  
"What? What do you have planned?" Laura asked.  
"Who are the most diplomatic out of all of you?" I asked.  
All eyes fell on Laura and Akihiro.  
"You two and I are going to reason with them, see if they'll back off. Logan, James and Victoria can stay here" I said.  
"I don't want you out there" Logan said.  
"They're the vegitarians Logan, they aren't exactly the ones I have to worry about" I smiled slyly at him.  
James laughed, "She has a point. I hope the blond boy doesn't slip up, I like her."  
Victoria smiled, "So do I."  
I could feel a real comraderie had bloomed between us, as if there hadn't been one already, and I smiled back.  
Laura, Akihiro and I walked outside, the cool, wet air falling at an angle. I was almost soaked just getting down the stairs. Out of the glow of the porch light, I could see the golden eyes of the Cullens warily advancing to us.  
"Relax" I said calmly, knowing they could hear, "Nothing's wrong. Just tell us what's going on."  
"We were curious, we haven't crossed paths with James and Victoria in years" Carlisle said, walking forward. A cold gust of wind blew past, making me shiver while the air whooshed out of my lungs while they all revealed their faces. They were beautiful, each and every one of them, but I still was biased. I thought the nomads looked like rock gods.  
"I hope you weren't blindsighted" I said, "James and Victoria aren't hunting on your land."  
"We know. We're actually surprised the remained away from us for so long" Jasper said.  
Laura moved to my side warily, "We'd appriciate some warning before a visit next time though."  
Alice laughed her wind-chime laugh, the cold unaffecting her, "We thought you were having her for dinner or something. Our bad."  
I smiled, "Well I would be more than honored to be their latest meal, but apparently I've reached Bella's status."  
Bella smiled warmly, "Who are you?"  
"Nikki" I said, "I just moved here. Look, can you do me a favor?"  
They all focused on me, "Can you just leave them alone? They're not doing anything of intrest, okay? They're just living here."  
Esme stepped forward, "Are you alright?"  
"Yeah, I'm fine" I smiled, "Just wet and cold."  
Emmett chuckled, "Hey Ed, wasn't Bella this funny?"  
I looked at them and smiled, "I'm glad I amuse you."  
"We'll let you go back inside, but if you ever need us-" Carlisle began.  
"Look for the big mansion with a lot of windows. I got it" I said, smiling and waving them off.  
Laura and Akihiro gathered around me as I walked in.  
"God it's freezing out there!" I gasped.  
Victoria took off her shawl and wrapped it around me.  
"Thanks" I said softly, sitting on the couch.  
She sat beside me, "James and Logan were worried. Well, that was an understatement. They were going to go out there and start at fight but..."  
"It's okay, they're gone now" I said.  
I smiled at Victoria and she smiled back, somehow it wasn't strange to find myself reassuring a vampire.  
"Are you still cold?" she asked.  
"A little" I admitted.  
She went over to the wall and turned up the heat, sitting on the far end of the couch.  
"No, it's okay. You didn't have to move" I said.  
She looked at me as if weighing options, "Are you sure?"  
I nodded and she moved a bit closer, "This is a little hard for all of us. We try to avoid people just in case..."  
I reached out, resting my now-warm hand against her cool arm, "It's okay. I trust all of you."  
"That may be a mistake" she said, looking down.  
I sighed and rolled my eyes, "You have better self control then I thought already Victoria. If you were like any other vampire I would've been long gone in the clearing. But I'm not, am I?"  
She looked at the ceiling, closing her eyes, "I slipped up once when we were trying to be in crowds with humans. I just couldn't help myself. I almost exposed us, almost. If James wasn't there..."  
I wasn't scared, which was a little shocking. She'd just talked about killing someone. By accident, only because her instints had told her to. That was justifiable. I knew she felt bad about it. I reached out hezitantly, just like I had in the clearing and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. It felt strange, like hugging a sculpture, too perfect to be real, until her arms wrapped around me in turn.  
"You're tired" she said softly.  
I hadn't even realized my head was rested on her cool shoulder, "A little."  
"I'll get Logan, he'll take you home" Laura said.  
I looked up to Victoria, "Will you all be here tomorrow?"  
She smiled, "Of course. We don't have any other place to go."  
Logan lifted me up from the couch.  
"Wait" I protested.  
I slipped off the shawl and handed it back to Victoria, "Thanks."  
She smiled, "Get some sleep."  
Logan cradled me against his chest, wrapping me in something that felt like rubber. I grumbled.  
"It's okay, it's just a rain coat" he said softly.  
Logan walked out and I heard the soft woosh of the wind as he walked up to my door and walked inside, "When will your mother be home?"  
"Late" I said.  
I could already feel unconsiousness clouding my mind, "Don't go."  
"I won't" he whispered and I heard the whisper of my door opening. The rubber dissapeared and was replaced with my familiar blankets wrapping around me. Then he was beside me, his arms wrapped around me, "Sleep. I'll be here, just try to relax."  
I nodded and sighed, "G'night Logan."  
"Goodnight" he whispered and began humming. I wasn't able to stay awake for the whole song, but it sounded a lot like Bella's Lullaby.

TBC  
Chapter 6- Fragility  
I woke up early, the pale gray light filtering in through the black curtains. With all the red, black, Twilight and Marvel, my room looked like a gothic loft.  
There was a note on the desk with my name on it, and I could only assume Logan had left it for me. My beaten up and well-worn copy of Twilight sat on the desk, my page open to the one with the arrival of the nomads.  
I got out of bed, surprised to see my once-soaked clothes were dry, without leaving a puddle. I walked over to the desk and lifted the note.  
Nikki,  
I had to go hunting today. Laura and Akihiro are with me. James and Victoria are staying behind to be close to you, just in case. Others have crossed our trail before, and I don't want you alone with the Cullens around. I don't trust them, especially with Jasper around.  
Be safe, I love you.  
Logan  
I sighed, folding it up and tucking it away in my desk drawer.  
"You know, I thought you would sleep longer" Victoria said.  
I turned, "And I thought you knew you were welcome in my house. You don't have to use the window."  
She jumped down and I immediately felt my ego take a hit with not only her beauty, but her grace, "It's easier just to climb in."  
I rolled my eyes, "Still. When my mother thinks I'm talking to people, then what?"  
"I'll save you before you get committed" she said, sitting down on my bed. I realized how well we both fit in with this room. Her style was about as gothic as mine and I remebered why I felt the comraderie last night.  
"Can I have a human minute...or a few?" I asked.  
She smiled, "As long as I can occupy myself, sure." She held up my much-abused copy of Twilight and I nodded, "Just be careful, it's a bit of a senior citizen."  
She nodded, smiled and let me go over to the bathroom connected to my room. I went through my process and came out in my robe, making my way to my closet. It was very nice sized, almost a walk-in.  
"I never noticed how many clothes you have" she said.  
"You've been in here?" I asked.  
"Last night. Logan had to leave early, he was debating whether you were snack material or not" she said, appearing at my side.  
"See anything you want to borrow?" I asked.  
"You'd let me borrow your clothes?" Victoria asked, surprised.  
I laughed, "Sure. Where I used to live I used to let my friends borrow clothes all the time. They kept saying I was better stocked than Hot Topic, which is actually where I got most of this."  
She smiled, "Can I?"  
I moved aside, pulling out my black jeans and a green tanktop, "Go ahead."  
She looked through my clothes while I got dressed, and she was still there when I'd come back.  
"Like it or love it?" I asked, grinning.  
"I love your closet" she said.  
"You know, usually this whole borrowing clothes thing is a two-way street so...sometime, could I borrow that outfit?" I asked.  
She smiled, "Sure, but..."  
"I know, I know. I'll give it back, safe and sound. Also, you know you can make yourself at home here. I get that you guys are nomads, but that doesn't mean you can't have a home out of the trees" I said.  
She smiled, "Can I have a vampire minute?"  
I grinned, "Mi casa es su casa."  
She grinned back, "Spanish. Nice."  
"Gracias" I said.  
She laughed and zipped off, her speed bringing out a bit of envy on my part. My new best friend was prettier, more graceful, and faster than me.  
"Brooding?" she asked.  
I looked up, seeing she was back. Her hair was wet and she wore one of my favorite outfits, a Metro Station t-shirt and my studded black skinny jeans.  
I grinned, "You know, we really do run on the same wavelength."  
She smiled back, "Breakfast?"  
I stood, "Sure."  
We walked downstairs together in silence and she sat down at the table while I made breakfast for myself.  
"Want anything?" I asked.  
"I'm good" she said, looking around, "I like your house. It sort of reminds me of mine when I was human."  
"Then you're going to love this, because it will prove how very good you have it and why I want to be a nomad now" I said.  
I led her down the hall and cracked open the door to my mom's room. The room was covered in oriental designs.  
She laughed, "Now I feel bad for you. This is strange."  
I nodded, "It's Friday. I have to go to school in...twenty minutes."  
I walked back and ate breakfast.  
"We got you a car" Victoria said.  
I looked up from my bowl of Rice Crispies, "What kind?"  
"Well, I think you'll like it, and don't worry, I didn't steal it...okay I did, but Akihiro knows how to change licence plates" Victoria said.  
"James help?" I asked.  
"He specializes in stelth" she said.  
I looked outside and gasped, "You..got me a lamborghini?!"  
"You don't like it?" she asked.  
I turned around, staring at her in shock and dismay, "That's a reventon. A Lamborghini Reventon! I-I think I'm going to faint!"  
She grinned, "So you like it?"  
"Like is an understatement" I said.  
"Hurry up, you're going to be late" she said.  
"But they're not back yet" I said.  
"James and I are going with you. We'll stay out of the classes, but we'll be there. Close. No one is going to think we don't belong there, so we'll see you between classes and during lunch" Victoria said.  
I nodded, "Good luck."  
"You too" she said, walking me out to my more than conspicuious car.

TBC  
Chapter 7- Us and Them  
Victoria climbed in the car with me as we drove. The flashes behind us must have been James, but I didn't ask. Victoria was calm enough, and neither of us felt the need to talk.  
The majority of my day came before lunch, with those few moments where I barely got to talk to James and Victoria, but always knew they were close by. When lunch came, I was more than happy to walk in with them.  
We sat at the usual table and I sat, looking at the both of them. James was stroking Victoria's knuckles and they both looked worried.  
"What's wrong?" I asked.  
"The Cullens" James said softly.  
I looked up. Sure enough, all of them were staring. Edward's fingers were wrapped around the edge of the table, his eyes burning with hatred. I glared at them and they all gave me a surprised glance, especially Edward. Then I smiled at Bella, Emmett, Alice and the one I'd never seen before, one I had to assume was Renesmee. They all smiled back, even Jasper and Rosalie. All exept Edward.  
"How did you do that?" Victoria asked.  
"I just know how to annoy people" I said.  
Victoria rolled her eyes, "You don't annoy people."  
"I know. But still, I seem to attract vampires now, so why not make the most out of it" I said.  
James smiled, "As long as the werewolves stay away from you-"  
His smile vanished and I felt the new heat wave from behind me, "Hey Jake!" I said, turning and smiling enthusiastically.  
"Hey. You're Nikki, right?" he asked, smiling back.  
"Yeah. So what's up?" I asked.  
"Thanks for that back there. They all like you, they're just protective. Just give them the benifit of the doubt here, 'kay?" he asked.  
"Sure, sure" I said, rolling my eyes, "They know I'm good with them. After all, how good can I be, being in league with the nomads and all."  
I grinned evilly and Jacob laughed, "Nice meeting you."  
"You too Jake" I said, smiling as he walked off.  
James put his head down, "Two minutes. Two minutes and the wolves decend."  
"Okay, you've all been saying Twilight lines, I don't undersand this. You all hate the Cullens so much and yet you all talk like them" I said, picking the peperoni off my pizza.  
Victoria looked at me, "Are you okay?"  
"Sure, why?" I asked, looking up.  
"Are you going to be okay if we're not here" she asked.  
I panicked, "What's going on?"  
"It's not safe. The pack is moving in, they're in league with the Cullens. Nikki, something's going to happen" she said.  
It was only a week ago, but it felt like a lifetime. My dream in last period. The wolves, killing them.  
I gasped, "No. You can't go."  
"Why?" James asked.  
"Because, this is why Laurent never came back. He wants the wolves to track you down, he wants to get you alone" I said, "I dreampt this a week ago. I can't let you all go, we need to get Logan, Laura and Akihiro."  
"They're in trouble, aren't they?" Victoria asked.  
"I think so" I said.  
We jumped up, "We have to go. I was going to ditch Biology and Gym anyway" I said.  
They nodded and we made our way out to the Reventon. It was pouring and the rain only fueled my run.  
"First beach" I gasped.  
"What?" Victoria asked.  
"First beach, they're going to attack on first beach! We have to find them, we have to get away from La Push!" I gasped.  
I stomped on the gas, flooring it and drove down the muddy, slick streets. I saw the flashes and pushed the car faster, making it go as fast as possible.  
I rolled down the window, "LOGAN!"  
It was too late, the black wolf leapt through the air and almost collided with him. Logan turned, Laura and Akihiro after him, and they ran toward the house.  
I revved the car, pulling a James Bond and whipping around on the slick street, and drove after them. For once, I was really glad James and Victoria wouldn't criticize my driving.

TBC  
Chapter 8- Hell hath no fury like a vampire scorned  
I pulled in outside my house, Victoria and James stepping outside with me. The rain was pouring down now, drenching me as I shut the door. Logan stopped a few feet from me, his arms open and I shoved him hard, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!"  
He reached out, pulling me into his arms, "I don't know. I wasn't."  
I felt tears stinging my eyes, "Are you okay?"  
"Perfect" he said and I rested against his shoulder. I didn't care about who was a vampire and who was a human, I kissed his neck softly.  
"Don't do that" I whispered.  
"What?" he asked.  
"Don't EVER scare me like that again" I said.  
He sighed, "So you're not afraid of the vampire guy, but you're afraid he's going to get hurt."  
"Of course! What else?!" I said.  
The familiar Volkswagon Rabbit pulled in my driveway and I sighed.  
Logan backed out of the way, letting me go and walking inside his house with Akihiro and Laura. James and Victoria went onto my porch, waiting in the glow of the silver-white light.  
"Jake!" I shouted.  
He stepped out, pulling his hood over his head and shutting the door. He left the car running, it's lights creating a gold path through the gloomy rain.  
"Hey. Are they okay?" Jake asked.  
"I didn't think you'd care" I said, surprised.  
"Yeah, well, I like them. They're allowed on Quiliute land. Sam was acting out of line, I could always-" he began.  
"Jake, no. I don't want you doing anything because of us" I said.  
"Us. You sound like Bella" he said.  
I smiled, "Isn't that why you like me?"  
He snorted, "Sure, sure."  
I grinned, happy at his joy, "Why don't you turn off the car and come inside. We like you too."  
He grinned widely, his pearly teeth contrasting with his russet skin, "Sure. Be right back."  
He jogged over to the car, turning it off and running back up to me with a spare jacket, "You're getting soaked."  
"I was going shopping this weekend" I said.  
"Well, this'll tide you over until you find something more fashonable" he said. He put the jacket over me and I heard Logan's muted growl.  
He chuckled, "I guess he doesn't like that much, does he?"  
"He's territorial" I said, rolling my eyes.  
Jake laughed loudly, "Come on, let's go."  
He jogged up toward the porch and I followed. James and Victoria stepped aside as Jake stepped up, pulling off his hood.  
"So, we're all going to be friends?" Jake asked eagerly, glancing from James to me.  
"Sure, why not?" I said.  
"Because they're our enemies" Logan said, appearing behind me.  
I made my best attempt at a growl, "He's a werewolf, you're a vampire and I'm a Taurus! What's the big freakin' deal?!"  
James laughed, "This is why I like her."  
Logan glowered at his 'cousin'.  
"Thanks" I said, grinning. It was really easy to be myself with them. Jake was a living sunshine, with Victoria being the sister I never had. James being the brother I always wanted, Logan being the love I'd never found and Laura and Akihiro were two of my best friends, my siblings. My family, all of us.  
"So, does this mean we're part of your pack now?" I asked jokingly.  
"Or part of your coven" Jake said, nudging me.  
I laughed and walked in with all of them, my new family.

TBC

Chapter 9- Pure Blood  
Logan and I curled up on the couch while Victoria and James gave Jacob, Laura and Akihiro the tour of the house.  
"So..." Logan began.  
"Yes?" I asked innocently, knowing the route we were about to go down.  
"If you really want to become one of us..." Logan began.  
"I do" I said.  
"Then when? And where?" he asked.  
I sighed, "Okay, so I have a feeling my mom will never let me move out to get married, so we're going to have to wait a few more months so I can move out."  
He pulled me into his arms, hitching my leg around his waist and my breath hitched.  
He chuckled, "Edward may be careful, but I think it's a little...restricting."  
His lips brushed my neck and my pulse thundered, as if making his target more obvious. I wanted so badly for him to just bite me and get it over with. He chuckled softly against my skin, his cool breath sending shivers up my spine.  
He inhaled deeply, "Did you ever hear of la tua cantante?"  
I nodded weakly, "New Moon, right?"  
He chuckled, "You tell me."  
I was unable to breath for a moment while he gently touched his lips to my pulse.  
"Is it hard for you?" I finally mananged to stutter out.  
"No. I've drank too much blood before already, although you smell so perfectly tempting, I'm used to being thirsty around humans" he whispered, his cool, sweet breath fanning my face.  
I gasped, inhaling the sweet scent of his breath.  
"So, reconsidering the times?" he asked.  
"Mm, you seem eager for me to be immortal" I said.  
"I want to be with you forever. Besides, having you less breakable will be a strong point" Logan said.  
"Less breakable?" I asked.  
"You don't realize, while I may not be human, I am a man" he said, looking me over.  
I grinned, "What about what Bella and Edward did? I mean, aside from the getting me pregnant."  
His eyes widened and his expression changed, "Huh?"  
"Ever read Breaking Dawn?" I asked.  
"What?" he asked, confused.  
"Renesmee. The girl in the cafeteria. The Cullen. Edward and Bella's daughter" I said, "Edward and Bella got married and, well, I guess you know the rest. Jake imprinted on Nessie and, well, that's the end of that tale." James walked in then, "I remember that. We had followed the Volturi, it was incredible. We made sure to follow close enough to see, but far enough away to have them unable to find us."  
Jake sat down on the floor, being courtiously oblivious to me sitting on Logan's lap, "Yeah. That wasn't fun."  
I reached out, running my fingers through Jake's shaggy hair and he chuckled, "You're becoming Bella."  
"Not really, that is, unless Seth or Embry want a love intrest" I said, grinning, "Or Collin?"  
Jake grinned, "I think you have it good enough with the brothers here."  
I glanced from Logan to Akihiro, both who glanced at me and glared at each other.  
"What?" I asked, it was my turn to be confused.  
"You didn't tell her, did you?" Akihiro asked.  
"I don't think she needs to know" Logan growled.  
"Will someone just tell me what the hell is going on?!" I asked, exasperated.  
"They're both in love with you. Though I have to admit, Akihiro's a bit less" Victoria said.  
James reached out, taking her hand. Logan wrapped his arms around my waist, "I don't think so Aki."  
Akihiro growled, baring his teeth.  
Logan growled and kissed me with a fierce intensity. He'd never been careful before, but now it was just plain reckless...and I loved every second of it.  
My fingers locked in his hair, pulling me closer. My lips molded to his, taking their perfect shape and his tongue gently stroked my lips.  
I heard Akihiro growl loudly and Jacob's warning growl.  
Logan flipped me over in a heartbeat, hovering over me on the couch. His marble chest pressed to me, feeling the cool of his body without the weight. He pulled my legs up around his waist, pulling me tighter into his arms.  
Akihiro growled, lunging and knocking Logan off the couch. They landed on the floor with a crash like boulders slamming together.  
"Logan! Aki! Don't, if you kill the house I'll help Jake kill both of you" I shouted.  
They both stopped and looked at me, getting up.  
"Good. Aki, go home and cool down. Laura, go with him, just make sure he gets there" I said.  
Jacob rose, "I guess I should be going home."  
"Why? Jake, I didn't mean to ruin your fun" I said.  
"No, it's okay. Seeing those two start fighting is worth the scrap. Trust me, I'll see you tomorrow" Jake said. He hugged me tightly to his side for a moment and left, the steady pulse of the Rabbit's engine the only sound of his departure.  
James and Victoria stepped toward the door.  
"Wait, you can stay here" I said.  
"Where?" Victoria asked.  
"Come on" I said, grinning.  
I lead them up the steps into the attic, just through the door in the roof of my closet.  
The room was furnished slightly, a large, plush couch I hadn't wanted and Mom hadn't wanted to part with. If she knew what it was going to be used for, then she probably wouldn't want it anymore.  
"Thanks" Victoria said.  
"Just do me a favor" I asked.  
"Sure" James said.  
"Just don't wake me up in the middle of the night, okay?" I said jokingly.  
Victoria looked away shyly and James grinned, "I make no promises."  
Logan rolled his eyes and took my hand, leading me down to my room.

TBC  
Chapter 10- Learning  
When I woke up, the yellow sunlight was unexpected.  
"Hey. You're awake" Victoria said, smiling over the copy of Twilight in her hands.  
"You're actually reading that?" I asked.  
"It's pretty good" she said.  
"It gets really depressing at the end though" I warned her.  
"I'm almost at the ballett studio, does Bella die?" she asked.  
"Not Bella" I said, "But Stephanie's going to make James win in Midnight Sun."  
Victoria dropped the book, "James dies?"  
Her eyes were wide with shock as she quickly snapped them shut and rubbed her temples, sitting down on my bed beside me.  
She sighed with relief, "He's not in any danger."  
"You can tell when someone other than just you is in danger?" I asked, dumbfounded, "I thought people only speculated that in fanfiction about you."  
She looked at me confused, "Fanfiction?"  
I pulled out my laptop, pulling up the website I went to, where I wrote at least 2-3 chapters a day.  
She looked at me and the screen, then back again, "How do people know all this?"  
"You're kidding! Some of this is real!" I gasped.  
"Well, yeah. And I wouldn't know too much about my human life, for all I know I could've been a gypsy" she said, reading the story.  
I grinned, "That would've been so cool."  
I pulled my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my calfs, just watching her. Occasionally she'd look at the screen in confusion and then glance at me.  
"What did you write?" she asked.  
I clicked on a story and her eyes widened, "Oh! Wow. This is...really close to what actually happened."  
I looked over, she was reading the first story I'd ever put on the site. It was a two-shot about the tracking expedition in Siberia.  
"That was true?" I asked, "I mean, I knew you'd gone with James and Laurent to track werewolves across Siberia, but I didn't know this was how it went down."  
She looked at me, "Even though I think you know, I still want to tell you what happened."  
She flinched, remebering. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me" I said softly, reaching out and rubbing her arm.  
She looked at me, "Am I your best friend?"  
I was taken aback, "Here yes."  
"Here? You mean you have a best best friend?" she asked, almost dissapointed.  
I laughed, "I don't think of best friends and friends. My friends are all like my brothers and sisters. Like my soul sisters Melissa, Danielle and Kamron. And my soul brothers, Ethan, Sam and Joe."  
"What about us?" Victoria asked.  
"The La Push pack and you guys are the rest of my family" I said, reaching out and pulling her against my side.  
"You know Nikki, you're a very old soul" she said.  
I smiled, "Thanks."  
She leaned against my side and rested against my shoulder, "Have you ever been in love? I mean, outside of Logan."  
"I don't think so, but I liked two guys very much" I said, blushing.  
"Who?" she asked eagerly.  
I laughed, "There was one guy, his name was Brian. He looked like a young Laurent. The second's name was Sam, the same Sam who's my soul brother. He looked like a hotter version of Edward."  
"Woo" she said softly and I giggled, hugging her around the shoulders, "Have you been in love outside of James?"  
"Well...you have to promise not to tell anyone" she said.  
I nodded, "Cross my heart and hope to give up  
chocolate."  
"Laurent."  
"What?!"  
"Laurent. I used to have it bad for him" she looked down and I swore she started blushing, "He was around, back when I knew it was James who saved me, but he left before I finished turning. I knew it hurt him too much to think of what he'd done. But when we were reunited, that crush on Laurent went away as if it wasn't ever there. James is my soul mate, and I love him so much."  
I smiled, "I know. Do you want to stay here today or go shopping? I think we should get some clothes for you too."  
She smiled, "You would?"  
"Sure, why not? Might as well take a trip out and see if they have an HT around here" I said, standing and walking over to my closet.  
"The closest one's in Seattle" Victoria said, "I used to look in the window, but then I stopped. I never had enough money."  
I grinned, "Well, looks like it's good I have money saved up."  
"I can't spend your money" she said.  
"Yes, you can. I'll force you" I said.  
"Ooh, scary" she said sarcastically, and we both laughed.

TBC  
Chapter 11- Family  
Victoria and I arrived back home late. It was no surprise to us that the guys were still out.  
"Where's your mother?" Victoria asked.  
"Somewhere" I said, shrugging as I pulled out the phonebook to call out for pizza.  
"Is she always gone?" Victoria asked, sitting down in the chair and facing me.  
"Between work and whatever else she does, yeah, pretty much" I said.  
"How long has she been doing this?" Victoria's tone filled with both surprise and worry.  
"She started dating when I was twelve, so all this crap really kicked up when I turned thirteen." I shrugged again, shrugging was good in a situation like this.  
Unexpectedly, Victoria stood and put her arms around me, "Were you always alone?"  
"No. I had my grandma until she had to go to a nursing home, and my uncle until he moved closer to her. We still have the dog, but he stays in mom's room and naps mostly, lazy little furball" I said, rolling my eyes.  
She turned me around, holding me by the shoulders and staring directly into my eyes, "But did you like being alone?"  
I was suddenly shocked by her closeness. Her cool hands rested on my bare shoulders and for a moment, I was actually...close to scared.  
"Not really" I admitted, "But hey, looks like I have a pretty big family now, huh?"  
I smiled and her expression of worry deepend, "They still leave you alone."  
"So?" I asked, pushing back. I was getting defencive. "They actually give a damn at the wrong moments, sure, but what's it matter? I don't need family anyway."  
"I'm sorry" she said softly.  
I turned around. She was sitting in the chair she'd just been in, looking incredibly upset.  
"Oh Victoria, I never meant that!" I said, walking over to her and wrapping my arms around her. It was like hugging a stone.  
"No. You're right. You don't need me. I don't have to be around" she said softly.  
"Stop that!" I shouted, "Victoria, just look at me. I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about those people that still need to try to be my family."  
She looked up at me, her burgundy eyes glittering like she could cry, "You're my best friend. I'll admit that. No one other than James has actually cared about me, but you do. I want that. Really bad."  
Dry sobs started rising in her chest and I pulled her tightly into my arms. It didn't matter that she felt like cool stone, she still buried her face in my shoulder while she tried to compose herself.  
"Victoria, don't worry. You're my sister in so many ways. If I didn't have you, I would be really alone. Vicky, relax. You're my sister. For all intents and purposes, you are more than family to me. You're my sister now, anyone wants to mess with you they're going to have to go through me" I said.  
She looked up, meeting my eyes, "Do you mean that?"  
"Of course!" I sighed, "What else was I going to say?!"  
She chuckled and leaned on me, "Thank you. I never really had family outside of my coven."  
"You forgot, Logan and I are like this" I twined my fingers together, "I'm part of the coven now."  
She smiled and looked at me, "Yeah. You are. Soon."  
I smiled and knew she was going to be there, I knew she would've known about anything I needed. My sister, my best friend.

TBC  
Chapter 12- Traitor  
I wasn't surprised to spend the whole day at home the next day with Victoria.  
"Are you okay?" she asked.  
"Sure" I said, smiling, "Why? What's wrong?"  
"I'm not sure. I keep feeling like James is in danger" she said, her voice creeping toward hysteria.  
"Okay, we'll go" I said, pulling her up.  
We ran out to the lambo and I gunned the engine, the tires making a sound like a human scream as the rubber lurched onto the black pavement. The water had never fully evaporated from the rain, and the slick streets only pushed the car faster. I didn't know why, but I was having flashbacks. I felt like I was having an emphany.  
The dream.  
"Oh s#^%!" I gasped and pushed the spedomiter higher.  
"What? Nikki, what's wrong?" Victoria asked.  
"My dream, this, it's the same!" I gasped, "Victoria, whatever you do, don't push me away."  
She nodded, confused and I drove right to first beach.  
I stepped out of the car and saw James. He was crouched on the cold sand, snarling at the large black wolf in front of him.  
"NO!" I cried and ran down the sand. Sam Uley turned his massive head in my direction as I ran in front of James.  
"Stay away from him" I said breathlessly.  
Sam looked at me and started walking away.  
Victoria was at my side and I realized, as Sam backed into the trees, our grouping wasn't complete.  
"Laurent" I hissed, as best I could.  
Both James and Victoria's eyes zeroed in on the unmistakeable pair of burgundy eyes staring back at us.  
"Hello James, Victoria, Nikki" he said softly, walking out.  
He was surrounded by the wolves.  
"Jake, please" I pled with him.  
He turned his nose down and whimpered, silently telling me to get out of the way.  
"No Jake, they're my family. Moreso than anyone else" I said.  
Jake looked at me and I stared back into his warm eyes, "Jacob, please."  
I noticed how my voice became hypnotic, how I stared deeper into his eyes, and he nodded, turning his back on us and facing his brothers.  
He growled, exposing his dagger like teeth.  
Sam growled at him, using the Alpha voice, I knew.  
Jake replied stronger, in a deeper growl.  
"Yeah, go Jake!" I shouted, cheering.  
Jake turned and gave me a huge wolfy grin.  
Laurent looked at them, "Well Jacob, I'm sorry you feel that way."  
Seth, Leah, Quil, Embry and a wolf I didn't recognize but I guessed he was either Collin or Brady, joined Jacob, followed closely by Jared and Paul. The whole pack went with Jacob, turning on Sam.  
Sam growled something and Leah snarled back. I grinned, "Go Lee."  
She smiled a snug wolf-grin as she sat back on her haunches.  
"Too bad you all feel that way" Laurent said.  
James and Victoria tugged me back as the wolves attacked each other. I only hoped Jake could get a good grip on Laurent before he could bite them.  
As I watched my friends, my family fight, I wanted to help.  
Seth was thrown back and hit the rocks beside me. I caught a jagged piece, and clutched it tightly in my hand.  
Laurent moved for Jake's unprotected back and without thinking, I sliced open my wrist with the rock.  
James and Victoria both snapped around, clamping their hands over their mouths.  
"Nikki, I'm sorry" Victoria whispered as she began backing away toward the boarder.  
"Take the car. Go" I said softly.  
She nodded and they both sprinted off. I heard the engine accelerating away. It was best that they left me, I didn't want them distracted by my blood.  
Laurent smiled and stalked forward. He lunged and all I could think was  
I love you Logan.

TBC  
Chapter 13- Jake the superhero, in a way  
Jacob growled and in a heartbeat, he was in the air, taking on Laurent.  
"Jake!" I shouted.  
Laurent wasn't holding back, but neither was Jacob.  
Laurent pulled himself up and sunk his teeth into Jacob's shoulder.  
Jake howled in agony. The venom was poison to him.  
"Jake!" I shouted and lept to my feet. I ran, my feet moving faster than usual as I pushed Laurent back.  
Laurent sunk his teeth into my wrist.  
The venom shocked me, it was like a small fire, but less in scale. It didn't seem to hurt me.  
Jake was who I was concerned about. Poor Jake.  
Seth leapt up behind us and with a screeching keening, ripped off Laurent's head.  
I held my wrist in my opposite hand and knelt by Jacob.  
"Oh Jake, I'm sorry" I whispered, gently stroking his thick fur.  
He whimpered and shuddered, a low whine of pain coming through his teeth.  
"Oh Jake!" I said, throwing my arms around him. I was really aware I was bleeding, but I didn't care.  
I heard the screech of a car that had hit its acceleration limit turn the sharp curve leading up to the beach. Seth had phased human and was leaning over Jake with me, "The Cullens are coming, James and Victoria went to get them."  
I was aware of the ghosting presence of both Edward and Carlisle behind me, but I wasn't letting go of Jacob. "Where are they?" I asked warily.  
"James and Victoria went home, they didn't know if they could handle it" Edward said.  
I looked up and growled at him, as best a human could.  
Carlisle pulled Jake's shoulder aside and examined the wound, "Edward, come here."  
Edward made a face of disgust but complied.  
I continued stroking Jake's fur, pressing a soft kiss to his furry cheek. His fur was wet with wolfy tears.  
"Oh Jake, don't cry. I'm here. I'm staying" I said softly, stroking his fur.  
He whimpered and winced as Edward started to get the venom out of him.  
"Nikki, let me see your wrist" Carlisle said.  
I moved aside, but leaned against Jake's side. I probably wouldn't have been so strong if I hadn't known how much pain Jake was in.  
Carlisle was being very gentle, but all I really cared about was knowing that my wolf-brother was okay. It was strange, being accepted by both Vampires and Werewolves, but they all seemed okay with each other...now.  
"How's Jacob?" I asked.  
"Edward's handling it, but it shouldn't take too much longer" Carlisle assured.  
I leaned on Jacob, stroking his fur with my free hand, "It's okay Jake, I'm not leaving you."  
He whined softly and I pressed my face into his shoulder, "I'm fine Jake, don't worry about me. You just have to worry about yourself. I'll live."  
He barked a laugh.  
I rolled my eyes, "Very mature Jacob."  
"He's clean" Edward said, "Woozy after the blood loss, but clean. I'll need to wash my mouth out after this."  
I glared at him and stroked Jake's fur, "You hear that? You really need to be more careful Jake, I'm not Bella."  
"I know you're not" Jake said, startling me.  
The second I'd stopped leaning on him he'd phased back, thankfully pulling on the cutoff jeans he carried.  
"Jeez, scare people much?" I asked.  
He chuckled, "Focus on yourself too."  
I glared at him, but his smile made it too hard to be mad at him. He was like a mischevious little brother with that grin, even though he knew he was in trouble, he was still adorible.  
I leaned over and with my good hand messed up his hair.  
"Woah, watch the hair!" Jake complained, catching my hand in his too-warm one. He flinched and let my hand drop, "You feel like ice."  
I shrugged, "It comes with the territory."  
He rolled his eyes, "Close your eyes."  
"Why?"  
"Because, I think you're going to need stitches" he grinned.  
I groaned, "Great. As if this really mattered anyway."  
Jacob became serious in a heartbeat, "It does. You don't realize how much you mean to us now that you're a part of our world. You're the most fragile thing in our world now. I know you know that, so just try to be careful."  
I chuckled, "Nice try Jake, but I won't be too much longer."  
He sighed, "You're so much like Bella."  
"Well I thought I was more like Victoria, since I'm sure Bella wasn't ready to jump Laurent" I said, grinning.  
He couldn't help but laugh with me, "You're going to get yourself killed one day, I'm sure of that."  
"Well if things go down the way they did in the book, I'd more than welcome it" I said.  
Jake rolled his eyes, "So dependant on a book. Do you even know how you sound?"  
"Insane?" I asked.  
"More than. You're padded room insane" he shrugged and grinned.  
"Well there goes swimming the Colorado" I said sarcastically.

TBC  
Chapter 14- Finality  
I returned back home and went upstairs.  
"Nikki?" my mom called up.  
"Yeah?" I asked.  
"Do you want to do anything this weekend?" she asked.  
"I have plans with Laura" I said.  
"Laura?" my mom asked.  
"My friend" I said and walked into my room.  
"So, where do you want to do this?" Victoria asked, twirling the bracelet on her finger.  
"Here's fine. Are you sure Logan won't do this?" I asked.  
"He's dead set against this" Victoria said, "He'd probably kill me if he knew I was doing this."  
I sighed and layed back, "Go ahead."  
She leaned close to me, "Are you sure?"  
I nodded, "Ready when you are?"  
She bit down and I gasped. It...didn't hurt.  
"Is it working?" I asked.  
She drew back and looked at me, "It worked. But...how?"  
I stood and looked at myself in the mirror, "Wow."  
I was gorgous. Long, silken red-orange hair fell down past my shoulder, "Wow, I look...like you."  
We looked at each other and stood close to each other, "Wow." I whispered again, "We look hot."  
She laughed and I looked over to her. "Holy crap."  
Her skin glittered slightly and my new sight showed that. Her soft skin was beautiful, and I reached out to touch her.  
"Are you okay?" she asked as I ran my fingers down her arm.  
"You even feel different. You're...warm" I whispered.  
She laughed and hugged me, "I knew you'd like this!"  
"What now?" I asked.  
"Well, you can finish up high school, and we'll move on" she said.  
I grinned, "That would be awsome."  
6 months later-

The jeep rumbled down the streets of Phoenix, Arizona. I'd graduated High School, we'd brought our stuff up to a cabin in Canada where the whole coven could live, and James and Victoria and Logan and I had gone down to Phoenix. Both Laura and Akihiro had found mates in our travels. Akihiro now stayed in Canada with his mate Azula, and Laura and Kyle stayed with them.  
"This is it. This is the last place" I said, stepping out.  
I'd seen the world. Every single town in every single country, and now we were here.  
James stepped out with Victoria, "It's amazing."  
Logan wrapped his arms around me, "We saved the best for last."  
I rested my head on his shoulder, "Yeah. We did."  
The sunset was a bright gold, orange, red, purple and blue. It was beautiful. I'd seen a whole world, and while the people in it may taint it's beauty, it would always be the strong, sturdy and surely living planet we all lived upon.  
The End

**The Decision (OS)**

Daken walked outside and sat down. The spring air was warmer in the early morning and the sun shone brightly. It was a nice day to be outside.  
"You're up early" Laura said, leaning on a tree nearby.  
"And?" Daken asked.  
"You don't get up before noon usually. Something's up" Laura said, sitting down beside him.  
"Well nothing gets past you." He rolled his eyes.  
"Are you going to tell me or not?" She sat there, intent on knowing whether it took her all day.  
He sighed, "I'm thinking of proposing to Claudine."  
"Wow" Laura smiled, "I thought so."  
"What?" he asked.  
"Well you two have been together a few months and it's been...well, strange to say the least. I was betting after the first month you kept her around that you'd end up marrying her eventually."  
He sighed, "So it's a good idea?"  
Laura sighed, "Of course it is! You're happy with her right?"  
"Yeah."  
"You love her, right?"  
"Of course."  
"Then just go do it already and spare us all the theatrics!" Laura rolled her eyes.  
He stood up and walked back inside, sure of what he was about to do.  
"You're welcome!" Laura called after him.  
He walked upstairs and knocked on the door, "Are you awake?"  
"Yeah. What's going on?" Claudine asked out.  
He walked inside and looked at her. She was waiting for him to say something.  
"Just bare with me here, I have no idea how to do this" he said softly.  
He got down on one knee and held out the box, "Claudine Renko, I've loved you since we first met, and we didn't let being on different sides stop us. Will you marry me?"  
She smiled, "Yes."  
He stood and pulled her into his arms, grinning brightly.  
"You know, I was a little nervous, but this was so much better than what I thought was coming" she said, laughing.  
"You thought you were nervous, I've never been so sure of my decision before in my life, and, well, I had no idea how you would react to it" he said.  
"You already know there isn't a force in this world that could keep us apart. We've already proved that" she said.  
There was a soft knock on the window and Daken looked. Laura was sitting there with a video camera in hand, grinning and said, 'You owe me.'  
He took one of his shoes off the floor and tossed it at her.  
She caught it and tossed it back.  
"Laura, get out of here" Claudine said.  
Laura's eyes went wide and Daken laughed, "You heard her Laura, out."  
Laura sighed, "Fine, but wait until Dad gets home. Then I won't be the one with the problem."  
Daken mentally cursed, 'Damn! I forgot about that!'  
Laura grinned and agily leapt down from the windowledge.  
The end- for now


	15. Part 15

**Secrecy**

Chapter 1- Truth  
Chicago-  
Nessie was waiting patiently for Jake to come back.  
"Bella, don't you get this? I did that back then, if that comes back, that kind of insanity..." Edward said.  
Renesmee rolled her eyes, "Great, something I don't want to hear."  
"Nikki forgave you Edward. This wasn't your fault" Bella whispered.  
Nessie's intrest peaked as she crept closer to the door.  
"What would happen if Renesmee found out?" Edward said.  
"I'm sure she'd understand Edward" Bella said softly.  
Nessie sighed, "When the hell is he going to say something?"  
"Who knows when?" Jake said in her ear.  
She jumped and hit her head on the windowledge, "Thanks Jake."  
"What did I do? Besides get you against your dad?" Jacob asked.  
"I'm trying to find out what happened with Nikki" Nessie said.  
"He killed her, but somehow, she came back" Jake whispered.  
Nessie jumped, hitting her head again, "WHAT? Ow!"  
"Renesmee, what are you doing?" Bella asked.  
"I know what happened" Nessie said, "So why didn't you tell me?"  
Bella looked at Jacob, "You're in major trouble Jake."  
"He didn't need to do anything. I would've found out anyway" Nessie said and stood, "This is enough."  
"What?" Bella asked.  
"I want to know, what else have you lied to me about?" she asked.  
"Nothing, I promise" Bella said.  
Nessie walked inside and stormed up to her room, "I'm calling Nikki, if you've said anything that isn't true, I'll find out."

Canada-  
The morning was warmer than usual for Canada, that was for sure. The air was warm and moist, the temperature reaching 70 degrees.  
"Morning!" Nikki sang joyfully as she pulled the curtians back.  
"Mom! Ten more minutes!" Laura groaned, covering her head with the pillows.  
"Come on, if you don't get up now, you won't get up until noon" Nikki said.  
"So? It's almost spring break, let me sleep" Laura complained.  
"Two more weeks" Nikki reminded her.  
"And Friday is your big party" Laura said.  
Nikki grinned, "And? You know you're going to have to stay home."  
Laura sighed, "Ever since Daken announced the engagement, I'm suddenly the designated babysitter."  
"Laura, quit complaining. You made decisions in your life, he can make a few in his" Nikki said.  
"Yeah but what about the decisions he made before?" Laura asked.  
"He can handle them. You're almost seventeen Laura, a little more than a year and you can move out whenever you want" Nikki said.  
"Mom, you know I'm not trying to use that against you" Laura said.  
Nikki sighed, "Come on, get going, we have plans to help with today."  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Wait...say what?  
Chicago-  
Nessie sat on the bed. After trying the house three times, she'd given up and sat, upset, on her bed.  
"Nessie?" Jake asked.  
"What?" Nessie snapped.  
"Listen, Bella and Edward are probably going to kill me, but I really want to help here. Just let me take you up there, get your answers, and come back" Jacob said softly.  
Nessie grinned brightly, "Sure!"  
She leapt up and ran over to her closet, pulling out clothes she loved and stuffing her back, "Let's go!"  
Jake laughed as she dragged him outside.

Canada-  
Logan couldn't help the chuckle that slipped out as he looked at Laura in the bridesmaid dress.  
"If you laugh one more time-" Laura cautioned him.  
"I had no idea Claudine loved color" Logan said, staring at the dress.  
"It wasn't her idea, it was her maid of honor's" Laura muttered.  
"Who?" Logan asked.  
"Her best friend Jolie De Revin" Laura muttered in disgust, looking at the all too poofy, rainbow striped dress.  
"Laurent's sister?" Logan asked.  
"I like her brother better" Laura muttered, flipping the massive bow off her side.  
Logan chuckled, "What? No matching shoes?"  
Laura turned and glared, "If you say another word about this dress-"  
"Laura! You look tres magnifique!" Jolie said, rushing out in the same hidious dress.  
Logan held back chuckles and walked out.  
He instantly stopped laughing when he saw Nikki, her soft crimson waves falling over her shoulders with the emerald green dress hilighting the palor of her skin and the brightness of her hair.  
"How do I look?" she asked, spinning to show him.  
"Beautiful would be an insult" he said softly, taking her hand.  
She sighed, "Thank you. Now, what about Laura's dress?"  
It brought back the round of laughter he'd been holding back in front of her and Nikki sighed, "This is why I thought she should've listened to her brother."  
Daken walked out, "Okay, be honest. I look like an idiot don't I?"  
Nikki smiled, "Actually, I think you look rather debonair."  
Daken roleld his eyes, "Dad? Honest oppinion here?"  
"You look just fine" Logan said.  
"They're both understating it" Claudine said, her face peeking out from behind the door, "Nikki, in here. Ladies only."  
Daken rolled his eyes, "I'll see it eventually anyway."  
She grinned, "I know. But I want it to be a surprise."  
She took Nikki's wrist and pulled her inside.  
"Oh Claudine, it's beautiful" Nikki sighed.  
"Well thanks for having your sister and Jolie's brother work together on this. I never thought a guy that wasn't...you know, could have an actual fashon sense" Claudine said.  
Her hair was styled into soft pincurls, the white dress held stock-antique lace along the train, and the soft silk was beautiful and long.  
"You're not letting Jolie have her way with the bridesmaid dresses, are you?" Nikki asked.  
Claudine chuckled, "No. Never! Do you want to see the real dress Laura's going to have to wear?"  
Nikki nodded and Claudine showed her the lavender dress with rhinestones along the low neckline.  
"I don't think she'll mind that too much. The fact that it has a skirt is one of the things I know she won't like, but other than that..." Nikki began.  
Claudine smiled and laughed, "I want to go show her."  
"I'll bring her in, no chance of the boys sneaking in" Nikki grinned.  
She knocked lightly on the door and she heard the boys step away.  
"They always do that" she said, rolling her eyes as she went to go get Laura.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Home  
Nessie arrived at the house riding on Jacob's back.  
"Well, it's about time" Jake said softly as Nessie woke up.  
"What?" she grumbled.  
"You've been asleep since we got to Forks" he said.  
She stepped off and ran up to the door, "Auntie Nikki!"  
Nikki opened the door, "Renesmee?"  
Nessie threw her arms around Nikki's waist, "I'm back!"  
James walked out and laughed, "Hey, the kid came back. Ready for that rematch?"  
Nessie grinned brightly, "And you know it."  
"Run away again littlest Cullen?" Laurent asked.  
Nessie grinned even brighter, "I heard there was a wedding we were going to miss if we didn't get here soon."  
Nikki sighed, "Yeah, so, does Edward know about this?"  
"Nope" Nessie said, striding in and sitting down on the couch. Her head rolled onto Victoria's leg, "Heya Auntie Vicky!"  
"Hello Renesmee" Victoria said.  
"Ness?" Logan asked.  
"Uncle Logan" Nessie said.  
"What're you doing here?" he asked.  
"She's here for the wedding, or so she says" Nikki said.  
Nessie grinned innocently, "Maybe, maybe not."  
"Why do you eat peanut butter sandwitches before bed?" Laurent asked Jolie.  
"Do you go through my trash?" Jolie asked.  
"Oh please...I go through everyone's trash" Laurent said.  
They all turned to look at him and his sister as they walked in.  
"What?" Jolie asked.  
"Nothing, it's just I can really tell you two are related" Victoria said.  
Laurent smiled and put his elbow on his sister's shoulder, "Thanks!"  
"That wasn't a complement" Victoria muttered.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Plans  
Nikki fixed the hem on Nessie's dress while she posed.  
"This is beautiful aunt Nikki!" Nessie said and grinned.  
"It was Claudine's idea" Nikki said.  
"You wouldn't believe who just called...again" Victoria said, rolling her eyes.  
"Eddie?" Nikki asked.  
"The one and only idiot boy himself" Victoria sighed.  
"Be nice, he's my brother" Nikki said.  
"I feel so bad for you" Victoria said, putting her hand on Nikki's shoulder.  
"Hey, feel bad for me! That moron's my dad!" Nessie said.  
Nikki and Victoria looked to each other and busted up laughing.  
"I never thought I'd be so proud of you Ness!" Nikki busted up and squeezed her supportively.  
"Neither would I!" Victoria said, giggling.  
James knocked at the door, looking more than out of place, "Ladies? Edward's on again."  
Victoria sighed, "Again?"  
Nessie groaned, "Give me the phone."  
Nessie picked up the phone, "Dad."  
"Renesmee! Why did you go?" Edward asked, sounding broken.  
"Oh dad" Nessie whispered, "I'm sorry. I had to find out."  
"Your mother and I miss you Renesmee. We want you home" Edward said softly.  
Victoria scoffed, "Yeah right. Bella's the toughest person I've met in a long time. They just want you back Ness, it's not too important."  
Jamed sighed, "That's true."  
Nikki put her hand on Nessie's shoulder, "If you and Jake want to go home, you can. It's your choice."  
She looked at the phone and at the faces of her family, "I'll be back dad, I just want to stay for a while. I'm sorry if it's making all of you nervous, but I'm safe here too. Jake's with me, that ought to count for something. It's fine, I'm fine. I'll see you."  
She hung up and sighed, "That was easy."  
Victoria started laughing, "Of course! It's no problem, lying to Eddie. We've all done it at least once."  
Nikki glared at Victoria.  
"What?" Nessie asked.  
"It's nothing, ignore her" Nikki murmured.  
"What? I want to know" Nessie said.  
"Okay, you want to know, we'll tell you" James began.  
In the moment he was about to speak, a long, low, pained howl ripped through the trees.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Pack  
"Jacob!" Nessie shouted and, in a flash, was outside, in more combat worthy clothes, and ready for a fight.  
Jacob and Sal were both in their wolf forms, their heads on the ground and their paws covering their ears. Jacob whimpered softly and glanced at her.  
"What's wrong?" Nessie asked.  
Nikki winced, "It's sonic. There are others close by."  
Nessie looked up, "How many of them come through here?"  
"A lot" Nikki said, sitting on the ground and stroking Sal's fur. He started to relax, but still stayed tense for a fight.  
The sonic sound died down until it was gone, and Nikki sighed, "This time we actually managed to avoid having them around. They went back the way they came when they heard the howls."  
Victoria hesitated in the doorway, james's arm around her waist, "Maybe someone should go and scout, just in case."  
Jacob rose shakily and shook himself off.  
"No Jake, we'll send someone a little less fragile at the moment" Nikki said, reaching out and brushing her fingers through his fur.  
Jacob trotted toward the door, unable to stay up very much longer, and collapsed sleepily on the rug by the couch. Sal stood and followed him in after nudging both Nessie and Nikki with his nose, signaling them to come in and just let this go. He nudged Victoria inside when he was close enough.  
"Ness, go inside. I'll be five minutes at most" Nikki said and stood.  
"But what if they're still there?" Nessie asked.  
"Then I'll handle it, just go inside" Nikki said and spirited off into the trees.  
The sudden jolt of speed was exhilarating, she realized how badly she'd missed this, trying to keep up with the human facade.  
She ran for a few minutes, almost getting to the province boarder when she heard the soft speaking. There were two of them, mates, and they were headed for Alaska. There wasn't much to make of them then that, so she headed back.  
Only a few more minutes and she returned home, walking in to see Tayla curled up against Sal's side, almost asleep in his silver fur. Nessie was absently tracing patterns in Jacob's fur while he slept, a soft pile of twitching fur on the carpet.  
"Who were they?" James asked softly, not drawing attention.  
"Two of them, mates from the looks of it. They're going to Alaska" she said.  
James nodded, "Best let them be."  
"Maybe if they come back we'll invite them around here" Victoria said.  
"Oh, Elie's on her way over, she just called" James said.  
"Thanks" Nikki said.  
Elie and Connor strode in at that very moment, "Guess what?"  
"What?" Nikki asked.  
"Two nomads crossed our trail today. I told them about the Denalis and they're going up north to see if they want to try it" Elie said.  
"Oh great, more and more of them are becoming those wussy vegetarians" James muttered.  
Elie smiled, "There's also some other news...but give me a second, I want to get Connor."  
Victoria and Nikki glanced to each other quickly, what now?  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Set  
Connor joined them in a moment and Elie prepared to give the news.  
"We've set the date" Elie said.  
"Oh, that's all?" Laurent asked, his attention returning to the TV.  
Victoria smacked him upside the head, "She means when Connor joins us genius!"  
Laurent rubbed the side of his head and moved away from her, "I'm starting to get a little scared of you Victoria."  
"Starting? You should've been the whole time" Nikki said, rolling her eyes.  
Elie smiled, "So, what do you think?"  
"When?" Victoria asked.  
"Friday" Elie said.  
"Great, the sooner the better" James said, his attention going to the TV.  
Nikki sighed and rolled her eyes, "Men, when it comes to sports vs anything else they have the attention spans of chipmunks."  
"Chipmunks are adorible!" Tayla piped up from the floor, "Especially Alvin, Simon and Theodore!"  
Sal gave a wolfy laugh and let her scratch him behind the ears.  
"Not us honey, we cherish the love and comittment....okay commercial" James said, turning to look at them.  
Victoria glared at him, "Finish that. While you're paying attention."  
"We share" he said, kissing her tenderly.  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "What is this the third time today?"  
Logan turned and chuckled, "I could say we're considerably worse darlin'."  
Nikki stood and sauntered over to him, curling up on his lap, "Yeah, probably."  
Laurent rolled his eyes and looked over to the TV again, paying more attention than necessary to the commercials.  
"Where's Native?" James asked.  
"Shopping with my sister" Laurent said.  
Nikki and Victoria shot each other that 'god I feel bad for her' look.  
James tugged Victoria up onto his lap, "I think I like Logan's idea. Connor, you wanna take the empty seat?"  
Connor led Elie over and did the same, "This is a nice way to watch baseball."  
"When we can't play, we might as well watch humans play" James sighed.  
The Mariners made a home run, putting them in the lead against the Red Sox.  
"Yeah, c'mon Seattle!" James shouted at the TV.  
"20 on Boston" Laurent said.  
"Oh you're on" James said, "Easy 40."  
Nessie watched them all as they watched the game. Victoria kept shifting slightly on James's lap, trying to distract him from the game. Laurent kept looking at the clock, counting down the minutes until the girls would be home. Nikki was curled up against Logan, just watching the game with him. Tayla played with Sal's fur and he let a rumbling growl/purr of contentment out. Jacob rested at her side, half asleep when, at the bottom of the ninth, he finally fell asleep.  
"Where are Vincent, Laura and Daken?" Nessie asked.  
"Laura's upstairs, Vincent's playing video games in his room and Daken's...somewhere around here" Logan said.  
"Probably with Claudine" Nikki added.  
"Vivi and Alex?" Nessie asked.  
"Playing with Vincent" Victoria said.  
Nessie rested against Jacob's side while he slept, dozing off herself. The day usually had a few little things before it turned into a peaceful day.  
The winning strike came and the Mariners won, James getting the 40 dollars.  
When the post-game started playing, Nessie fell asleep.  
TBC  
Chapter 6- Edward Truth (randomness)  
"Four score and fifty thousand years ago-" Jacob began, reciting whatever he'd written down on the napkin.  
"Jake! What the hell are you doing?" Nessie asked.  
"Reciting a speech. I call it 'Edward Truth'" Jacob said.  
"Go on, this oughta be good" James said.  
Nessie took up a seat at James's feet and watched.  
"As I said, four score and fifty thousand years ago, in 1918-" a pillow whacked him against the head, "Edward Cullen was turned. Anyone woh takes offence from that I'm not making fun of you, just Eddie. As I was saying, Edward began a long and boring life of vegitarianism. A pointless thing that was because of him wanting to kill innocent, furry adorible little things and not the people in cause for hurting the adorible furry things."  
"What? He is not like that" Nessie said.  
"Let me go on!" Jake shouted.  
Nessie pouted and slunk back into the couch.  
"Edward was-" Jake began.  
"Joined by his perfect little sister- ME!" Dilina shouted, jumping in the window.  
"What?" Nessie asked, "Sis-"  
"Stop it! I will have no arguments! Now let Jacob go on!" Dilina said, and sat beside Nessie.  
"Anyway!" Jake began again, "What really happened in the ballet studio was this...cue flashback!"  
flashback  
"Bella, wasn't it better Edward didn't have to get involved in this?" James asked, grinning sweetly.  
"James!" Edward growled as he lunged in, "Give me back my cookie crunch! And Bella!"  
"NEVER! I already ate your cookie crunch!" James said.  
Edward snarled and leapt across the room.  
"Edward, no! Leave my real love alone!" Bella said, covering her eyes dramatically.  
"Oh no you didn't b%$^#!" Victoria snarled and leapt across the room, starting a catfight with Bella.

"And that's what really happened" Jacob said.  
"That is not what happened, you weren't even there!" James said.  
"If that pathetic little human ever thought of going after my man-" Victoria began.  
"And what the hell would I want with cookie crunch?" James asked.  
"Oh for the love of Mike Newton, you told Edward Truth again didn't you?" Nikki asked.  
James, Victoria, Dilina and Nessie glared at him for the whole day.

(A/N, Dilina and I were on the phone and she gave me the insane idea for this one)

TBC  
Chapter 7- Premonition  
The cold, snowy wind whipped around her. She was encased in a black fur, similiar to Victoria's, but it contrasted starkly from the snow.  
Jacob was crouched at her side in his wolf form, a long, unbroken stream of snarls ripping from deep inside his chest. She could feel the vibrations herself. Her hands folded protectively over her stomach. She could feel the soft nudge from her abdomen, and Jacob's growling was countered by several other snarls. Wolves of every color, thicker and even more huge than Jacob were gathered loosely together, surrounding them.  
Jacob's fur bristled as he snarled again and with a snarl, the biggest wolf, a starkly pale gold, a female, gave the death sentance.  
The wolves lunged and Jacob returned the lunge.  
Nessie awoke, the startled scream cutting off when she realized there was no danger.  
"Renesmee? What's wrong?" Jacob asked, wrapping his warm arms around her in comfort.  
"It was a nightmare" she whispered, holding her head in her hands. Her loose braid fell against her back, some strands of her hair plastered to her neck and forehead. Jacob gently brushed the strands off her skin.  
"It's alright, you're here. You're okay" he said softly, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek and pulling her against him. His t-shirt was ruffled and his hair matted from sleep.  
"Where is here?" she asked, looking around. It wasn't one of the guest rooms, and it certianly wasn't Nikki's living room.  
"We're sort of living in the second 'guest room' of James and Victoria's" Jake said, putting air quotes around the word, "Truth be told, this is a cooler section of their basement they renovated while the other half is Laurent's, and now Jolie's. Jolie's going up to Denali with him soon, and then we'll probably all go up there when he gets hitched. He's already in good with Tanya and Kate again."  
"I heard" Nessie said, sighing, "Even though it was a nightmare, I'm sorry I woke up."  
Jake looked at her in confusion.  
"In my dream I was older, and I think we were married. I had a ring with my family's crest on one hand, and two rings, one gold and one silver, on the other. The best part, I felt this little nudge..." she trailed off, looking at Jacob.  
A moment resurfaced, but it was different this time for him. His thoughts when he'd begged and reasoned with Bella two years ago, when Nessie wasn't even born yet, hadn't even had the mental capasity to know when she was hurting Bella, but the fantisy of the future he could never have. It was different, but it was within reach now. The perspective had changed as much as the scene. He was almost sure, the image of the bundle wrapped little thing, would have Nessie's eyes. The warm, chocolate brown eyes he'd loved for so long.  
"Jake?" she asked softly.  
"I know. But if anything like that happens with us now, your father is going to rip my head off, love or no love" Jake said, shaking his head.  
"Lovebirds, we're due at Nikki's in an hour, hurry it up in there!" Jolie called, followed by Laurent's subsequent cussing her out in french.  
Nessie laughed, "Now who does that remind you of?"  
"Seth and Leah" they both said at the same time and collapsed in a fit of giggels.  
TBC  
Chapter 8- Promises  
The air had warmed up a lot in the next few days. The air was almost balmy, as warm as it could get in Canada. It was almost 75 degrees, a real change from the cold they'd experianced a few months ago.  
"So, almost ready Ness?" Nikki asked.  
"Sure" Nessie said, looking at herself in the mirror. Only a few days remained until the wedding and Nessie had the honor of being a bridesmaid.  
"Ladies, as gorgeous as always" Laurent said, "Renesmee, beautiful. Nikki, nice." He motioned to her up and down, apraising.  
Nikki blushed, "Thanks."  
Renesmee rolled her eyes, Laurent was such a perverted flirt.  
He extended a hand and took Nikki's in his own, pressing his lips to her knuckles.  
Nessie sighed, lifted a pillow off the chair and throwing it at Laurent.  
Laurent caught it and kept it in front of his face while he continued to keep his lips against her hand.  
"Move your lips before Logan catches you, that is if you want to keep them" Victoria said, leaning on the door, her arms crossed across her chest.  
Laurent dropped the pillow and his eyes bugged out, "Mon dieu my god! Chere, you look...enchate. enchanting"  
Victoria glared at him openly, "I'm happily mated Laurent, and so are you. Go find her, why don't you?"  
Victoria shoved him out of the room and sat down, "Only a few more days."  
"God I feel so old" Nikki muttered and sat down on the bed, putting her head in her hands.  
Victoria reached out and stroked her hair, starting to tie it back in a skillful braid.  
"I thought you were related" Nessie said, sitting down and scooting closer.  
"In a lot of ways we are. By blood, not quite. I am part of her family, and her father was like a big brother to me, but I never really got a chance to know my real family. Our family adopted me. No one knew but Nikki. All because of the Nancy Drew digging into our family" Victoria said.  
"Ugh, thanks Vicky. I feel even older" Nikki sighed and put her head back into her best friend/practically sister's hands.  
"You forgot, even I'm older than Nancy Drew. I'm only two days younger than you" Victoria said, brushing her fingers through Nikki's hair.  
"What? You're...younger?" Nessie asked.  
"By two days" Victoria said, "And, well, it was...strange, to say the least. Imagine being three and having your sister-in-law's best friend having the same name as you."  
"Really? That I hardly remember" Nikki said.  
"Yeah. See? I'm the younger one, and I remember more" Victoria said.  
"God I really am getting old!" Nikki said.  
Victoria laughed, "Then I must be too, though I haven't seen any grey on either of us yet, and that won't happen for a few more mellenia."  
"Sure, unless we become like Aro" Nikki sighed.  
Victoria giggled and brushed her fingers through Nikki's hair.  
"So, you two are really close aren't you?" Nessie asked.  
"Like sisters" Victoria said softly.  
"Funny, I always wanted a sister my age that didn't get on my nerves" Nikki said and grinned.  
James laughed, standing in the door, "Almost done ladies?"  
Victoria looked down, almost begging with her eyes.  
Nikki sighed and waved her off, "Go."  
Victoria squeeled, hugged Nikki tightly and zipped off as only a vampire could.  
"Where-?" Nessie began.  
"One guess" Nikki said.  
Nessie scrunched up her nose and made a face, "Ugh! I didn't want to know that!"  
TBC  
Chapter 9- Field Trip  
The Cullen 'teenagers' had gone on a field trip to the musem of science and industry for the day.  
Bella had a panic attack when she went up high and Edward comforted her. They'd gone through all of the things on the sheet but one when the busses came back, taking them to the Oasis.  
"I can't wait to go to the city!" Rosalie grinned, leaning over the back of the bus seet, "I want to go shopping!"  
"We're here!" Emmett said.  
"What?" Rosalie gasped, "The Oasis is a truck stop?!"  
The whole Cullen family went off to the side, sitting together, closely knit.  
"Alice? What do you see?" Bella whispered.  
Flashes of light and color.  
People running. Someone falls. A creature roars.  
Renesmee.  
Alice gasped and jolted, "Nessie. We need to call Jacob."  
Edward whipped out his phone and dialed, the Cullens staying close to protect Edward's phone from view.  
"Jacob, where's Renesmee?" Edward whispered, "Well what do you mean out? Out with who?"  
Bella tapped her foot aprihensively, "What's he saying?"  
"We need to go up there. Soon. Alice's vision might come true" Edward said, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
TBC  
Chapter 10- Race  
Nessie was exausted. Shopping with Jolie was worse than shopping with Alice. Jacob was really getting sick of being a lapdog, and it was so tiring.  
"Jake" Nessie murmured, stroking his fur over the side of the chair.  
Jacob grumbled and nestled into the floor, sighing tiredly.  
Nessie got off the chair and knelt by his side, "Stop being so grumpy. It won't be too much longer and I'm giving up and going home, whether I have to walk there or not."  
Jake barked a laugh and rose, shaking off his fur and loped over to the car parked at the curb, nudging the lock with his nose, hopping in and turning to Nessie as if to say, 'Well, what're you waiting for? Drive.'  
She chuckled, smiled, and with a James Bond air to her, hopped in and gunned the engine, flooring it.  
Nessie shouted with exhilaration as the car lurched through the air, almost like it was flying. Jacob was barking laughter as he let out a long, deep howl of pure joy. Nessie relaxed her defenses and howled with him.  
People looked at the car as it streaked by, it was so strange.  
"Renesmee, slow down!" Jake shouted.  
He was back in his jeans, no shirt, and smiling brightly, "Just a little."  
She did, slightly, pulling it down to one-hundred twenty.  
"Jake, this is so much fun!" she said, grinning.  
Jacob leaned over and wrapped his arm around her, "This is great, yeah. So, where are we going?"  
Nessie slowed down and smiled, "How about a picnic?"  
Jake grinned, "Sure."  
They pulled off and sat in the grass. It was almost sunset and they just relaxed.  
Jake leaned closer to Nessie and looked over to her. She was fast asleep.  
He lifted her up and set her in the back seat, starting to go home.  
Chicago-  
"Alice, how did you see her?" Jasper asked softly.  
The Mercedes accelerated through the streets on it's way north.  
"I don't know. I could see Jacob a little too. They're on their way back now, but it's...hard" Alice said.  
The vision changed abruptly and Alice gasped.  
A dark form was following the car. The lights were gone.  
James was closeby, protecting them. The nomads knew. Something happened, something was changing. Irina?  
"I think Irina has family around here" Alice said.  
"Tanya and Kate?" Edward asked.  
"No, someone new. A man" Alice said.  
"Who?" Edward asked.  
A flash came through her vision, she could see his face. He looked so much like the two put together...it wasn't possible...was it?  
"I think it's her son" Alice whispered.  
TBC  
Chpater 11- Surprise!  
Laurent was the only one around to hear the phone ring.  
He looked at the caller ID and sighed, the Cullens.  
"Hello, Alice I presume?" Laurent asked.  
"Laurent, listen to me. You have a son. I don't know how, but you and Irina somehow-" Alice began.  
The phone slipped out of his hand only for James to catch it, "What? Laurent, what's going on?"  
Laurent looked at them in shock, "I...I don't know."  
James lifted the phone, "What's wrong with him?"  
"He just found out he and Irina had a son. You can tell him the boy's alive" Alice said.  
"Laurent, he's alive" James relayed, "Anything else?"  
"He's after Nessie and Jacob" Alice whispered solemnly.  
"I'll pass that on" James said, "We'll be waiting."  
"What?" Laurent asked.  
"He's going after Nessie and Jake. The Cullens are coming up, but we have to watch out for a while" James said.  
They listened to hear the engine of the car purring up the winding drive, "I'll go. Just...stay here and think."  
James and Victoria left to go tail Nessie and Jake when Nikki walked downstairs, "Do I want to know what just happened?"  
"I have a son, he's alive, and he's going after Nessie and Jake. Oh, by the way, somehow I found out Irina and I could....even though..." Laurent began, unsure how to finish.  
Nikki sighed and reached out, "It's okay. This is coming from someone who's own husband found out he had a child he didn't remember who was, apparently on the dark side until recently."  
Laurent looked at her, "You think he's trying to hunt them?"  
"It's possible" Nikki said, "You blamed them for Irina's death yourself. Remember? You went after Renesmee yourself. You were...I know they still hate that of you. But I don't care anymore. I'm staying neuteral in this."  
TBC  
Chapter 12- Etienne  
When Renesmee and Jacob returned home, Nikki and James told them the whole story.  
Laurent was too tired to listen and walked outside.  
"Irina, I underestimated myself. I didn't know. I was so sure about us, but then Native comes and I know what I was really missing. I did, and a part of me does still love you, but I think you would've wanted me to move on." He sat down at the edge of the trees, by the lakeside and sighed, "If only I had a chance to talk to him. I don't even know what you named him."  
"Etienne. She named me Etienne" a voice said.  
He didn't look more than seventeen as he walked out of the trees. He was clearly a nomad. He didn't wear shoes, just worn jeans and a jean biker vest over his bare chest. Only just meeting his son, Laurent was proud. He had his father's muscle, and strange strands of pale blonde fell through his black hair, tied back. Laurent remebered he'd looked something like that, without the blonde, when he was a boy.  
"Etienne, welcome my son" Laurent said, standing up and opening his arms.  
Etienne looked at him for a moment and sighed, "You're just like she described you."  
There was pain in his burgundy eyes to admit the loss and Laurent put his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Listen to me, abandon this vendetta against the Cullens. I already took one of theirs, and they know your pain and mine both."  
Etienne looked at him curiously, "How? Who did you-?"  
"I was going for the little half-breed girl Irina had died because of, but I'd ended up making a real mistake and killing Esme" Laurent said, "She protected Nessie. Then James and Victoria did too. I wasn't going to kill my own friends, even when they helped our former enimies."  
Etienne looked at him curiously, "Who is the woman you were talking about? The one you're moving on with?"  
"I could never replace your mother, she was a very special woman to me, but I do feel something for someone else now. I hope you don't mind it" Laurent said.  
"No, not really. If you're happy, it can't be too bad" Etienne shrugged.  
"What about you? How long have you been traveling? What have you done in life? I would love to hear all of it" Laurent said.  
Etienne looked at him and sighed, "Okay."  
Laurent started down the path to home, letting Etienne follow him.  
TBC  
Chapter 13- Family  
Etienne and Laurent sat outside away from the others.  
"I remember when she went to go make peace with the Cullens. She saw the wolf, and she was angry. She made me watch from the trees, as she didn't want them to know of me..yet. Then she saw Renesmee. She was so furious she turned and left. I followed her for a ways and gave up. She'd completely forgotten about me. I knew Aro would find out, so I left, I ran to New Orleans, where I thought if you were really alive you might be. I waited, and when word came that the Cullens survived the Volturi, that there hadn't been an immortal child at all, I wondered what had happened to her so I went back...you were there. I watched from the trees, I didn't want to admit to myself she was dead, but seeing you there, heartbroken, I knew. You went after them, and I couldn't keep up with you. I went and trained, I knew if they killed you like I thought they'd killed her, then I would be the only one left. But they didn't, so I guess that's where we are."  
Laurent put his hand on Etienne's shoulder, "I would love to tell you I could relate, but I can't too much. My family...I don't remember them too well. I had a sister named Addie, that's all I remember. I can't even remember if she was older or younger."  
Etienne sighed, "I think I'd rather remember you than forget."  
"Laurent, they're making plans. They want you around-" Nessie began and looked at the boy at Laurent's side, "Is that...?"  
Laurent sighed, "Nessie, it's been all a misunderstanding."  
Renesmee backed up, "No, I think I know what's going on. You couldn't just forgive me and let it go could you?"  
Nessie turned and sprinted into the trees.  
"Renesmee!" Laurent shouted, but she'd already gone.  
"Etienne, come with me. We have to be very careful now, she's already warned the others" Laurent said.  
Etienne looked at him. He'd wanted a fight, but he hadn't counted on one this bad.  
TBC  
Chapter 14- Hostile  
Laurent and Etienne walked carefully in the direction of the house, "James, Victoria, you know it's not like this. I was able to talk to Etienne, he's not against the Cullens anymore."  
Etienne stepped out of the trees after Laurent, the urge to protect his father's back stronger than his own self-preservation.  
Nikki pushed Nessie behind her back, Nessie was sort of frightened.  
"I promise, please, I am no harm to her or anyone" Etienne said.  
Alex's jaw dropped, "Laurent, he even talks like you!"  
Vivi giggled, "Well of course. They are related."  
She looked to Etienne, and he couldn't believe such a little girl could be so inteligent, "He's a bit...slow." She patted her brother's head as he turned and glared.  
James sighed and rolled his eyes and Victoria chuckled.  
Laurent sighed, the atmosphere seemed to be more relaxed.  
Etienne looked at every face around the small crowd, "I would like to introduce myself properly to all of you, I am Etienne De Revin, Laurent and Irina's son. I pose no threat to all of you."  
Elie walked forward and smiled at him, Connor protective at her side, "Welcome home Etienne."  
Etienne smiled shyly and took her hand, "Enchante ma chere." He pressed his lips to her knuckles and bowed to her.  
"Etienne, treat me as one friend would another. It's no big deal" Elie shrugged.  
Etienne nodded, "Okay. Sure. Friends." 'Great' he thought, 'She's probably already taken.'  
He smiled and looked around. He was surrounded by family he never knew he had. Though he wasn't related to anyone but Laurent, they would still count.  
The End  
**Day Off (OS)**

The clouds came and went as the day progressed and the grounds of the Howlett mansion seemed alive with the teeming wildlife that awoke to spring.  
Nikki relaxed on the stone bench off to the side of the garden, looking out over the bright, shimmering lake and the kids playing around it.  
"It's nice, isn't it?" Logan asked, sitting down beside her and pulling her into his arms.  
She rested her head against his chest, "It's incredible. Almost unbelievable. We're going to get to relax on our day off too."  
Logan stroked her hair, watching the kids play around the lake.  
"Did you ever think it would be like this?" Nikki asked.  
"No. I always thought this place was bad luck. Guess that got canceled out when I brought you here" Logan said.  
"Me?" she asked.  
"You're Irish babe, you have natural good luck. You carry it around you like an aura" he said, kissing her hair gently, "I've seen it in work. Every tragic thing that's happened hasn't been as bad as it could've been all because of your luck."  
Nikki laughed, "Sure. I'm so lucky because I'm Irish. Do you know how many times I've heard that, and actually kicked my brother's $$ because he asked me if I knew where the leprechauns hid their gold."  
Logan chuckled, "I sort of expected you'd take a swing at him for that."  
Logan ran his fingers through her hair, "We're winning again."  
"What're you talking about?" Nikki asked.  
"The heroes versus the bad guys. We're winning again. Norman ain't staying powerful too long" Logan said.  
Nikki sighed, "Great, now Cyke's going to think he's all high and mighty again."  
Logan sighed, "He's not going to be for too long. Remember, he was the one defending Laura, but then when he pitched a fit against Daken joining X-Force...what a hypocrite."  
Nikki chuckled, "Can't wait for him to figure that out."  
Logan sighed and held her tightly in his arms, smiling, "That doesn't matter now, we've got a while to worry about that."  
Nikki smiled and returned her attention to the joy the day had brought. It was going to be a very nice day off.  
The End  
**April Fools, Hero Style**

Chapter 1  
The alarm chirped and Vincent shut it off before it could wake Tayla and Sal. Every year all of the Howlett boys got in the most massive prank war in April Fool's Day history, and each year it got worse. The guys were at a disadvantage this year, but Vincent was going to keep the tradition strong.  
It was 9 AM, Vincent had gotten his paintball outfit ready, and was rigging up the final prank when the alarm clock started chirping. He looked around the room and darted out the door, this was going to be so cool!  
"What's going on?" Claudine asked tiredly.  
"It's April Fool's Day. Every year the guys in our family start pranking each other. Last year we almost set Avenger's Tower on fire" Daken said proudly.  
"It got that bad? What did you do to each other?" Claudine asked.  
"We took each other's underwear and lit them on fire, then Josh had the bright idea to prank Tony Stark" Daken said, grinning.  
"Oh god, this is why Osborn wanted you around, isn't it?" Claudine asked.  
"Probably" Daken said and looked over the edge of the bed before stepping off, "Damn. He got me already."  
"What?" Claudine asked.  
Daken held up a shoe, covered in shaving cream.  
Claudine giggled and sighed, "You're going to get them aren't you?"  
Daken grinned evily, "You bet I am."

Nikki laughed, "Shouldn't you get up yet?"  
"Why?" Logan muttered sleepily.  
"It's Prank War day" Nikki said.  
Logan ran his fingers through his hair, "What time is it?"  
"Almost ten" Nikki said.  
"Damn, they probably got me already" he said and looked around, "I'll be right back."  
He pushed the door open and stepped back as a bucket of water fell.  
"Classic, but they're going to have to do better than that" Logan grinned.  
"Oh god, not this again. Remember last year? There's no way you guys are going to make it worse than almost setting Avenger's Tower on fire" Nikki said.  
"That wasn't my idea" Logan said.  
"I know, but you still went along with it" Nikki said.  
"Hey, everyone's gotta act like a kid sometimes" Logan said, shrugged, and picked up a bag from by the door.  
"Do I want to know what's in that?" Nikki asked.  
"Nope, but don't worry babe, I'll keep it all outside" Logan said, grinning, and walked out.  
"Oh yeah, this year is going to be much worse" Nikki sighed and rolled her eyes.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
"I still don't see why we had to come up here today Emmett, Tanya is still in Denali with...other Tanya" Carlisle said.  
"I know, I know, but today's the day Carlisle THE DAY!" Emmett said and laughed insanely, "Oh think of all the havoc!"  
"What's going on?" Bella whispered.  
"Howlett family prank war, and Emmett wants in" Edward said.  
"Do you want to?" Bella asked.  
"Oh yeah" Edward said, grinning.  
Emmett whooped and leapt out of the car, "Nikki I'm here, let's rock and war!"  
Emmett started a side, the 'Cullen-Howlett-Nomad-$$kickers', that consisted of James, Victoria, Nikki, Logan, Vincent, Tayla, Sal, Jake and Nessie, Rosalie, Edward and Bella.  
Daken had his own side withClaudine, Laurent, Native, Alice and Jasper.  
"So, let the prank war begin?" Emmett asked.  
"You bet" Daken said with an evil grin as a bucket of slop fell on Emmett.  
"Oh, it's on. Like soy sauce on a wonton little boy!" Emmett shouted.  
Daken grinned, "Okay, old man."  
"ONUFD. Oh no you f---in didn't" Emmett said.  
"Oh, I did" Daken said, still holding the evil grin.  
"Oh it is on little boy! IT IS ON!" Emmett shouted, Rosalie pulling him back.  
"Sure" Daken said, "Right."  
"It's go time!" Emmett shouted, imitating Castro.  
Rosalie let go, "You keep that up, I let him kill you."  
Emmett sighed, "Fine, I'll fight fair. Not."  
Nikki grinned and leaned on Emmett, "Ah big brother, what would I do without your wisdom?"  
Emmett smiled and leaned on Nikki, "Nothing little sis, you couldn't survive without me."  
Nikki sighed and pretended to faint theatrically, "Oh Emmett, how would I go on!?"  
She sat up, laughing, and playfully slugged Emmett's shoulder. This was going to be fun.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
The prank war had begun. It wasn't pranking individuals, but the whole team. That meant it had to be flawless, and so far only Logan's team had gotten pranked once and Daken's twice.  
"What happened out here?" Elie asked.  
"Elie, get down" Nikki and Victoria both whispered and pulled her behind Emmett's Jeep onto the ground. Connor looked around and followed.  
"What is going on?" Connor whispered.  
"Congrats on the vampire-ness Connor, and it's April Fools day, it's a prank war. And by War, I literally mean war" Nikki said.  
Elie was about to speak when Emmett rounded the corner with Logan and James, "Get down."  
They all did when a small explosion came from the trees, "Emmett, you didn't try to kill anyone did you?" Victoria whispered.  
"No, but if it did snag Jazz-" Emmett began, earning a look from Nessie, Rosalie, Edward and Bella.  
"This is unbelievable, how are they still going?" Rosalie asked.  
They heard footsteps and Elie squeeked, "Vicky? Nikki? What's going to happen?"  
They looked at each other. "I don't have to be Alice to know this is not going to be fun. I think we should get in the Jeep" Victoria said.  
They all tried to get in, with the exeption of Edward, Bella and Rosalie, who prefered to stay outside.  
"Okay, so we might be able to win this if-" Emmett began before the prank war began again.  
"What is going on?" Elie whispered, a little afraid to look outside.  
Emmett growled, "They've resorted to the explosives."  
"Explosives?" Elie whimpered.  
"Snap dragons" Emmett said.  
Elie leaned over and smacked Emmett, "That's not explosive! You idiot, you scared me!"  
"Oh trust me, they are like that. I invented them like that. Hey, what's Ed, Bella and Rose doing over there?" Emmett said.  
Elie looked out, "Oh man, we've got a mutiny."  
"They're trying to even up the playing field" Emmett said.  
"Wait, where are Jake and Nessie?" Connor asked.  
"Damn it! More lost to the dark side!" Emmett said, "Wait, I have an idea."  
Nikki took out a sheet of paper, "April First, 2009, Emmett has an idea, stay tuned, it might be good."  
Emmett grinned, "We can get Carlisle on our side."  
Nikki grinned, "That would be the ultimate weapon. They couldn't do anything with Carlisle here, it would make them total sitting ducks!"  
Emmett grinned, putting either hand on Nikki's shoulders, "I love your wicked mind little sister."  
She did the same, "Me too, big brother."  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Emmett and Nikki had conducted the ultimate prank. They were grinning evily when the rest of the team joined them.  
"What are you two planning?" James asked.  
"The ultimate prank. We're going to end this with a bang" Emmett said, chuckling evily.  
The night was cold and wet, the rain pouring down and as they opposite team set up their final prank.  
Nikki and Victoria had the final distraction ready, and Emmett was finishing up his vision.  
"This is going to be the best, well thought out plan we've ever planned" Emmett said.  
"I know, isn't it?" Nikki gushed, grinning.  
They set it off. The trees were filled with the ghostly smoke and it was an instant when the other team was actually scared.  
Emmett set off the rig and the team waited.  
"This is gonna be so cool!" Emmett said, jumping up from foot to foot exitedly.  
Suddenly, the trees were filled with mulitcolored lights and small explosions.  
"Holy crow" Emmett whispered, "It's beautiful." He sniffed and pretended to wipe away a tear.  
"Yes it is big brother" Nikki said, leaning on him and grinning.  
"OKAY, OKAY, WE SURRENDER!" Laurent shouted, running out of the smoke, "Just don't kill us!"  
The other team busted up as the other team surrendered. "You guys, it's midnight. We won" Victoria said.  
Cheers filled the air and the whole team was grinning, "Oh hale yeah!" Emmett shouted, jumping up and down.  
He picked up Rosalie, "Sorry babe, just the name of the game."  
She smiled and forgave him.  
"This was the single coolest April Fools Day ever! Thanks Mom!" Vincent shouted, hugging Nikki's waist.  
"Thanks sweetheart" Nikki said softly, brushing her fingers through his hair.  
They were tired and having a real day and Logan grinned, "Go in?"  
"Sure" Nikki said and lifted up Vincent.  
The End  
**Alone Time (OS)**

It had been a very long day.  
Logan knew that The X-Warriors had gotten off long before he'd come home from X-Force. This had been a solo job, something Scott had made him take alone. The violence of the job had made him feel less than sane, and the strain of it all made him anxious.  
"Hey honey. Jimmy called, he wanted to know if you're okay" Nikki said, worrying over Logan again.  
Logan sat down in the chair, still in his uniform and looked at her, "Why the hell Scott makes me do this is beyond me."  
Nikki went over and sat on his lap, pulling herself close to him, "It's okay. Scott knows anyone else would have too weak a stomach to do what had to be done."  
Logan sighed, "Is mass murder 'what has to be done' now?"  
Nikki stroked his cheek, leaning against him, "If you don't want to do this, then just don't. You don't have to do anything."  
"If I don't, who will?" Logan asked.  
Nikki looked at him, "I love you. Someone else, probably someone we don't even know, would be more than willing to do what you do."  
She leaned closer to him, pressing her lips gently to his and slowly deepening their kiss. He held her to him, making each of his movements gentle. He gently caressed her cheek with his gloved hand.  
"I love you too" Logan murmured, pulling off his gloves and cradling her to his chest.  
To him, it felt like she got more beautiful with passing time. He knew he couldn't live without her. Somehow, she didn't care what he did, she loved him anyway.  
"Where are the kids?" Logan asked after a moment.  
Nikki smiled, "Vincent's at his friend's, Laura went out shopping with Claudine, Daken had to go with them and Sal took Tayla out for a playdate. Even the dog's asleep on the other side of the house. We're all alone. I thought that might be best after a day like today."  
He chuckled as she played with the end of his mask by his shoulder.  
She looked at him and the innocence in her doe-like eyes instantly turned into mischief. She leaned in and kissed him deeply.  
He chuckled and allowed her to move to his neck, "I might as well have days like this more often."  
She grinned at him, settling into his lap, "Or how about you don't have to, and we still do this. The kids want more freedom anyway."  
He laughed and lifted her up, his lips pressing fiercely to hers again. They'd continue until the kids got home, and that was all they needed to do. After all, it was nice to have a little alone time.  
The End  
**Moving On (AU,AH)**

Chapter 1  
The bustling city of New York City was abuzz with crime. Two of the men in particular having been best friends since they were first born. The two men were James 'Logan' Howlett and James Witherdale. They'd bonded over their shared namesake and had been insperable ever since.  
"So, what are you doing tonight man?" James asked Logan as they walked out to their favorite bar. The two had been out all day, pulling off a ring of burgurlaries.  
"Ah, nothin' much" Logan shrugged, sighing, "What about you?"  
"Nothing...yet" James said and paused inside the door. He whistled.  
Logan ran his fingers through his messy black hair, "Wow. They are hot."  
They looked across the room at the two girls sitting at the bar.  
Victoria Sutherland and Nikki O'Mally had also been best friends since they were born. They'd grown up together, always living next door and practically sisters since they were born.  
"Wow, look at them" Victoria whispered, nudging Nikki lightly.  
She turned and looked at the two men in the door, grinning, "Mm, I can't pick which one I like best. They're both sexy, but you can have the blonde guy, I want his friend."  
"You sure? I mean after Zan..." Vicky said, looking at them.  
"I'm sure. Screw him, let's do what we do best chica" Nikki grinned and walked over to them.  
"Hey guys, I'm Nikki, this is my BFF Vicky, want to grab a drink with us?" Nikki asked, grinning.  
"Sure" both guys agreed and walked off with them.  
Hours Later-  
The four sat in the booth, laughing, a buzz coming on.  
Victoria and James had resorted to making out on the other side. Logan and Nikki were staring into each other's eyes.  
"You're incredibly beautiful" Logan whispered, leaning closer to her.  
"You're so incredibly sexy" Nikki whispered, thier lips almost meeting.  
"You know what, just start making out already" James said, returning to Victoria.  
Logan kissed her gently, deepening the kiss slowly. He was a bad guy, falling in love with anyone was out of the question, but he could care less at the moment.  
"Wow. You're getting into this a lot more than us huh?" Victoria said, giggling.  
They both drew back and James laughed, kissing Victoria's neck gently, "How about we go out?"  
Logan looked deeply into Nikki's eyes, "How about I walk you home?"  
She looked into his eyes, "Your place?"  
He grinned, "Sure."  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
After Nikki arrived home the next day, she was a little more than surprised to see her brother, a twice-convicted felon called Spike, waiting outside the door to the apartment she and Victoria split.  
"Where the hell were you? I've been waiting here since 11!" he snarled.  
"I was out" Nikki said, her usual mousy behavior taking role from when she'd been a bit buzzed last night.  
"Oh yeah? Getting drunk and havin' a one-nighter?" Spike leered.  
"Back off ^%$*, she may be your sister, but you don't get to talk to her like that" Victoria said.  
"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it little Irish?" Spike asked. At 6'5'', he was much taller than Victoria, only 5'7''.  
"This" she said, and kicked him in the crotch with her heeled shoe.  
"Dammit!" Spike gasped, doubling over.  
Nikki smiled at Victoria and Victoria smiled back, going over and wrapping her arm around her best friend, "You come around here again, and we will call our boys on you. Get the hell out of our territory."  
Victoria walked in with her and slammed the door in Spike's face.  
"You honestly take crap from him?" Victoria asked.  
"How do you think I kept my job V, I take everyone's crap" Nikki muttered.  
Victoria went up to her, wrapping her arms around her friend, "Stop that. You know how letting people walk all over you does to you. I don't want anything to happen."  
"It's not. Okay? I have thought...some dark things, but you know me, I'm too chicken to actually carry them out. Maybe some day I'll get enough courage and go on a mass murder, show some of those *%^&$s who ever told me off what's going to kill them one day" Nikki said.  
Victoria stopped Nikki before she could go grab any liquor, "Hey. Listen, don't. You're my best friend. I don't want you to do anything to hurt yourself."  
Nikki sighed, "You're a real good friend V, and if I ever do, slap me. Hard."  
Victoria laughed, "Will do."  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
That night Nikki and Victoria were watching a parody marathon on USA, laughing at the part of Disaster Movie where Hannah Montana, their most hated pop star, died. Victoria fell off the couch onto the floor, busting up.  
"Don't suffocate Vicky" Nikki said, leaning over the side of the couch and grinning.  
Victoria picked a pillow up off the floor and threw it at her, making her squeel with laughter. The two frequently laughed and goofed off like teenagers.  
Nikki picked up a pillow and went after Victoria, chasing her into the closet and waiting patiently for Victoria to find her little trap.  
"Oh $#^t!" she gasped, running out screaming and ducking behind Nikki.  
"Psych" Nikki grinned.  
"Oh you-" Victoria began, about to use some of the things you never heard outside of New Yorks truckstops.  
The doorbell rang and both women looked at each other. "Damn, who's that?"  
Victoria squeeled, opening the door, "Jamesy!"  
Logan walked in around them and pulled Nikki into his arms, "Hey babe."  
She grinned as his lips pressed hotly to hers. She clutched his messy black hair tightly, deepening their kiss.  
He gently pulled away, chuckling, "Miss me baby?"  
Nikki grinned, "Of course."  
He smiled, "I missed you too."  
James rolled his eyes, "Logan."  
"I don't care anymore James. We've got to tell them" Logan said.  
"What's going on?" Victoria asked.  
"James and I aren't the people you should be around, but I don't think we have the strength to stay away from either of you anymore" Logan said, caressing Nikki's cheek.  
"What the hell are you two talking about?" Victoria asked.  
"We're hired killers baby" James said softly.  
Nikki laughed, "So? We could be Bonnie and Clyde time two."  
Logan grinned, "You really don't care?"  
"Baby, I could care less if you've been convicted, so has most of my family" Nikki said, smiling.  
"We haven't yet" James said, "But we're pretty damn bad people."  
"So?" Victoria asked, "And I really don't give a s#^%."  
James chuckled and stroked Victoria's face.  
"Are you sure? Neither of you care?" Logan asked.  
"Oh hell Logan, I couldn't care less!" Nikki said, "What matters is the fact that you told me. I was more than happy to be with you first then, and I still am."  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Despite the revelation, while Victoria and James went to her room, Nikki stayed wrapped in Logan's arms on the couch.  
"How did you manage to stay hidden so long?" she asked.  
"It's a matter of stelth, something we broke by telling you" Logan said.  
"How did you get into this?"  
"We got pretty desperate needing money in collage, James got into it first, then I followed him in. I couldn't leave my best friend, who's been like a brother to me since we were born, to possibly get caught, captured and killed."  
"Why are you and James friends? I mean, I get it, but after he joined why didn't you just stop being his friend? Wouldn't that have been easier?"  
"No, not at all. James was practically my brother for years, I couldn't just leave him. As I said, we got in, and there was almost no way out. The only way out we could see was death."  
Logan looked at her solemnly, "That may be the only way, and if it is, we've just doomed you both to it."  
Nikki moved closer to him, sitting on his lap and holding his face in her hands, "I don't care. I trust you."  
"You really shouldn't" he said, "I already confessed to you, I'm not the superhero, I'm the bad guy."  
She let her hands drop, moving closer still, her lips inches from his neck when she whispered, "If you be my Clyde, I'll be your Bonnie."  
She pressed a soft, gentle kiss to his neck and he gently ran his fingers through her hair, "You would really get into all of this to be with me?"  
She looked up, looking at him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Yes. Without a doubt."  
"You'd regret it" he countered, "I do every day."  
"No, I wouldn't. I'd have you, I wouldn't really care anymore" she said, shaking her head.  
He sighed, "You have no sense of self preservation."  
"Yes I do, that would be Vicky. She's...well, a freak at times, but she my freak. She has like...a spidy sense or something like that. She always knows when things are going to happen, it's like she has powers, but she doesn't" Nikki sighed, rolling her eyes.  
"James and I are like that too" Logan said, "James is like the tracker from Twilight, I can't believe I just admitted I watched that, but yeah, and he thinks I'm like Wolverine."  
Nikki giggled, "You both do share the namesakes."  
Logan rolled his eyes, "So? What's that got to do with anything?"  
Nikki smiled, "You don't even realize how extrodanary you are do you?"  
He sighed, "I suppose you're going to tell me...?"  
She sighed and grinned mischeviously, "No, I'm going to show you."  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Nikki awoke in the same blissful state as she'd fallen asleep in. Victoria tapped her lightly on the shoulder.  
"Hm? Vicky?! What the hell are you doing in here?" Nikki hissed, pulling the sheet up over her and Logan both.  
Victoria held out her hand.  
"Holy s#^%!" Nikki gasped, examining the ring, "You've known the man for all of 2 fricking days and he proposes to you?"  
She smiled, "Yeah. He's still asleep. You should see him when he sleeps, he's so adorible!"  
"Then go watch him sleep or something, leave us alone" Nikki sighed and lay against Logan again.  
Victoria sighed, "Ah love, I'm so glad we've found it."  
Nikki nodded as Victoria left. She snuggled against Logan, smiling at the warmth that he brought to her heart.  
His fingers gently started brushing through her hair, "Mornin' darlin'."  
She grinned, pressing a soft kiss to his throat, "Morning my love."  
He chuckled softly, "There was something your friend brought up that I was going to do myself..."  
She looked at him, "Logan, you've known me two days."  
"In our business, if you're with us, we're keeping you. Two days or two decades, it won't matter in the long run" Logan said, gently caressing her face.  
He leaned up, holding her in one arm and the box in the other, "Nikki, will you marry me?"  
Looking into his eyes, the pure crystal blue she could see into his very soul, and knew despite the bloody, violent work, he was sweet, tender and loving. He put up the front as invincibility. "Yes" she whispered.  
He slid the silver band on her finger and smiled, the smile lighting his eyes with love and joy. She felt her heart mirroring the emotions.  
"I have to tell Vicky" she whispered.  
He kissed her deeply, slowly and gently, and she sighed, melting against him, "Go ahead."  
"That's hardly fair, you know when you tempt me like that it's less likely I'll go at all" she said, pouting slightly.  
He smiled at her pout, "Then go, make it quick, and come back to me."  
She beamed, "I'll be back."  
Victoria was looking at her when she walked inside, "So?"  
"I said yes" Nikki whispered.  
She took in the scene in front of her, James did look innocent in a sweet way, and most certianly peaceful holding Victoria the way he was. Nikki smiled and shook her head, rolling her eyes.  
"What?" Victoria whispered.  
"Hopeless romantic" Nikki muttered.  
"And you know it" Victoria said, grinning and turned to brush her fingers through James's hair.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
Logan and James had a discussion over the matter of getting their loves involved in their lives, but decided against it. They were going to break off all ties to the company, on their own.  
"We'll be back" James said.  
"Do you have to go?" Victoria asked, gently caressing his face.  
"I'll be back soon baby, I promise" he said softly, kissing her tenderly.  
Logan was holding Nikki in his arms, stroking her hair, "We'll be okay. I'll be home soon."  
She looked up at him, "I love you."  
He stroked her face gently, "I love you too. I will be back soon."  
He leaned down and kissed her tenderly.  
James and Logan went out to the jeep with their weapons. They'd shoot up the place, kill everyone inside and ditch the weapons in there as they'd finish off the place.  
"Do you know how hard it was to leave her?" James asked.  
"Yeah, I really do" Logan said, looking at the old facility. He was so glad they were going to blow this place sky high.  
They were let in, shooting both guards. James took the lead, bringing all the cargo with them. Logan shot up the people inside while James finished off the guards.  
"Logan, c'mon, the detenator's set. It's their problem now" James shouted.  
Logan threw down the gun, following James's lead and ran to the car. They pulled out with the explosion of the faculty behind them.  
"Damn! We did it. How the hell did we pull that off?" Logan asked.  
"Luck, luck and the fact our women were waiting for us at home" James said, grinned and shouted, "Vicky baby I'm comin' home!"  
Logan cheered and grinned, sighing, "Man, we're going to have to get outta state, you know that right?"  
"Hell, we'll go up to Canada, get some cabins in the wilderness, and we'll live out the rest of our lives in peace" James said.  
Logan smiled and settled back, "Yeah. This is gonna be good."

Nikki was staring out the window, waiting for them to return.  
"God, what if something happens to them? Then it'll be my fault, I let them go" Victoria said.  
Nikki turned, "Stop it Vicky, they're okay, I can feel it."  
She looked out the window and smiled, "V, they are."  
"What?" Victoria asked.  
"They're here" Nikki said.  
The two jumped up and ran outside. The steady ranfall made an almost romantic movie scene as they ran into their love's arms.  
"We're going to get out of here, start over, and we'll be together" Logan said.  
"Forever" Nikki whispered.  
For the moment, it was enough to just be in eachother's arms.  
The End  
**The Howlett Easter**

The first rays of sun broke over the horizon, the light making Vincent wake up. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the room, illuminated by the bright dawn sunlight.  
"Oh man, I slept through it! I missed it AGAIN!" he groaned, sitting back.  
"What?" Sal asked, "What 'appened?"  
"I slept through the Easter Bunny again!" Vincent sighed.  
"Wait, you were up late, sitting on the window seat to watch if he were coming? What if he decided to go through the front door?" Sal asked.  
"Don't be stupid, of course I thought of that. I'd get up and go look" Vincent said.  
"Where's the part where you scream presents and let me sleep?" Sal asked.  
"Presents? Oh yeah. PRESENTS!" Vincent shouted and ran out in the hall.  
Sal sighed and was about to fall asleep when Tayla said, "Sal? Can I go get my presents?"  
He looked over at her and got down, lifting her up, "C'mon Tay, let's go."  
She beamed. The whole  
imprinted-werewolf-gives-object-of-imprinting-everything-she-want  
s-thing was never getting old for her.  
He set her down and let her go to her baskets. There were several with her name on them, and they were big. She turned back to look at him, her eyes wide.  
"Go ahead and open mine first Tay-Tay" he said.  
She took the smaller one, but still big, and opened the tie. Sal took the teddy bear from under her arm to let her little hands work better.  
She gasped and looked at the things inside; some candy, a braded bracelet with a little wooden wolf hanging off it, a woven promise ring and a silver necklace with her name on it.  
She turned to him, grinning brightly and ran over to him, jumping into his arms, "Oh thank you Sal!"  
He smiled and brushed his fingers through her messy hair, "No prob Tayla."  
He fastened the bracelet and the necklace around her and she smiled at the multicolored woven ring on her finger.  
"So, looks like everyone's starting to attack their stashes, huh?" Nikki asked, walking downstairs with Logan close behind her.  
"Look what Sal got me Momma!" Tayla said, beaming as she held out her little hand.  
"Oh it's beautiful Tayla" Nikki said, smiling.  
Logan rolled his eyes, he really didn't want to think of the promise in that promise ring.  
"Happy Easter everyone" Nikki said.  
Murmured happy easters followed, only interupted by Vincent's, "Woo! Madden '08!"  
Laura rolled her eyes, "Boys."  
The End  
**Like Father, Like Son**

Chapter 1  
The day Daken had been waiting for had come. He was going to marry his love.  
He had never been sure of anything before in his life like he was sure about her.  
"Hey" Logan said.  
"Hey" Daken said.  
"Relax, you'll be just fine" Logan reassured.  
"I know. This is by far the hardest thing I've ever done. But I am so glad I'm doing this" Daken said, a smile coming back to his features.  
"You know who's down there?" Logan asked.  
"Everybody?" Daken asked, chuckling.  
"Yeah. Pretty much" Logan said, chuckling also, "Relax. Once you see her down there, you'll know. You'll be sure of everything."  
Daken nodded, "Thanks."

Laura was helping a fussy Anita into her pretty blue dress.  
"Momma!" Anita said, pouting.  
Laura froze, "Did you just say something?"  
"Momma" Anita fussed, "No dress!"  
Laura laughed softly, "Yes dress. Uncle Daken's getting married, you have to wear a dress."  
"No dress" Anita pouted.  
"She's very inteligent" Sal said, grinning, "But you've got to rely on something other than outsmarting her."  
Sal got down on his knees, "Anita, listen. You have to. If you do, I'll give you a cookie."  
Anita pouted, "Two cookies."  
"Deal" Sal said, holding out his hand.  
The toddler took his finger and shook it in her little hand.  
Laura laughed in wonder, "She talks?"  
"No. She knows how to talk, but she doesn't prefer to. She's more like Nessie" Sal said.  
"Wait, you mean she's gifted?" Laura asked.  
"Let her show you" Sal said.  
Anita pressed her little hand to Laura's face and showed her exactly what she wanted. No skirts, no dresses, but to dress like Laura, in jeans and t-shirts.  
"Not today" Laura said.  
The pout returned to Anita's face.  
"Sal! I need help!" Tayla said, walking over to him with the button on the top of the back of her green dress.  
She blew her hair out of her eyes.  
"Okay Tay" Sal said, smiling as he snapped the button closed for her.  
"Okay, it's almost time. Let's go" Laura said, lifting Anita and walking downstairs.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Nikki slipped her arm through Logan's, "Heya sexy."  
"Damn, if it wasn't for that dress, then you'd never get me in this monkey suit" Logan said, looking over his love with desire in his eyes.  
She laughed happily, "It's your son's wedding, you'd have to."  
Logan scowled, "But this" he lifted the edge of her dress, almost threatening to rip it but didn't because of the warning in her eyes, "Is incentive enough."  
Her smile turned sultry, "Then you should sit still, and maybe you'll get a reward."  
Logan laughed and kissed her lovingly, "You win."  
Laura took the seat beside the two of them, Anita in her arms.  
"Hey" she said, smiling.  
Sal took the other side of them, Tayla in his arms, "This is going to be great."  
Nikki smiled brightly as the soft music started.  
The ceremony was certianly beautiful, and Daken was more than happy just to have a claim on the woman he loved.  
Daken looked around the crowd of people and smiled as he saw Nikki and Logan coming toward him.  
"Hey Mom" Daken said, smiling as he hugged her.  
Small tears fell from Nikki's eyes, "That was so sweet!"  
Daken gently rubbed her back, "It's okay. Mom, relax. This is good, remember?"  
Nikki nodded, crying softly, "I know, but you'll always be our son. I've always thought you were so young, but now...you're so much more grown up. With all these childish things behind you, you're really making me feel old, know that?"  
Daken laughed, "Just remember, you'll always have a whole lotta people older than you mom."  
Nikki hugged Claudine, and let the two be on their way.  
Laurent came over, smiling and reached out. He opened his arms and squeezed her gently, "It's okay. You know, you both did very well turning him around."  
Nikki nodded into his shoulder. Etienne rubbed her back softly, smiling.  
Laurent smiled at Logan and Logan nodded back.  
"What do you think is going to happen now? I mean...have either of you thought about the future?" Laurent asked.  
Nikki smiled and laughed, "Yeah. Eventually, they'll all go off and have their own lives. We may be a family, but we don't have to be a coven. I'll probably end up with whoever decides to stay, and all of you being my coven. My friends who are almost family."  
Laurent smiled, "Soon, I will be your family chere."  
Nikki chuckled as he did, "Yeah, good old brother dearest. You do realize you'll be my big brother now right? That is going to be really strange."  
Laurent laughed, "Yes. Yes it will."

In New York, Norman Osborn turned to look at the small army of Dark Avengers of the railing.  
"How long do we have?" he asked.  
"Not much longer" his assistant replied.  
"Good. Bring in Essex's Army."  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
"Is the army ready?" A familiar voice asked.  
"Yes. We assume everything is to your liking Doctor Essex?" Osborn's assistant asked.  
Sinister looked over the groups of people clustered loosely around the hanger, waiting to be selected to board the quinjet as a small on-foot army. Only the strongest and the most cunning could come...and would die providing a distraction.  
"We should be moving out. Tell Osborn he'll get his man back...eventually" Sinister said, taking the steps down.

Claudine smiled and nuzzled Daken's chest, "What could be more perfect than this?"  
He chuckled and smiled, stroking her hair, "I don't think there is anything."  
She looked up at him and smiled, "Really?"  
"Really" he whispered, leaning down and kissing her gently.  
There was a soft sound of a jet overhead and Daken growled softly, "Damn. People."  
Claudine looked up, "Worse. Osborn."  
Daken growled and stood, holding her in his arms and pushing her behind him.  
"Osborn?!" Daken growled.  
"Not quite" Sinister said softly. Claudine gasped and the men rushed out, going at Daken.  
Daken's claws burst out and he instantly started killing them. They were only human.  
Sinister focused his attention solely on Claudine. She was frightened, backing up, and looked frightenedly at Daken.  
"Claudine, don't fight. You are my daughter, and you know that. You shouldn't fight me" Sinister said, using the double timbre of his mental voice and his physical.  
Claudine gasped and doubled over, clutching her head, "Get...out...of my...head."  
"No" Sinister said, taking another step.  
Claudine shrieked in pain as Sinister quickly overtook her.  
"Get away from her!" Daken growled, lunging at him and being blocked by the humans.  
Sinister struck Claudine across the face, knocking her back into the ground. She kicked back, throwing him off her.  
Sinister took something out and Claudine's eyes widened, a gasp slipping from her lips.  
"Claudine!" Daken shouted. The rage took over, clouding his vision and making it turn bright red.  
Claudine slumped onto the ground, blood streaming from the wounds Sinister had inflicted on her.  
Daken roared with anger and lunged, his animal instincts taking over as his claws plunged into Sinister's back.  
Sinister howled in pain and tried to twist him off.  
Daken used the momenetum to throw Sinister into a tree nearby. The red in his vision faded instantly, "Claudine."  
She groaned softly, "Daken?"  
"It's okay my love, I'll take care of you" he whispered, kissing her forehead gently and scooped her up gently.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Daken hadn't been able to get anywhere without the X-Men's help. Hank cared for Claudine in the infirmary while Scott phoned Osborn.  
Logan was waiting angrily, and Nikki was tapping her fingers impatiently on the table. Daken was pacing to the beat of Nikki's tapping, the same quick rythm between her insesent tapping and his soft footfalls.  
Logan quickly grasped Nikki's hands in his own, "Stop."  
She looked at him, "You're just as nervous as both of us."  
He looked at her, "Please. It's...irritating."  
Daken looked at both of them, "She's never irritated you before. What? Are you actually worried?"  
"Of course I am" Logan said.  
Daken cast another worried glance in the direction of the hall.  
"Daken, she'll be okay" Nikki reassured him.  
"She will" Hank said, walking in, "You got her here fast enough that the damage wasn't too intense. She'll take a short while to heal, but she'll heal fully in the course of a few months."  
Daken sighed with relief.  
"See? Did you really think any of us wanted to look at you for the next hundred years if you lost her?" Nikki asked.  
Daken smiled weakly. He trusted her, considerably more than his father. Nikki had once been his friend, he'd once had a real thing for her too. They'd been on the same side, but now...it felt so very right. Like things were in balance with them. Even though she rarely ever acted mature, she fit the role she'd taken to perfectly. He'd always been the mature one, always convincing her not to do something too dangerous or too stupid, but she'd been the one to show him to relax and have fun with life. She'd found her perfect soul mate in Logan, and he was happy for that. But he still trusted her more.  
Scott opened the office door, "The Professor has Osborn on the phone."  
Daken snarled softly under his breath and stalked in, Nikki and Logan following closely.  
Norman Osborn was on speaker phone, having a light, small-talk conversation with the professor.  
"Norman, I would like to ask you about a small army that attacked one of my teams on an island. It was lead by Sinister" Charles asked.  
Nikki glanced anxiously between Daken and Logan, both tensed, but Daken seemed considerably more enraged.  
Logan's arm wrapped around Nikki, "Do you want to go? You don't have to listen."  
She shook her head, "I'm fine."  
Osborn began promising he'd take this matter into his hands personally, reassuring them...for a short while.  
"However" he said, interupting his previous reassurances, "I think we'd do a lot better if we had Daken with us."  
Logan growled, "What?"  
"I'm not going back Osborn, try again" Daken snarled.  
"Daken, let's just talk this out, shall we?" Norman asked.  
Daken growled menacingly, "If you don't do this, not for me, just do this, I swear I'll kill you myself."  
The perfect amount of vengance and malice was in his voice, making him sound like a professional, trained killer. Like he had been.  
"Okay. We'll work something out" Norman said, metaphorically waving the white flag.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Osborn had promised, well, vowed really, to do what he could, and Daken was beginning to doubt what sanity Scott Summers had left, getting the Dark Avengers involved in this.  
Logan was glaring at everyone around the jet exept Nikki and Daken, and Nikki kept having to kick Venom's tongue before it wrapped around her leg.  
"Mac, I swear, I don't want to leave Gorge fatherless, but if you keep trying to go at me I will kill you" Nikki snarled.  
That ended Venom's fun.  
Aries was next to try to play with her, and he earned a claw where he didn't want it.  
Nikki moved up by Logan, "I swear if another one of these morons comes even close to me, I'm going to kill all of them."  
Logan chuckled, his arm winding around her, "Well you can't help how beautiful you are."  
She glared, "It's not funny Logan. You of all people should be jelous."  
"Baby from here it ain't funny, it's flamin' hilarious" Logan chuckled.  
Daken shrugged, "I can't tell if it's hilarious or horrible. Hilarible maybe."  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "That was so funny I forgot to laugh."  
Logan chuckled and Daken looked at her, "They really put you in a bad mood didn't they?"  
Venom's tongue snaked under the seat and her claws came down, stabbing him.  
Venom howled and the others roared with laughter.  
"Now he has a tongue piercing" Nikki said, glaring over to Venom who was letting his tongue fall out, looking at the stab wounds in regret.  
The jet landed and they got out.  
"Damn" Nikki muttered.  
Logan looked around the area and wrinkled his nose, "It stinks like death."  
Daken looked around. He'd been a hired killer at one time in his life, through most of it actually, but even he hadn't seen death grounds like this.  
"This is like the holocaust all over again" Nikki murmured, walking through the tall stacks of bodies and looking at the burned remains.  
Venom threw up behind the jet.  
"I didn't know" Osborn said softly.  
"What?" Logan snarled.  
"I didn't know Essex was going to do all this, I swear. I only thought he would give Daken the incentive to come back" Osborn said.  
Daken's claws shot down and he lunged at Osborn, Logan holding him back, "What are you talking about?"  
"We wanted Daken back, so I brought Essex back. We gave him an army and made sure he could do what we needed him to do. But...we had no idea he would do all this" Osborn said.  
Daken looked around at the piles of bodies and Nikki standing in the very center, allowing her powers to do what they were meant to and find out how all these people had died.  
Daken looked back at Osborn, "I hope you know how fast you can run."  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
Osborn backed up, stepping away from Daken, "Look, I swear I had no idea this was going on."  
"Well, the reinforcements didn't either" Domino said, stepping forward with X-Force behind her. "We heard Logan was coming, and we decided we should too."  
"You forced us to come" Elixer muttered.  
Nikki walked over by Logan, wrapping her arms around his chest, pulling him back in a show of territory and glared pointedly at Domino.  
"Dom, what're you doing here?" Logan asked.  
"We came to help. You may not believe it, but he's one of us now. We don't abandon our own" Dom said.  
Daken glared at her, "I can handle myself."  
"I can tell" Dom said, her eyes running over him.  
Osborn looked around as Daken turned back to him, "If she wasn't p^$$^ng me off right now, you'd have a chance of living."  
Osborn powered up the suit and lunged.  
Domino shot at the suit and ducked, rolling across the tarmac.  
"Logan, can you cover me?" she shouted.  
"Hell no, cover yourself!" Logan growled and covered Nikki so she could use her magic at full potential.  
Logan snarled and took on Aries. Bullseye started shooting at Nikki, her shield flexing around the bullets and the two spent forever trying to provide enough distraction to get through.  
Bullseye kept up the relentless firing until, after 6 magazines he'd managed to get one shot through. Nikki couldn't hold her power too much longer.  
"G'night beautiful" Bullseye said, grinning wickedly.  
Domino shot him in the back, making him fall. She looked at Nikki, "This doesn't change anything."  
Nikki nodded and stood, going to aid Logan with Aries.  
Daken was taking on Osborn with Warpath, and between the two of them the suit wasn't lasting too long.  
"So, name's really Akihiro, right?" Warpath asked.  
"Yeah. James Proudstar?" Daken asked.  
"Yeah" Warpath said.  
"I know too many people named James already. To me, you're Jim" Daken said, laughing as he delivered another sharp blow to the suit's defences.  
Warpath sighed, "It's a step up from Jimmy."  
"Seriously?" Daken asked, "Damn. I pity you."  
"I know. Who screws up Akihiro?" Warpath asked.  
"A lot of people" Daken said, rolling his eyes.  
Sinister led his army out and Daken groaned, "We're never going to be able to take all of them!"  
"Don't say never kid" Warpath said.  
"I'm older than you kid, learn that" Daken growled and leapt into the new fray.  
A psychic shockwave shot through the army and they fell to their knees.  
"What did-?" Warpath asked and Daken turned, smiling.  
"Claudine."  
The single whispered word held so much love and devotion on Daken's part that Claudine smiled at him, being so in tune with him each thought came to her as if it were one of her own.  
"Thought I'd lend a hand" she said, grinning and sent another shockwave at the bad guys.  
"Then let's kick some $$ baby" Daken said, grinning back and taking her hand in his own.  
TBC  
Chapter 7  
Daken pulled Claudine down and held her upright. Her wounds were still healing.  
"I think" she took a breath, "One more blast should do it."  
Daken held her up as she grunted softly, pushing her psychic limits and shot another shockwave at Sinister's forces.  
Logan and Nikki had taken on Aries, and Claudine's psychic shockwaves hit Aries, making him fall.  
Logan dropped to the ground on his feet, Nikki following suit.  
She looked over to Daken and Claudine over by the jet and smiled, her bright eyes happy.  
Daken nodded and smiled back, Claudine relaxed in his arms.  
"This...isn't...over" Sinister said, looking over to them.  
"Oh yes it is" Claudine said, sending a final shockwave at Sinister.  
The shock had short-circuted Sinister's brain and he'd fallen.  
"Dom, take him back to base. Let Cyke handle him from here" Logan said.  
"Uh, Wolverine?" Elixer asked, "Are they supposed to be here?"  
"Oh you've got to be kidding me" Osborn said softly.  
The two boys stepped out from behind the jet, "We're sorry Wolverine! We're just really big fans. We started putting you on YouTube."  
Logan smiled at the boys, "How much did you get out there already?"  
"Everything up to just know when Sinister died. Are you mad at us? We could take it off-" one boy said.  
Logan laughed, "Nah, let the world make of it what they want."  
Both boys smiled, "Can we ask you a question?"  
"Sure" Logan said.  
"Can we have your autographs? All of the superheroes?" the other boy asked shyly.  
"Sure" Nikki said, smiling.

2 Days Later, the Xaiver 'Mansion'-

Extra was on and Nikki, Pixie, Laura and Cessily were gathered around the TV, watching for news on anything Twilight or Twilight star related.  
"I wonder if...." Laura began and looked over at Nikki.  
"I am happy for him, but can't he choose Rachelle over whatever-her-name-is?!" Nikki said, rolling her eyes.  
"I wonder if they'll name the baby Michelle" Pixie said.  
"Michelle? And if he marries Rachelle they'll rhyme" Nikki said.  
Pixie laughed, "He's smart Nikki. But he's sweet. He'll do what he needs to do."  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "He's sexy! He may be smart but he's sweet too, and sometimes the sweetness takes over the brains!"  
"He'll do what he needs to do" Pixie said.  
"Then marry Rachelle already you sweet, sexy idiot!" Nikki shouted at the TV.  
"Soap Operas again girls?" Santo asked.  
"No, Extra. Cam's not married yet, but his dad is saying that he's going to marry his current girlfriend" Pixie said.  
Santo groaned, "Cam Gigandet again?!"  
All of the girls turned, "He is sexy. What part of that don't you get?"  
Santo rolled his eyes, "The whole thing! If I were a girl I'd be obssessed with Robert."  
"That's only because you have a thing for Kristen" Pixie said, "Now get out of here."  
"Wait, look!" Laura gasped.  
The fight between X-Force and the Dark Avengers were on Extra.  
"Holy s#^%!" Nikki gasped.  
"Wow" Cessily whispered, "You guys kicked $$."  
"The team called X-Force, a branch of X-Men fought the Dark Avengers. The Dark Avengers aren't the good guys they thought they would be, obviously" the host said.  
"Oh my god" the girls whispered simaltaniously.  
Daken left the doorway and walked outside, seeing Claudine standing out at the beach front.  
"Hey. So, we're the infamous X-Force now" he said, putting his arms around her.  
"I have something to tell you" she said softly.  
"What?" he asked.  
She smiled and both of her hands folded over her stomach, "I'm pregnant."  
He smiled, leaning down and kissing her tenderly, "That's great!"  
They looked out over the sunset and relaxed, they were together.  
The End


	16. Part 16

**It's Been A Long Time (OS, NPOV)**

I walked outside, the soft, warm breeze running through my hair. Sunset was falling over the lake and I walked downstairs.  
"Hey" I said softly.  
Sal turned, "Hey. What're you doing out here?"  
I shrugged, "Just wanted to come out."  
Sal sighed and looked out over the water, "Tayla wanted to spend some time with Laura, so I had nothing else to do."  
I went over to him and sat down beside him, "You want to go running?"  
He looked over at me and smiled, "Really?"  
"It's been a long time" I said, smiling back.  
He laughed and stood, "If you can keep up with me old woman."  
"You're not that much younger than me pup, remember that" I said, grinning.  
Ever since he'd imprinted on Tayla, I didn't have to worry about running with him. I'd admit, he was pretty good looking, but he was nothing compared to my man. Plus, I knew in a little more than a decade I'd be the one telling Tayla not to run with him. Not for a long time.  
The change was easy, and I gave a big wolfy grin at the feeling of being in my wolf form again.  
He smiled back and we leapt into the trees, our paws carrying us as fast and as far as we could go.  
Hey, where are we going? Sal asked and glanced at me.  
We're going up to the small mountians, not far North. It won't be more than a few more minutes run. I thought back.  
I laughed with exhilaration as we sped to the base of the miniature mountians.  
Woo-hoo! Sal shouted in his head, baying with a long, low, happy howl.  
I howled with him, the heavy thud thud thud-thud thud thud of our paws cutting through bracken and loam.  
A few shocked travelers looked at us from a small peak and Sal stood on two legs, his back to them, and wagged his tail.  
I laughed in a soft bark and let him catch up to me. We ran through the rocky outcroppings, running just to run. The feeling of branches running through our fur, like the fingers of a loving master to a dog. I let out a happy bark.  
He barked with me and howled loudly, voicing his joy.  
We started back in the direction of home, smiling. I padded along slowly and let the soft thumping of our paws be a new kind of music to me.  
Sal walked back into the yard with me and I smiled, phasing back.  
"Want to do that again?" he asked, grinning. His teeth were a stark contrast to his russet skin.  
I laughed joyusly, "Later."  
He started up the hill dressed only in his jeans, "Too bad, I'm starting now!"  
Laughing with him, I raced after him. This was what I'd been waiting for.  
The End  
**Earth Day With The Superheroes (OS)**

Logan walked outside on the warm spring afternoon. The meeting had ended early in an effort for Professor Xaiver to give them the rest of the day off. The teacher's hand given special Earth Day lessons all day. Logan saw the small beach outside the encroching forest and saw Vincent wading in the water, Tayla and Sal playing in the wet sand, and Laura sitting in a chair, tanning while Ben and Anita played on a blanket nearby.  
Nikki looked oddly out of place there, her hands pressed palms-down into the sand, and then to the rocky ground, a frown creasing her features. A small worry crease formed by her eyes.  
"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting down on a rock.  
"The earth's all wrong. It's hurting worse than usual" Nikki said, "I can feel it, usually, it's no where near this bad."  
"What do you mean?" he asked.  
"The planet is alive Logan, you and I both know that. It's in agony. I want to ease it, just a little..." her hands started glowing lightly and her eyes slipped closed.  
Logan sat and waited patiently while she started healing the earth. Her hands gently caressed the rock and the sand, then dipping her hands into the tide pool.  
He looked around and took note of things that would've been imperseptable to most people without their hightened senses. The air was crisper, more brine and salt from the water. The trees were more green, the plants more healthy, and the sun seemed much more bright.  
"Momma? What's going on?" Tayla asked, looking over.  
Logan glanced up to see Vincent looking out at the water with a puzzled expression, Laura was sitting up, sniffing the air, and Tayla had glanced at the plants.  
"She's starting to fix things Tayla" Logan said softly, brushing a lock of her windswept crimson waves off her neck.  
"Fix what?" Tayla asked curiously.  
"The earth. It's...not at it's best Tayla. She's slowly, but surely fixing it" Logan said.  
"Momma always saves the earth" Tayla said, so nonchalantly as if she'd been commenting on what Nikki was wearing.  
"This is different Tay, she's healing it" Sal said.  
"The world is sick?" Tayla gasped.  
"It's been for a long time" Logan said.  
"Okay, I've never seen that happen" Laura said.  
They all looked up to see the blue in the sky become a little brighter, the sun perking up.  
Nikki looked up and smiled, "Better?"  
"Momma, you're special" Tayla said, as nonchalantly as before.  
"So are you Tay, or at least, you will be" Nikki said, grinning brightly.  
Logan smiled and they returned to what they were doing. Nikki went over to him, his arms wrapping around her tightly.  
"How'd you do that?" he asked.  
"I just wanted to" she said, "That's the simplest of spells. Just to want something and go for it."  
Logan chuckled and sighed, "Yeah, I guess so. Is that how I got you?"  
Nikki laughed and snuggled into his arms, "No, that's how I got you...I think."  
Logan laughed, "You enchanted me long before that baby."  
She giggled and smiled, nuzzling into his arms. They could always do whatever they really needed to do, this would be a very good earth day.  
The End  
**Saving Kamron**

Chapter 1- The Meeting  
Etienne went out with Laura, Cessily and Santo. He'd been so exausted with humans lately.  
He'd bumped into someone and turned, instantly murmuring an apology in french.  
"I'm sorry" the girl gasped and dropped to pick up her bag.  
He went down too, lifting her bag up and looked at her, "I'm sorry."  
He looked into her eyes, the warm chocolate brown eyes beaming out from under perfect lashes. She was full figured, not exactly the curviest, but...for some reason, he felt drawn to her.  
"I'm Kamron" she said, blushing softly, her smooth skin, richly dark, darkening with deep red.  
He chuckled, "Etienne."  
He took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles.  
"Are you new in San Fransisco?" he asked.  
"I'm out here visiting my dad" she said, "I'm going back to Chicago in a few days."  
He sighed, "I might have to come with you. You wouldn't believe how boring it is in Canada."  
"You're from Canada?" she asked, "You don't look like the snow type."  
Etienne chuckled, "I'm not really. That's why I'm so eager to move."  
Kamron smiled and started walking with him. The two sat in the food court and ate, talking about everything.  
"So, are you coming out to Chicago?" Kamron asked eventually.  
"Probably" Etienne said, leaning over and kissing her cheek, "You'll know me when you see me baby."  
She giggled and smiled, "Okay."  
TBC  
Chapter 2- Fragile little humans  
Etienne followed the girl home. His father had allowed him some space after a lot of desperate pleading.  
Kamron pulled her luggage out of the back of the cab and walked inside, "I'm home!"  
"Kamry!" her little sister shouted.  
Etienne couldn't help how badly he wanted to be there, to be part of something like that. He wanted to have a family, more than just Laurent, that would be with him. He vaguely remembered Remy and Aiden, the two boys Laurent and Irina had adopted as their sons, his older brothers. He remembered how badly his brothers used to pick on him, his aunts constantly chastising them. His mother had always been the kindest, most supportive woman...  
Etienne felt the tightening in his chest. He was a vampire by blood. He could do things neither of his parents could do as vampires. He could sleep, he could cry. The deep ache in his heart was making him long to be home, but he couldn't help it.  
"Remy, Aiden, get over here NOW!" Irina shouted.  
Etienne grinned, "Busted."  
Remy scowled at him, "You're dead runt!"  
"Not if you can't catch me!" Etienne shouted and plunged into the trees.  
Irina looked at the boys, rolling her eyes, "Etienne, come here."  
Her voice was softer with the young boy. He smiled and ran over, "Yes momma?"  
"Will you go inside, I need to talk to your brothers" Irina asked.  
"Okay" he said and turned back to them, sticking his tongue out at the two older boys.  
"MOM!" they both shouted in exasperation.  
Etienne's chest still ached hollowly as he thought of his family. Life before the Cullens had shown up, life before the Volturi attacked, life that was only a memory.  
Kamron walked outside and smiled up at the stars.  
"Hello Kamron" Etienne said, making his presence known.  
"Oh! Etienne! Hey. What's up?" she asked, grinning.  
He sat down beside her and put his arms around her shoulders, "Nothing. I've missed you."  
She smiled and blushed deeply.  
Etienne sighed, "Be very still...don't move."  
She didn't, but her heart was pounding effortlessly in her chest. He leaned in and pressed his lips effortlessly to hers.  
A slow, deep kiss that radiated love and joy. Etienne craved it.  
"I'll be back" he whispered and slipped into the shadows as her family came closer.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Illusion  
Etienne had waited outside, watching her. There was something strange, some odd reason why he wanted to protect her.  
He heard another human at the front door, and Kamron grabbed something off the table before going downstairs.  
Etienne sighed and leaned back into the trees, gathering momentum, and leapt onto the roof.  
"Hey, you wanted to talk to me?" a boy asked.  
She flipped out a knife, "Listen, if you get on my nerves one more time..." She didn't bother to finish the threat, he was already backing away.  
'Good girl' he thought. The boy was running away, and Kamron went back inside.  
He flipped around the edge of the roof and went into her room through the window, "Good girl."  
She turned, startled and looked at him, her posture relaxing when she saw him.  
"Breath, it's just me" he joked, hopping down from her bookshelf.  
"What're you doing here?" she asked.  
"I just wanted to come congradulate you. That was a gutsy move" he smirked as he lay down on her bed, examining his nails. He streatched out, putting an arm behind his head so he could look at her. She shook her head and smiled, "You're something else, you know that?"  
He chuckled, "Well, I know I'm not like the normal guys you meet every day."  
She looked at him, examining him closely and sighed, "You're a vampire."  
He smiled, "Two points for the human."  
She stared at him, "So, hunting me or stalking me?"  
He laughed, "Neither. Just...hanging around."  
With that he jumped up and held himself up by his feet on her celing fan.  
"Will you get down" she hissed.  
He rolled his eyes and hopped down in front of her, bowing theatrically.  
"You are so-" she began.  
Etienne clamped his hand over her mouth, "Do you hear that?"  
She shook her head and he paused. Sirens?  
"Did you hunt here?" she whispered after he'd relesed her.  
"Yes. Damn. I need to get out of here, I'll be back" he whispered, leaning in and kissing her cheek quickly before disappearing out the window.  
"Everyone in the house, come out with your hands where we can see them" someone said over a loudspeaker.  
"Etienne" she hissed softly, looking outside, "No one will know, okay? You're my secret."  
In the shadows, Etienne smiled and slowly crept forward. He stayed in the trees in case he needed a quick escape.  
"What's going on Kamry?" her little sister asked.  
"I don't know, just come on" Kamron said and lifted up her little sister, carrying her out.  
Her mother and brothers joined them in a moment.  
"Is a Kamron Z here?" a uniformed man asked.  
'Oh no' Etienne thought, 'They know we've met.'  
Kamron handed her little sister to her brother, "That's me."  
"Come with us" the uniform said.  
"What? Why?" Kamron asked. Etienne was giving her some real credit, her acting skills were perfect.  
He noticed her reach for the knife and wondered if she'd have the guts to stab him if he knew too much.  
"You're under arrest" the uniform said.  
Etienne wanted to jump down, but her mother was coming to her defence. He didn't focus on what she was saying, just on Kamron.  
Shock, fear, and defiance shown on her face. She pressed the knife to her wrist, drawing a small bloody line. Then another, then another. The scent wafted to him.  
'Oh my god' he thought. It was so hard to resist!  
Her brother pulled the knife out of her hands, and tucked it in his belt.  
A police woman noticed the blood dripping from Kamron's wrist, "Oh sweetie! Come on, we'll take you to the hospital."  
She took Kamron by the shoulders and told someone to get an ambulance.  
Kamron was looking around in panic. Not to her family, beyond them. Eitenne scratched at the tree, alerting her to his presence. She looked up, her panicked dark brown eyes meeting his. What was going on now?  
TBC  
Chapter 4- Escape  
Etienne followed closely by. They took her to the police station and made her wait for the ambulance. He'd followed close by when they'd transfered her from one hospital to another. Then, finally, night settled. The whole wing's lights went off, or dimmed. He crept up to the window, clinging to the side of the building, and pried the windowpane out. He set it aside and climbed in, walking over to her. Her eyes were closed, but she wasn't asleep.  
"Kamron" he whispered.  
She opened her eyes and looked at him, "Etienne. Oh Etienne!" She was gasping and he sat down, gently silencing her with a hand over hers.  
"Be quiet" he whispered.  
She nodded, "How did you get in?"  
"The window" he whispered.  
She laughed and smiled at him. He leaned in, gently stroking her face slowly, and kissed her gently.  
"You do this a lot, don't you?" he asked.  
She nodded. "I'm going to get you out of here" he whispered.  
"How?" she whispered.  
He gently pulled the tubes free and turned off the machines, "The window again. Go get your clothes."  
He waited patiently for her to get ready, examining the patterns in the tile instead of watching her.  
She tapped his arm, "Let's go."  
He lifted her up bridal style and carried her to the window. With one hand he popped the pane back in and then he leapt.  
"Oh my-!" she gasped, clutching him as the ground started rushing up to meet them.  
Etienne landed with a muted thud on his feet, "It's okay, just let me run."  
He shifted her onto his back and sped off down the quiet, sleeping streets.  
"Wow" Kamron whispered, "This is so cool!"  
He laughed, "Welcome to my world."  
She clung to his back as they went to her house.  
"But if they catch us-" she began.  
"They won't. And you won't be here by sunup. Get what you want to bring" he said.  
"Where are we going?" she asked.  
"You're coming home with me" he said.  
He climbed in and she started packing. Quickly she'd put everything in her room in her luggage and loaded up onto her arms.  
"Let's go" she said.  
He lifted her up onto his back, the few more pounds didn't even feel heavy to him as he leapt back out the window. They hit the ground running.  
Kamron couldn't doze when she was against Etienne. He was running so fast! It was exhilarating.  
"We're almost there" Etienne said.  
She laughed as he leapt, widely arcing over a lake, and slowed down.  
"Oh my god, you live here?" she whispered, staring up at the mansion.  
"No" he chuckled, "My extended family does. My dad and I live down that path there." He pointed out the path in the trees.  
She laughed softly, amazed.  
"Come on, I want you to meet my family" he said, pulling her over to the door.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- A new kind of coven  
"Just to warn you, they're a little...strange" Etienne said.  
Kamron laughed, "That's what I'd expect from vampires."  
"Oh, they're not just vampires" Etienne said, "But I'll let them explain that themselves."  
He led her through the back door into the living room, "Hey, can everybody come down here?"  
Multipule people gathered by the time he'd finished talking. Kamron recognized all of them.  
"Oh my god, you're related to Wolverine?" she whispered, "And Laurent?"  
Laurent laughed, "Did he fail to mention that? I'm his father."  
"What?" Kamron asked.  
"I'm acutally his and Irina's daughter. It's a long, complicated story" Etienne shrugged, "I suppose it was the same way James and Victoria could have children. By the way, these are them. My cousins, of sorts, Viviana and Alex."  
Vivi smiled very delibrately, "Hello Kamron. Alex has been transmitting Etienne's thoughts about you to me."  
Kamron gasped and looked at them, "Huh?"  
"Alex is a telepath, of sorts. He can tell other people other people's thoughts, confusing, isn't it?" Etienne asked.  
Kamron was looking around, "Seriously? That is so cool! And Wolverine and Wolverina? Oh my god!"  
Etienne laughed, "Yeah, it can get pretty wierd around here."  
Nikki smiled brightly, "Welcome to the great white north. Let me guess, Etienne thought you were being treated unfairly and busted you out?"  
Kamron nodded and Victoria laughed, "He's a sweet boy, isn't he?"  
She smoothed his hair and Etienne groaned, "Auntie Vicky!"  
Kamron smiled, despite the fact that they weren't human, they were still a family.  
TBC  
Chapter 6- Carnivors  
"You're...not like the Cullens, are you?" Kamron asked after a moment.  
"Far from it" James said, grinning, "You really think we're going to be a buncha wussy vegitarians?"  
Most of them howled with laughter, Etienne included.  
Laura leaned over and whacked his arm, "They are still our family."  
"Well you can't pick family" James said, rekindling the howls of laughter.  
Laura rolled her eyes, "And apparently you can't trade them in either."  
'Ooh's rose from the small crowd.  
James glared at her, "Then screw it, I'm not getting you a car for your birthday."  
Laura gasped, "You...you can't do that!" She glanced at Nikki. "Tell him he can't do this!"  
Nikki laughed, "I don't have to."  
Laura pouted, "Dad!"  
"Hey, I'm with them" Logan said, "Daken doesn't complain."  
Laura pouted, "Fine, then nobody's getting anything for their birthdays."  
Everybody 'ooh'd again. Kamron looked around, "I'm sorry, I didn't need to bring the topic up-"  
Etienne cut her off with a laugh, "Relax. They do this every other day."  
Laura flipped him off and even Kamron burst out laughing, "Wow."  
James laughed as she went back upstairs.  
"Don't mind her, she's tempermental" Vincent said, "So, you're really going to be with him?"  
"Come on little man, it's not going to happen!" Daken said, pulling Vincent back and pushing him onto the chair.  
"You'll get used to us girl, that's just what happens when you hang with the carnivors" James said, grinning brightly.  
The others howled and gave mock growls. Etienne took Kamron's hand and led her outside.  
He sat down on a stone bench in the garden, "I'm sorry you had to meet them."  
Kamron laughed, "That's okay, you met my family...sort of."  
He looked up from under his lashes, his crimson gaze boring into hers, "Will you miss them?"  
"No" she said softly, "They're not worth it."  
Etienne laughed and wrapped his arms around himself, "That's what you think."  
She sat down beside him and tried to tug his arms free from his torso, "Please, tell me."  
He scoffed, his gaze turning like solid rubies, "I lost my mother, my brothers, and my family rejected me. I knew my father was too desperate to go on, so I wanted to kill them. I came here and I found other reason. I still will never forgive Bella Swan for living. Not Renesmee, Bella. Bella was the whole reason for everything. She was the real reason James, Victoria, even my father, were so close to death...and my mother! She's the reason my mother is dead!"  
Kamron leaned into his arms and allowed him to hold her, "I'm sorry. It's just...they're supposed to be the good guys."  
"Yeah right" Etienne scoffed, "They were never the good guys. They thought just because they were the freaks of the vampire world doesn't mean the whole world is against them."  
Kamron wasn't sure how to reply.  
TBC  
Chatper 7- A Vampire's Love  
Kamron smiled, "Well...it's a nice night."  
Etienne laughed ruefully, "Yeah. Too bad my mother will never see another one again."  
Kamron snuggled against his chest, "Etienne, why are you so hard on yourself? Nothing you could've done could've changed that."  
Etienne laughed softly, "I know. But that doesn't mean I don't regret not being able to do something."  
Kamron snuggled against him, "I'm sorry." They sat out under the stars all night.  
Upstairs, Nikki stirred. There were no unseen threats in the darkness.  
Logan turned in his sleep, thrashing softly, he growled softly.  
"Logan" she whispered.  
He snarled and his thrashes grew harder, as if he were struggling against bonds. Nikki placed her hands on either side of his head, seeing into his dreams. He was thrashing in the Weapon X tank, shouting to be set free.  
"Logan, it's okay love. It's okay. It's just a dream."  
With an angry roar, Logan started in bed, his claws out.  
Nikki still held herself against his chest, snuggling him, calming him down. His arms, claws still extended, wrapped around her.  
"What happened?" he asked softly, his claws retracting.  
"It's okay, I'm here. You're okay" she murmured, gently rubbing his chest.  
He lay back, still holding her against him, "Oh god baby, that's the first time in eight years I've had that nightmare."  
"You haven't had that dream since I met you?" she asked.  
He shook his head and ran his other hand through his hair. He tugged the sheets up around them.  
"You're wearing my shirt" he said, laughing softly.  
"I wasn't sure if I was going to have to jump out of bed or not" she said, grinning as she pressed a soft, gentle kiss to his jaw.  
He sighed, "Sorry baby, it's just...it came back to haunt me."  
She snuggled against his side, holding herself against him, "Tell me...if you want to."  
He groaned softly, "Darlin, you don't want to hear this."  
She rubbed his shoulders softly, "Yeah, I do."  
He caught her hands and held them in his own, softly kissing each finger before kissing her palms, then down her wrists.  
"It's okay, you don't have to if you don't want to" she murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. He laughed, and it was soft and sad, "It came back. The pain, the absolute, searing, burning pain."  
He stopped and Nikki pressed herself to him, holding him tightly, "I love you. Don't worry, no one will ever hurt you again."  
He held her, rubbing her back. He didn't want to upset her. She held onto him, feeling the real love between them. The soft stroking of his fingers against her spine was soothing them both, slowly.  
"Sorry" he murmured.  
"Don't worry" she said softly, looking at him directly in the eyes, "I love you."  
He looked into her eyes, as if he were falling into a swirling pool of green, "I love you."  
He turned over, laying her back against the bed and kissing her gently, his lips soft on her own.  
"Logan" she giggled, his lips trailing down her throat.  
"We have all night baby" he said, grinning mischeviously, "A little time away from sleeping won't matter."  
TBC  
Chapter 8- Enough to laugh at  
Logan woke up, feeling the anxiety at the dreams still presant.  
"Are you okay?" Nikki asked, kissing him gently.  
"Fine" he said, sitting up and stretching.  
She still lay there, sighing softly, "Logan, why are you still worried?"  
He shrugged, "I don't know."  
He glanced over at her and saw the worry in her eyes, "Baby, don't worry. Please. I'm fine."  
He leaned down and kissed her gently, climbing on top of her and kissing her more passionately.  
She giggled, "Okay, okay. I get it, you're fine."  
He grinned, and became serious again, "Are you okay?"  
"I'm fine" she said, "Now, do you want me to show you?"  
He laughed and grinned as her arms slipped around his neck, "Sure."  
A knock at the door interupted their kiss, "Mom?! Dad?! Will you two get up already?!"  
"Go away Laura!" Logan shouted.  
"Make me" she called in.  
"Laura, if I go to this door you're going to wish you'd left when you had the chance" Logan threatened.  
"Oh god, oh my god, you're naked aren't you? Eeew!" she shouted, running down the hall.  
Nikki laughed, "That wasn't too bad."  
He laughed, "Well, it worked."  
He kissed her passionately, gently caressing her skin.  
"Hey!" Daken shouted, pounding at the door, "Will you two get up, and I don't care if you answer the door naked either!"  
"Yeah, you'd like that if it were Nikki" Logan muttered.  
"I heard that!" Daken shouted.  
Logan sighed, "Later?"  
Nikki giggled, "Later. And I'll hold you to that."  
He growled playfully, play lunging at her as she got out of bed.  
She giggled, snarling back softly. He lifted her up in his arms, kissing her lovingly.  
"I don't hear you getting up" Daken said.  
"You know what? I'm going to do this to you and Claudine on your weekends!" Logan shouted.  
Daken left.  
Nikki started giggling, "We should get up though sweetheart, it's time to find out if Kamron can stand living with those two psychos."  
Logan sighed, "Our family. Why can't we shoot them?"  
"Because we're stuck with them" Nikki said.  
TBC  
Chapter 8- Threats  
Elie was smiling as she sat in the living room with Connor. Nikki and Logan came down and spent time with them. Laurent walked in, "They're coming."  
Nikki grinned, "It's about time."  
Kamron walked in and three things happened at the same time, the wind shifted, all the vampires shifted slightly and Elie growled deeply, starting to lunge.  
Connor gripped her arms, clutching her to his chest, "Elie."  
Kamron gasped, looking at Elie with wide eyes.  
"Elie, relax" Nikki murmured, holding Elie back.  
"How can you stand it?!" Elie snarled, "She smells too good."  
"It's just like the others Elie, it's okay. You're just thirsty" Nikki murmured, calming her friend.  
James stood, Victoria resting a restraining hand on his shoulder, "I smell it too."  
He growled softly and looked at Kamron, "Why don't you come here? We won't hurt you."  
Kamron was entranced by the beauty of his dark burgundy eyes. She walked forward with her eyes locked with James.  
"Kamron" Etienne cautioned.  
Victoria hissed and stepped in front of James, "Sweet smelling little girl or not, you don't cause trouble for my mate. None of you humans get to anymore."  
Kamron was halted by the intensity of Victoria's evil black eyes, the darkness radiating. Hatred. Fear. Pain. More hate. She was lost in the darkness, unable to escape, slowly being crushed....  
"Victoria stop it!" Etienne snarled.  
Nikki stepped between them, "Get out of here. Take her with you. We don't need her causing us trouble."  
Kamron was shocked, and a little scared, Nikki had always been welcoming and sweet to her, but now...she was only purely defencive of her coven.  
Laurent and Etienne walked out, dragging Kamron with them.  
"Kamron, I'm sorry about that" Nikki said, "But you can't cause trouble with us. I will not see the woman who's been my sister my whole life be hurt that way again. I don't want her to loose James, so you're Etienne's problem now. Sorry."  
She turned and walked back inside, locking the door.  
"What happens now?" Etienne asked Laurent.  
"Simple, you take her home, you leave her there, and they don't deal with her. Ever again. Victoria is my friend too, despite everything, and I will never let her hurt again" Laurent said and stalked off in the direction of the back door.  
TBC  
Chapter 9- Change  
"I'm sorry" Kamron said.  
"It's nothing. They're just protective, that's all" Etienne said.  
"Why? Victoria's more than capable of taking care of herself, and James" Kamron said.  
"Listen to me now, Victoria can take care of both of them, even I know that, but James is stubborn. Even though she can, he won't let her. That's a man's job in his oppinion, so that's what he does" Etienne said, "He can be a reall masachist, but he loves her. He'd do anything for her. I've seen Victoria in pain before, I don't want to see that again. When she found my dad in Denali, she was so upset...she just couldn't take it. She missed James, she felt betrayed by my father, everything just stopped mattering to her. If you hadn't come along, I might've loved her. She's sweet, caring and beautiful. I've seen another side of her humans don't see. You'd have to be one of us to understand. She almost always kills her prey before she bites. She saves them the agony. She's a good person Kamron, and if you'd do something to threaten her, I wouldn't hesitate to get rid of you in a second."  
Kamron looked at him, "So that's what it is now? You're going to choose?"  
"No" Etienne said.  
"Then what?" Kamron asked.  
"I said you'd have to be one of us to understand, that's exactly what I meant. Elie's changing Connor soon, so I might as well get ahead of them" Etienne said.  
"Wait, me? Become a vampire?" Kamron asked, shying away.  
"You seemed just fine with it before" Etienne said, shrugging.  
"No. I don't want to be like this Etienne! I don't want that!" she pled fearfully.  
"It's okay. I can stop" he said softly.  
She whimpered and let him closer.

Elie paced around the living room, "I'm sorry."  
Victoria was huddled into James's side, clutching onto his jacket. She wasn't letting him go, "So are we."  
"Don't apologize" Nikki said, "She's only a human. She doesn't know better."  
"Exactly! She's human!" Elie said, "Doesn't Etienne know he's endangering us all?!"  
Etienne's piercing roar filled the air, drawing all of their attention.  
James growled, "Etienne, what have you done?"  
TBC  
Chapter 10- Difference  
Laurent was first to reach the cabin and found Etienne. He was sitting on his bed, sobbing. Kamron was lifeless in his arms.  
"I stopped" he said softly, his voice thick, "I stopped and she still died. She never told me how much blood she lost, I thought she had enough..." His sobs trailed off and he looked up to see his father's wide red eyes, "I killed her! I loved her and I killed her!" Venomous tears streaked down the boy's face.  
"Etienne, the important thing is you stopped. You knew you had to stop, and you did. You didn't kill her" Laurent said, rubbing his shoulders.  
Etienne sobbed, still holding her.  
James took the body from Etienne's arms, "Just let go. She was human, she didn't matter."  
Etienne glared at James, tears running down his face, "I loved her."  
"You'll get over it" James said.  
Etienne tried to lunge weakly, but Laurent held him back and he collapsed to his bed in sobs, clutching the pillow in misery.  
"It's okay" Laurent said, rubbing his back.  
"Just leave me alone" Etienne said, shoving his arm off and letting the misery consume him.  
"Etienne" Nikki said softly, comforting him, "I know. It'll be okay. I promise."  
Etienne sobbed sadly, "No! It won't be! It can't be." He turned and looked at her, his eyes glowing with sadness, "Will I move on?"  
"Eventually" Nikki said.  
Etienne turned, putting his head on her leg and crying against her.  
Eventually he quieted. He wasn't going to sleep yet, but there wasn't anything he could do anymore. He was just miserable. But life would move on...eventually.  
The End  
**Spring Fever (NPOV)**

Chapter 1  
I had never felt so miserable in decades. Getting shot, blown up, or something along those lines would be better than this. It wasn't even supposed to be possible for me!  
I was sick.  
Logan gently rubbed my back, kissing my hair. I remembered when that one psycho guy came up with that supervirus that got past Logan's healing factor. Did I have that?  
"Are you okay baby?" Logan asked softly, giving my shoulders a gentle squeeze.  
"Ugh, not that bad" I said, looking at the positives, "At least I don't have to go to work today."  
Logan chuckled, "I'm not either. You need some rest."  
I looked up at him, seeing his amused smile, "How bad do I look?"  
He laughed, "It's a little funny."  
I stood and walked over to the bathroom and groaned, "Damn! How'd this happen to my hair?!"  
Logan chuckled, gently running his fingers through the gnarled strands, "It's okay. As funny as this is, you still make it look cute."  
I glared at my reflection. I didn't look as bad as I had last night. My cheeks looked less sallow, my eyes more light. My skin a little less pale, and my nose still felt raw. Well, I didn't look too bad, just...a little sick. Just a little.  
"You look fine" he said, gently stroking my cheek.  
I sighed, "I do not. I look sick."  
"You are sick" he countered, "and for looking sick you don't look that sick. Just a little."  
I turned to him, "Are we seeing the same person in the mirror here?"  
He laughed at my attitude, "You always look beautiful baby, no matter what."  
I laughed, "Really? Now I know we're not looking at the same person."  
He stopped smiling for a moment and leaned closer, "You really do look beautiful anyway."  
He stroked my cheek, "Your skin." His fingers ran through my hair, "Your hair." He gently stroked under my eyes, "Your eyes." A smile returned to his lips, "Do you even realize how beautiful you are? And being able to take care of you for a change feels like a good thing."  
He leaned in, kissing me. I wanted so badly to make the kiss last forever, but the worst part? It couldn't last half as long as usual. I couldn't breath through my nose.  
He chuckled softly, pressing a gentle kiss to my nose, "It's okay baby. Let me take care of you today."  
I sighed, "Do I get more of those then?"  
He grinned, "Anything you want."  
The idea was appealing, just to not let him leave my side. But I knew he'd want to be 'super dad' today.  
"Okay" I said, smiling, "First off, I'll be downstairs with you. But I'll let you work, Moon only knows you're thinking much more clearly than I am at this point."  
He laughed and lifted me into his arms, kissing me gently, "It doesn't matter if you are or not, I'll still be there."  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
I couldn't believe my luck. Sick or not, this had turned out to be a pretty great day. I spent most of my time doing things I wanted to do.  
"Momma?" Tayla asked.  
"Hm?" I asked, looking over from where I was working on my laptop.  
"Are you okay?" she asked, leaning up and feeling my forehead.  
I laughed, "I'm fine sweetheart."  
She frowned, "You're warm. I'm gonna get Daddy to make you some hot chocolate."  
I laughed and scooped her up in my arms, "Relax, I'm okay. And stop pouting."  
She looked at me with worry until I had to tickle her to get her to relax.  
"Now go have fun" I said, grinning.  
Logan scooped me up, setting me down in his lap. "Hey baby" he purred.  
I grinned, "Hey yourself. So, how's it going?"  
"Good" he said, smiling, "Wanna go outside?"  
I smiled, "That sounds so good."  
I powered off my laptop and walked outside with him. The cool spring breeze felt good on my warm skin. I went out to the stone bench and sat down, feeling the cool air run over my skin. It was almost 70 degrees, and it felt so good to be outside.  
"Feeling better?" Sal asked.  
I looked up, "Yeah. Some. I just want to go do something, I'm getting stir crazy here."  
He laughed, "Run with me?"  
"Not right now. Right now I'm trying to cool off" I said.  
He sat down and I realized, even if I had a fever, it was nothing compared to the heat coming off him.  
"Have you ever taken your own temperature?" I asked, leaning over and feeling his forehead. The heat felt like it could scorch my hand.  
"I'm usually a toasty 104 to 108, but that's usually in the cold" he grinned, his teeth flashing white against his russet skin.  
"And in warm weather?" I asked.  
"Higher" he said proudly.  
"You're insane" I said, shaking my head.  
"You know my record? I think it's as high as I can go though" he said, "117."  
I shook my head, chuckling, "Any higher and I'll just put you out in the sun and use you as the grill."  
He laughed, "You know, I like it better when you're relaxed like this. You're not so responsible."  
I laughed, "As opposed to just not being? Yeah right."  
Sal went over to where Tayla was playing in the sand by the lake, getting wet in the water.  
Logan came and sat in the spot where Sal had just been. The contrast between Logan's temperature and Sal's was almost comical. Logan felt cool from the breeze, and I leaned against his side, feeling not my skin warm, but my heart.  
"Feeling better?" he asked.  
I nodded, snuggling against his chest.  
He stroked my hair, starting to lull me into a dreamlike state when he said, "Stay here, I'll be right back."  
"Logan, what's going on?" I asked, sitting up. Then my ears caught it faster than my stuffy nose could, the near silent, unfamiliar sounds of passage through the trees.  
"What are they?" I asked.  
"I don't know" Logan said softly and disappeared into the trees after whatever it was.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
I slowly edged to the trees, and I heard what my other senses hadn't picked up yet. A battle. Oh no.  
I raced off and knew Sal was being the responsible one now. Damn, right about now I was questioning my own sanity. It was supposed to be that my family came first, but I knew I couldn't help it, I loved Logan, my impulse was to go help my love.  
I slowly crept into the small space between trees where they were fighting, and these strange looking creatures were dancing around him. I recognized them from countless spellbooks. They were some form of demon.  
Logan was faster, stronger, but how long he could go without tiring was the worst thought. I gathered what strength I could get from my magic and shouted a spell. The demons turned in time to be obliterated.  
I gasped as strength left my limbs, and I was suddenly drained.  
Logan caught me, "You okay darlin?"  
"Yeah, I'm-" I croaked. "My voice? What happened to my voice?"  
I looked up at him in panic, what the bloody hell was wrong with my voice? It usually sounded...like it usually sounded, not like a frog with a cold! Now it was a rasping croak that made me sound like the flamin' frog princess.  
"Don't worry, it's probably just a side effect. What do you smell?" he asked.  
I sniffed the air, "You and sulfur." I grinned, "I smell. Ugh, my voice is terrible!"  
He laughed and lifted me up, "I've heard worse."  
"Ribbit" I said, rolling my eyes.  
He chuckled again, carrying me back. Sal had everyone gathered inside and they were waiting for us.  
"Thanks" I whispered.  
"What happened to your voice?" he asked.  
I rolled my eyes, "Forget it."  
"Wait, maybe Josh could help" Laura suggested.  
"I don't even know how I got this" I hissed, my whisper angry, "How is he supposed to help when I don't even know what I have!"  
"It's a regular cold Mom" Daken said, resting his hand on the back of my head, "How you got it is the mystery. It shouldn't have gotten past your healing factor."  
I sent down my claws and retracted them.  
"Huh. It works fine" I said, shrugging.  
"But how though?" Laura asked.  
Logan sighed, "Fine. It hasn't happened in a long time, but I guess we'll have to ask Hank."  
TBC

Chapter 4  
I glowered at the thermometer Hank was hellbent on putting under my tongue. It was uncomfortable, and it tasted terrible!  
"Stop squirming" Hank said, "It's just a routine checkup."  
I growled, the best thing I could do with my still-healing voice, "I don't like doctors and you know it."  
Hank chuckled, "Do you trust me?"  
I stopped, "Yeah...why?"  
He smiled, "Then we should have no problem. Besides, Carlisle's a surgon. What makes you dislike doctors?"  
I sent down my claws on one hand and gave him a questioning look.  
"Oh. I thought by now you'd be...slightly over that" he said softly.  
I shrugged, "Old habits die hard."  
He laughed, "Indeed."  
I swung my feet like a toddler. I'd never really been able to sit still, not since...well, ever really, but this whole sickness thing made me palpably more apprihensive.  
Hank looked at the results of the blood test, which had happened much to my disdain. Being a vampire, I didn't hate blood, but I certianly hated seeing my own.  
"Well, it looks like this was intended to be much worse than it is" Hank said.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.  
"You have an old strain of the Spanish Influenza. It's escentially the one that killed your brother, Edward" Hank said.  
"Wait, what?" I asked, "How'd I get it?"  
"It seemed it was injected into your bloodstream" he said.  
I searched through my memories, only vaguely coming upon something like that...it was a dream though.  
"I can't remember" I said.  
"What?" Hank asked.  
"I had a dream like this, but...I can't remember it" I said, looking at him, "Do you think...?"  
"What was that dream?" he asked.  
"It was...strange. I woke up in this room and looked around, but I was still tired. Someone came and he was familiar...then I woke up" I said.  
"When was this? And where were you?" Hank asked.  
"It was when I was on that away mission with X-Force, about a week ago" I said, "Why? Do you think it's true?"  
Hank looked at me, "Can you remember anything else?"  
"Damn it" I snarled.  
"What?" Hank asked.  
"I can ask my brother one thing and he'll know. I've faced that moron before" I said.  
"Who is it?" Hank asked.  
"^%$&in Mike Newton" I snarled, jumping down.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
I stalked down the hall and Hank followed, "Nikki, you can't just go."  
I turned, a snarl on my lips, "Why not?"  
"Because" he said calmly, but I could tell. He was worried about not my health now, but my mental state. He was a little afraid to be honest with himself. I forced myself to calm down, "Hank, don't worry. I can handle it."  
"Nikki, really. It's not just that-" he began.  
I looked at him, "Hank, you're afraid I'm going homicidal. I get that. The question is, why worry about me when you could worry about Logan? Or Laura? You know I'm worse than them, and Daken wouldn't surprise you if he went off on someone and killed them on accident. None of us should. Just trust me, I can do this alone."  
My voice was stronger I noticed and I could use my sense of smell again. I was healing, but slowly.  
I took the quinjet and I knew exactly where to go. I'd never been to Forks, Washington before in my life. Thought I'd wanted to go, even though the people of legend were my family. I landed in the old, familiar baseball clearing. It was almost the same as the movie, so it wasn't too hard to recognize. I knew there would be a path close to the marina, but I wanted to go closer to Forks than Port Angeles.  
I followed the trail down the paths and finally, I had to go on foot through the thick foliage and mud.  
I cussed to myself, why did I have to be the psychotic moron that went to track this dumb%$^& down?  
I walked into the town and sighed, great. I was at the very edge, OUTSIDE OF FORKS!  
I was in the old house's backyard. I walked around and sighed, this couln't be the place. It was a small stone cottage, and it was like something out of a fairytale. I realized, with shock, this was where Bella and Edward had once lived. And the big white house up ahead, that looked nothing like our current home, was where Carlisle, Jasper, Alice and everyone had lived when they had Esme.  
I smiled lightly and walked around the front.  
"Oh god, so the X-Men aren't the only sentimental ones" I said softly.  
Esme's grave was right by the cottage's side. This small place in the middle of the forest would be the remainder of their lives here. I walked inside, noticing everything was gone. I rested against the door for a moment and read the inscription on the wall. I recognized Carlisle's script.  
'This place was build, furnished and designed by Esme Ann Platt-Cullen. With her death, this place shall be her spirit's home. Esme never minded being alone, as long as she knew she had those who loved her. We always will.'  
I laughed, "Wow. Carlisle got sappier over the years, didn't he?"  
I heard the crunch of twigs nearby and I ran out, snarling. My claws shot down, "Mike."  
He stumbled out of the trees and I realized, with shock, something was...different.  
He looked at me like I was a ghost. He was dressed...like he was when he was in school.  
"Where am I?" he asked, "Who are you?"  
"Oh great" I groaned, "The one idiot that can cure it and he has amnesia!"  
This was so just my luck lately.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
He started backing away, "You're not one of the Cullens."  
I rolled my eyes, "I don't consider myself one."  
"Are you a friend of thiers?" he asked, hopefully.  
"You could say that" I said, making my tone a little sinister. Okay, so maybe he wasn't the brightest, ever, but I could have a little fun, right?  
He was backing away faster, then he took off into the trees. I took off after him, quickly cutting him off.  
"Oh man!" he gasped, "How'd-How'd you-?"  
"Save it" I snarled, pushing him back against a tree, "Where do you live?"  
He shook a little and pointed, "T-that way."  
I pulled him off the tree and pushed him forward, "Good. Lead me."  
He walked forward slowly. He was probably considering bolting, but then he must've remembered my speed and just started walking. He was scared, the fear was rolling off him in waves. I'd started to think maybe I could hunt in this area, just because his blood was getting so frothy with fear. Adrenaline tainted it, making it boil and froth under his skin.  
I started to realize what James had been getting at all those years ago. A sweet blooded kid was the best thing right about now.  
"Mike?" I asked sweetly once he'd opened the door.  
He turned and I pushed the door shut. I sat down on his couch, "Do you believe in vampires?"  
He blanched and grew pale, "Why?"  
"Just 'yes' or 'no'" I said.  
"Yes" he said.  
"Why?" I asked.  
"Because. I know what you are" he said, "The Cullens, they are vampires, aren't they?"  
I laughed, and I realized how much like Victoria I sounded, "There are more of us then you give us credit for."  
I slowly rose and strode across the room, facing him, and his back collided with the wall. I smiled and laughed softly again.  
"Too bad you didn't believe before today" I said, smiling in mock sympathy before I bit down on his throat.  
I smiled, letting him drop. Maybe I'd retained some of my old nature after all. I strode down the hall, smelling metal and lab equipment. I should've been having flashbacks by that point, but something else was tugging at my resolve. More scents. More blood.  
I growled. I had to keep my mind on why I was really here. The reason I'd hiked through dirt and mud, and whatever lives in the dirt and the mud, and the plants that reside in the dirt and the mud.  
I found what I'd been looking for, and unable to watch, I put the syringe to my arm. I drew in a deep breath. Maybe this was how he'd felt before I bit him.  
I laughed and stabbed it into my arm. It hurt a little with a small trickle of blood coming out before it healed, but I instantly felt my health improve. Maybe it was the mix of having hunted and the antidote, but I felt stronger.  
I went back to the jet at a faster speed and sat in the dry control hub. I was more than happy to go home after this little adventure, but part of me couldn't stop wondering if James had been right back then. What if there was something to this nomadic lifestyle? They weren't bad, just...ecentric. So was I, in a way. Who else would wear flamin' yellow and blue spandex to go pull off Jackie Chan style judo moves on guys with fire power and a bad nickname.  
I wasn't sure, but I'd have to give this thought a little more time. Might as well, since forever seemed like a pretty good time to think it over. Who knows? Maybe one day we'll get the coven back together. But this time, it'll be bigger.  
The End  
**A Super Mother's Day**

"Vincent?" Tayla asked, standing by the side of his bed.  
"What?" he asked groggily, sitting up.  
"What'd you get Mommy?" Tayla asked.  
"For what?" Vincent asked.  
"Mothers Day" Tayla said.  
Vincent looked at her in shock, "That's today?"  
She smiled, "Yep."  
"Sal?" Vincent asked, glancing to him in panic.  
Sal tossed over a box, "You're just lucky I've got your hide this time."  
Vincent smiled and looked over, "Wait, did we have to get something for Laura too?"  
Sal dropped 5 more boxes in front of him, "Laura, Claudine, Bella, Tanya and Victoria. I already said I had your hide this time, didn't I?"  
Vincent grinned and sighed before getting up, "Did everyone else remember?"  
Sal rolled his eyes, "A two year old and a year old kid are the only other people that needed to remember, besides the twins, and they had it covered once they knew what it was."  
"Cadie?" Vincent asked.  
"You're really going to ask if your dog has to give a mother's day present?" Sal asked, "Just go."  
He did and ran downstairs, more the happy to go get this over with. He was surprised to see the rest of the family there too. The Cullens, minus Tanya and Bella, James, Vivi and Alex, and the rest of his family, minus Laura, Claudine and his mom.  
"Presents?" He asked.  
"Table" Daken said.  
He sat with the younger group, Tayla, Vivi, Alex, Nessie, Anita and Ben and watched everyone else get things together, even thought some of them were sitting out. Vincent noticed every girl, mom or not, was getting a present. Sal looked back, "Don't worry, you're covered."  
Vincent sighed with relief and looked at each stack. Minus the person that it was, there was exactly the same number of presents in each. One from everyone.  
Vivi leaned over and looked out the window, "Tanya, Bella and Momma are coming!"  
"Make that Laura, Claudine and our Momma too!" Tayla said.  
Everybody sat down and acted like they'd been sitting down the whole time. He smiled when his mom walked in, "Open mine first!"  
A chorus of 'no mine!' came from the other kids and all of the women looked to each other and smiled, "We'll get to all of yours."  
They all watched while the women opened their gifts, smiling to one another and exchanging small comments before giving a quick hug to the person who'd given it to them. Vincent was getting impatient, waiting for them to open his presents.  
Finally, they did. One by one, he got hugged.  
Then, Laura opened her present. It was nice, a leather jacket, but Vincent swore he saw it somewhere before.  
"You went shopping for my present in my closet?" Laura asked.  
Sal busted up laughing, "Hey, I said I had you covered with money, but I didn't have that much."  
Vincent shot him a look and looked at Laura, "He did it."  
A chorus of laughter rose from the table and Laura hugged him anyway, "Pretty genius little brother. Too bad you got caught."  
The End  
**In The Name Of Truth**

Part 1

Nikki turned on the TV after work, it had been a long day again. The Professor was waiting until she fully recovered to send her out again, so she'd spent the day teaching a computer science class how the Danger Room worked.  
The News was on, and aside from Tayla, Vincent, Ben and Anita, she was alone. Logan, Laura and Daken all had to go out on X-Force, Claudine had gone over to Laurent's to see if she could erase some of Etienne's mental stress, and even the dog was asleep. She was making dinner when she heard the headlining news.  
"In other news, a runaway came in contact with the police. The girl was later captured..."  
Nikki went in and gaped at the picture. Was it even possible?  
"Nikki? We're home!" Logan shouted.  
"Logan, come see this!" Nikki shouted.  
He walked in and looked at the TV, "Sammy Pare? Squidboy?"  
Nikki grinned, "He got his powers back. That means-"  
"The mutants are going to get their powers back" Logan said, grinning too.  
"All of the X-Men are coming back?" Laura asked.  
"Probably" Logan said.  
Nikki's smile vanished, "We need to go get Sammy then."  
"Where is he?" Logan asked.  
"A few towns over from here" Nikki said.  
"Let's go" Logan said, "Laura-"  
"Got it. Just go" Laura said, tossing them the keys. If the government got a hold of him, there's no telling what they'd do.  
TBC  
Part 2

Nikki was the first out of the car at the police station.  
Sammy Pare was sitting in the chair while the investigator talked to his parents on the phone. Then he saw them.  
"Oh man! You guys came to spring me didn't you?" Sammy asked.  
Nikki smiled and leaned down, hugging him, "Yes we did."  
The investigators looked up, shocked, "Can we help either of you?"  
Nikki looked up and her eyes flashed, the silver swirling into a strange sea green blend, "Put down the phone, would you?"  
He set the phone down and wandered over. She kept the polite tone, "We'd appreciate it if you would let him come with us. We're good friends of the family."  
The investigator stammered, "Well I think that'd be okay."  
She smiled sweetly, "Thank you."  
Sammy smiled, "Wow. That was like what Silver Fox did in the movie!"  
"Not really" Nikki said, "I used my magic to control him. I don't have natural mind control instincts. I've sort of always been a better military leader than a diplomatic one."  
Sammy grinned anyway, "Cool."  
"How'd you get your powers back?" Nikki asked.  
"I don't know, they just came back. I guess her spell is wearing off after all" he shrugged, "You guys never lost yours though, right?"  
"No" Nikki said.  
Logan glanced at him, "So...I guess Cyke's going to have to pick you up."  
Sammy smiled, "Okay. What'd I miss when I was human?"  
"Not much really, just some weirdo psych ward escapees trying to kill massive amounts of people" Nikki said.  
"Cool" Sammy said, grinning even wider.  
Logan was on the phone with Scott when the two settled into the car, "Sammy, you'll be coming back with us and Cyke'll pick you up at our place."  
"Even cooler" Sammy beamed, "I'm going to see Wolverine's house!"  
Nikki giggled, "You have a fan."  
Logan rolled his eyes, "Great."  
TBC  
Part 3

Sammy looked at the huge mansion and at Logan and Nikki, "You live here?"  
Nikki smiled, "Yeah. It takes some getting used to, I know."  
Sammy leaned back and shook his head, "I live in a two-story stepford looking house, and you two live in a mansion?"  
"With our family" Logan said.  
Sammy just sat there, a little dazed and Nikki chuckled, "I think we may have shocked him. Too much info too fast."  
"No. I'm good. But wow. I never thought of you two...with kids" he said.  
"What about it?" Logan asked.  
"Nothing, it's just...I never thought of it" Sammy said.  
They stepped out and Laura was in the doorway, phone in hand, "Dad! Scott's on the phone!"  
Logan rolled his eyes, "Great. Now Cyke's going to get all chummy."  
Nikki smiled and leaned on the side of the car, "Do you want me to convince him he's in love with Northstar? I can make them sleep in Emma's bed. He'll be in the doghouse for years after that."  
Logan smiled back, "That depends. If he's calling to ask the 20 questions crap, then you don't have to. If he isn't-"  
"Then you can count on it" Nikki grinned.  
Sammy followed the two in and looked around, "Oh man. This place is huge."  
He looked around the room with the winding stairs, the balcony at the top, and the huge front room that had been converted into a living room.  
"This is....this is....incredible" he said, unable to speak.  
Nikki laughed, "It is beautiful. It's been in the family since the 1840's."  
"How old is ?" Sammy asked.  
"117. He was born in 1892" Nikki smiled.  
"And you?" he asked, a little hesitantly.  
"Tomorrow I'll be 113. I'm four years younger" she said.  
"Neither of you look it" Sammy said.  
Nikki grinned, "Healing factor."  
"Cyke's coming to pick you up Sammy" Logan said.  
"Okay. When?" Sammy asked.  
"About twenty minutes" Logan said.  
"Thanks" he said and sat down in the chair closest to the door, "It's been great to see you guys again."  
Nikki smiled, "You can come back sometime if you want."  
He beamed, "Okay."  
Logan gently tugged her arm, looking in the direction of the kitchen. She followed him out.  
"You're doing it again" Logan said.  
"What?" Nikki asked, a little surprised.  
Logan sighed, "Dazzling people?"  
Nikki laughed, "I don't dazzle people."  
Logan stepped over to her, gently brushing his hand along the side of her face from temple to chin, "I think you do."  
She took in a shaky breath, "That's not fair, you do it too. How else would Domino really leave Cable?"  
He grinned, "I know it. I like dazzling you."  
She grinned back, "I like it too."  
She kissed him tenderly, her arms wrapping around his neck and he chuckled after a moment.  
"What?" she asked.  
"Cyke's almost here" Logan said.  
She focused on sounds and heard the jet, "Damnit. He always ruins the moment."  
Logan laughed as she rolled her eyes.

Sammy raced onto the jet, waving to them, "See ya!"  
Scott looked at them questioningly and Nikki was tempted to just give him the attraction to Northstar just for a while...  
"I got this one babe" Logan grinned and sent up his middle claw at Scott.  
Scott rolled his eyes and walked off.  
"Now, where were we?" Logan asked.  
Nikki grinned and kissed him again.  
The End  
**Happy 113th Birthday Wolverina!**

The morning sun suprised Nikki as she woke. Just the night before, the storms that had been raging had almost pushed the thoughts of sun on her birthday from her mind. She smiled, the sun was sending it's usual bright joy to her. She hurried to get ready, eager to see what her family and friends had planned for her.  
"Happy Birthday!" everyone shouted when she walked downstairs.  
She beamed, seeing her friends there. Seth, always a great friend, jogged forward and threw his arms around her in an Emmett like bear hug. They gave her gifts and celebrated with her for most of the morning, but some of them had other things in mind.  
"Did you want to go shopping?" Alice asked.  
"Yeah, sure" Nikki agreed, shrugging, "I want to get a few things. Did you mind?"  
They all shook their heads, grinning widely, "Then a movie?" Victoria sugested.  
"Wolverine?" Nikki asked, grinning.  
"Okay" Alice sighed, and Victoria high-fived her. Sometimes it seemed they were closer on the same wavelength then they'd thought.  
"Okay, so pizza for dinner?" Victoria asked.  
"Oh yeah!" Nikki agreed, grinning.  
They made a list of things they needed to get, and Nikki decided she would go pick out her own cake herself.  
Victoria was practically bouncing at her side, their thoughts running closer together than usual.  
They were more than happy to celebrate her birthday just the way she wanted.  
"Hey" Logan grinned.  
"Hey" she grinned back, "So, did you have fun?"  
"Yeah" he said, "I wanted to give you something."  
She smiled and turned to him.  
"Close your eyes" he said softly.  
She did, still smiling, and he gently brushed back her hair, locking a golden heart shaped locket around her neck and sitting back down in front of her.  
She opened her eyes and smiled, touching it gently, "It's beautiful."  
He smiled and brushed the back of his hand along her collarbone, "I love you."  
She smiled, tears gathering in her eyes, "I love you too."  
A tear flowed from her eyes and he leaned to her, kissing the tear away, "Don't cry."  
She beamed and wrapped her arms around his neck, scooting onto his lap, "I'm crying because I'm happy."  
She rested her head against his neck and smiled, "Thank you."  
He brushed his fingers through her hair, "Anytime."  
He rested his cheek on her head and she sighed, just content to watch the stars with the man she loved. 'Happy birthday to me.'  
The End  
**The Only Team**

Chapter 1  
Logan was exausted when he finally got home. Between Scott, The Avengers, and his own solo career, things were tough, and busy.  
Nikki was waiting up for him. Since the X-Warriors had basically disband when everyone else found something else, all she did was work with the X-Men in San Fransisco and come home to take care of their family.  
"Sorry I'm late again darlin" he said.  
She sighed, "It's fine. I just wish you'd stop spreading yourself so thin."  
He noticed how worried she looked and sighed, "What do you want me to do?"  
"Get off all of those teams. It's not right anymore Logan, there are other, capable people out there that can work just as well as you can. Let the" she said, clearly a little stressed.  
"Fine. I'll tell Luke tomorrow I'm gone. Scott can get some other people to cover me on other teams" Logan said.  
Nikki sighed, "I mean X-Force. It's not good Logan, you're...different since that team started. I don't want you killing people like that."  
He sighed, "I know. I have to, if I don't, who will?"  
"They're perfectly capable on their own. Tell Scott he needs to do his own dirty work" she said.  
Logan nodded, "Okay."  
"And you're staying home tomorrow" she said.  
"Why?" he asked.  
"Because you need to stop working for a day. You even worked a few hours before I got up on my birthday! Yes, I know you never told me, but Daken did."  
Logan rolled his eyes, "Okay, who'll replace me then?"  
"Everyone else" Nikki sighed, "They can handle themselves, and they should learn not to be so dependent on you. You can still be in the X-Men with me, but I think your family would like to have the oppertunity to see you more than an hour a day."  
Logan sighed, "I don't know if they'll let me."  
"If they don't" Nikki said, "They'll have to deal with me."  
She went over to him, resting her head against his shoulder and letting him wrap his arms around her, "I'll do it. I need a break."  
"This would be perminant" she said softly.  
He smiled, "I know, that's the good part."  
Nikki lifted the phone and smiled back, "So, want to call Scott, or should I?"  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Logan was laughing through half the conversation with Scott, his anger was clearly amusing. Nikki sat on the couch with her book in hand, amused herself by the conversation. With Luke, things had gone smoother. Luke understood himself about being with the family. There was a bonus Scott didn't get.  
Logan hung up and sat down, pulling his love onto his lap, "Looks like I'm all yours for the next few days."  
She grinned, leaning close to him and closing her eyes, pressing their noses together, "Do you even begin to know how much I missed you?"  
He tugged her down on top of him and she squeeked, holding onto him while he held her against his side, "I know. About as much as I missed you."  
She smiled and held herself against him, "I'm glad you're taking time off now. We all missed you."  
He gently ran his fingers through her hair, brushing his fingertips against her cheek, "I know. I missed all of you too."  
He sat up when she did, the little footsteps proving their thoughts.  
"Momma? I had a nightmare" Tayla said.  
Logan kissed Nikki softly, "I'll take care of it."  
She smiled as Logan walked over and scooped up Tayla, "Wanna tell me about it?"  
"There were these big, huge monsters" she began, "But not the good kind like Momma's friends. And they were gonna get me, and I kept running and running but I didn't get any farther away from them."  
Logan carried her upstairs and was talking softly to her when the phone rang. Nikki sighed, "Speak of monsters." The caller ID said 'Graymalkin Industries' code for Scott. Again.  
"Yeah Scott?" she asked.  
"Nikki, I was wondering if you could change Logan's mind on his work, especially with X-Force-" Scott began.  
Nikki scoffed, "Listen Summers. I haven't had real time with my husband in two weeks. Not since my birthday. You know, it must be awsome to be you since clearly Emma doesn't even try to ask you to spend more time with her. She's probably used to your idiocity by now. But I married Logan for a reason, because I love him, and I won't sit her and watch him run himself ragged between you, all that crap work you dish out to him just because he's 'the best there is at what he does'. It doesn't matter, you could find a guy who's pretty good and get him to do the work instead. Now that you know my little suggestion, go do it and leave Logan out of it."  
She put the phone on the reciever and laughed, raising the beer Logan always shared with her, "Good luck Cyke."  
Logan walked back downstairs. She looked up. He'd changed into beat up old jeans and his classic flannel shirt over an undershirt. He walked over to her, taking the beer from her hands, "You really did miss me. You've never resorted to drinking to pass the time before."  
She glared, "It's okay. I just...I missed you a lot. And...well, it was a little easier to think I could handle it, but...yeah, obviously not."  
He leaned over and kissed her, putting the bottle down on the table. He lay her back on the couch, kissing her passionately. He drew back after a moment and she smiled, "I missed that too."  
"Come on" he said softly, scooping her up in his arms and getting off the couch, "I know something else we need to catch up on."  
She grinned, "I love you."  
He brushed a strand of her hair back, "Love you too darlin."  
She rested her head against him. Unleashing a small portion of her temper on Scott was totally worth it about now.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
For the first time in weeks, Logan awoke with the sun high in the sky.  
"Morning sleepyhead" Nikki said, running her fingers through his messy hair.  
He laughed and pulled her over to him, kissing her lovingly, "How late did I sleep?"  
"It's almost noon" she said, stroking his face.  
He lay there for a moment, "You know, it wasn't two weeks."  
"I know. But you worked like hell for two MONTHS before my birthday, and you still did, up until yesterday" she said.  
He chuckled, "I heard Scott called last night."  
Nikki grinned, "I took care of him."  
"Clearly" he said, grinning, "Thanks darlin."  
It was a quiet Sunday, just a day where they could relax. The sun was shining, really giving them an incentive to go outside and the evening looked good with the premere of a new movie that looked pretty good.  
"What are we doing?" Logan asked, sitting outside later that afternoon.  
"What?" Nikki asked, looking to him.  
"The last time I got to play house, someone came along and took that from me" he said, "It's...not the easiest thing to just accept that I can do that now."  
She moved closer to him, "Someone will always want to destroy what we have, that doesn't mean they can. We know what we're doing, and we can handle them now."  
"Do you really think it's over?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her.  
"Logan, I watched him die. It's over" she said, her mood darkening, "No one else is stupid enough to mess with us."  
Logan rubbed her arms, "Yeah, I know."  
She turned to him, "You're thinking if I'm sane or not, right?"  
"No. I'm wondering how it is you didn't have a nervous breakdown between me and our job" he joked.  
She laughed, "You wouldn't be causing me the mental breakdown sweetheart, that'd be Scott. Then you'd have to deal with a whole new Sabretooth, only you knew her when she was sane."  
Logan tackled her playfully in the grass, "Really? Then maybe miss Sabretooth should watch her back."  
He gently nipped her neck, making her grin, "You should watch your back too love, you never know when I'm going easy on you."  
She flipped him over and grinned at his shock, kissing him gently.  
Logan grinned back, "You really like this, don't you?"  
Nikki smiled, "Of course. What's better than getting to be home, spending time with my love and our family?"  
"Getting to spend time alone with you" he said, grinning mischeviously.  
"Not right now, but later. That I promise" she said, climbing off him.  
"I'll hold you to that" he said.  
They glanced over and saw Laura watching them. She covered her eyes and grinned, and Logan got up.  
"What are you going to do?" Nikki asked.  
"Threaten that thing from George Lopez. Remember, the Low Rider that played La Cucaracha when you beeped the horn?" he asked, grinning wickedly.  
"If you really do that, you will have to face me, understand?" she said.  
"Hey, I got a reputation to uphold baby, there's no way in hell I'd actually do it, just threaten it" he said, and walked off.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Elie was worried. She paced before the door, unsure wether to knock or not. She rose her hand, and quickly lowered it.  
"Elie, just come in already!" Nikki called.  
Elie walked in.  
"Hey, what's wrong?" Nikki asked.  
Elie sat down on the edge of the couch, "I don't think Connor's ready for this."  
Nikki laughed, "He's a good guy, he'll be ready when he gets into it."  
"What about Logan? Was he?" Elie asked.  
"He was fine" Nikki said, "He adjusted just fine. I was more afraid when he first knew what I was. I thought he was going to try to kill me or something. Loving the deadliest man in the world is a bit...odd sometimes."  
Elie smiled, "Do you really think Connor's ready for this?"  
"Of course he is" Nikki said, "Got a date?"  
"Today" Elie said, blushing.  
"Good job. Go rock his world chica" Nikki said, grinning.  
"Thanks Nikki" Elie grinned and walked out, happy.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Elie returned to Connor and Nikki decided to make plans of her own. It had been a long time since she'd actually seen her love relax fully, and she decided the evening was better than never.  
"Come on" she said softly, tugging on the edge of his collar as she walked by. He stood and followed her, a little confused.  
She strode out into the setting sun, dusk was starting to take it's place in the sky, turning the clouds shades of brilliant red, firey orange, gleaming yellow and calm lavender. But the clouds only reached the sides of the horizon, the sky was still a calm, clear blue. He walked behind her down the path a short distance when she stopped and turned to him.  
"I want you to remember a while back" she began, sitting down on a fallen tree trunk. "When we used to hunt together all the time. I want to do that again. If there's anyone I feel comfortable being an animal around, it's you. I know you'll stop me if I go too far. I can't hurt you, we both know that. That's why I want you to let down the humanity for a night, just go enjoy the hunt. We'll take care of that bloodlust first, and then, maybe we'll just go on a more feral hunt just for the fun of it. Or, at least track something. Do you want to?"  
He smiled, "Sure. Has it really been that long since we've hunted together?"  
She sighed, "It's been a while."  
Logan reached out, pulling her into his arms, "I'm sorry. You're right, I have been trying to keep everything under control. I was running myself ragged. I forgot about the things I loved doing, and all of them were with you. I want to go tonight, and I'll make it up to you. I promise."  
She smiled mischeviously, and Logan felt a cold chill of fear run up his spine. It was an exhilarating feeling, especially when it was Nikki that was inducing it.  
"Or" she purred, "We can hunt, and you can show me why you're the best there is at what you do." He was about to interupt when she lay a finger over his lips and continued, in a lower, softer purr, "And what you do, is so very, very nice."  
That tingle of fear ran through him again, and it took every ounce of his control not to try to kiss her, especially with her lips drawn into that sexy, sinister smile that felt like more than a challenge. She leaned over him, pinning him down against the fallen tree, and he felt himself smiling too, "I'm going to show you, that when it comes to the girls, I'm the best there is at what I do, and what I do, isn't very pretty."  
"Though you are" he countered.  
Her smile returned to normal, "Try playing those games with me after you watch me hunt. You're going to wish you were my prey." There was a promise in her voice. "By the time the night's over, I'll have tortured you to the point where you'll be begging to come back with me. Let me promise you know, lover, it's going to be a long, eventful night."  
He wasn't just feeling fear now, but so much more. He was proud of his beautiful huntress, proud to call her his soul mate, and he was strangely happy. It had the ring of a hero to it, when they hunted, but it wasn't like that. It was more like X-Force work. Heroes didn't kill, but they would. He knew she'd make blood drip off her lips and make him want her, but he could want all night, she'd never let him win. He was a little disapointed, too. He knew it was a game he could never win, not when he'd already aquired the prize. But she was so much more than a prize, she was spectacular.  
"And Logan" she said, getting off him, "I hope you don't mind getting dirty. Our feral side's taking over after our hunt." She smiled at the promise in that too, and he grinned. Hunting with her fangs was something she would win at, but when she'd let him loose in the forest, he'd win. He almost smiled at the irony, in the confines of the trees, anything could happen. He alowed the smile then, 'anything' was too broad of a word, he knew exactly what was going to happen. He was going to be the hunter, and show his mate how they hunted in the forest.  
This was certianly going to be a fun night.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
Logan stood in the doorway of the club, watching his wife lure the man over to her. He was a drunk, married, and abused his wife and kids. Logan would've killed the man if Nikki hadn't called him herself.  
He heard him laugh as he approached Nikki, and it took every ounce of his self control to puch back the red haze on his vision.  
Nikki suddenly snarled, throwing him back against the wall and draining his blood. She drew back and let the body fall to the ground of the alleyway, and he walked away from the pulsing music and scents of people. He'd taken care of some ex-mafia members giving the owners trouble, and he hadn't paid attention to how many Nikki'd taken out, but they were all male. He was starting to wonder if she was developing a sort of prejudice against human males.  
"Nice work darlin" he said huskily, gently running his finger under her lips, catching the blood that dripped off and raised his finger to his lips.  
She smiled and leaned back against the brick wall, glancing up at the sky. "Can we go into the forest now?"  
He glanced at the sky and noticed a full moon, the pale silver light cascading down to them.  
He noticed how her eyes shifted for a moment, to a wild, catlike yellow, then back to her usual green. She swayed slightly and he caught her.  
"You okay baby?" he asked softly, holding her in his arms.  
She nodded, "I need to go into the woods. I need to get away from all these people."  
She started walking off, and the lone cry of a wolf cut through the air. It wasn't Sal, or a supernatural wolf of any kind, but it sent off her feral senses. She snarled in anticipation and leapt forward, instantly in a run. He took off after her, knowing he'd have to slow her down eventually. She was running as fast as her legs could carry her, into the trees. They'd run to the city, and now she was carrying herself back the way they came, then she turned and went another direction, not toward the house. She wouldn't go there just yet.  
He watched as she shed the short crimson dress she'd worn and phased. He was secretly proud of her wolf, the beauty of her feral hunting embodied in the form of the beautiful crimson wolf that ran through the forest, an indigo streak along it's ear. He knew she'd gotten that as a result of her magic, but it made her more mysterious, beautiful in a new way.  
He slowed to follow her, to let her hunt on her own for a moment. He recognized her beautiful howl of victory and went forward. She'd taken a large buck down, an old one. Sick too, by the smell of it. She didn't let it go to waste, stepping aside and letting a pack of smaller gray wolves take the food instead. She trotted up to him, licking the blood off her nose before pressing her nose to his, her muzzle pulling back slightly in a wolfy smile. He rubbed her softly behind the ears, and she let out what sounded like a purr of approval. She grinned and shifted back, taking her clothes from his hands. He looked away, more out of torture to himself than to allow her to dress in peace. She came back to him, her hand gently cupping his cheek and she moved closer to him. He breathed in her scent, sighing.  
"Want to go next?" she asked softly.  
He smiled and shed his shirt, handing it to her, "I'll be back."  
He took off and she followed. He listened to her soft footfalls after him and grinned, the drive of the hunt was taking over, but he kept his other thoughts on his love.  
It was like the strike of a cobra, when he took down his prey. It was almost poetic. Hunter and prey, as it always was.  
Nikki was watching him, the way the blood from his kill dripping down his throat and down his chest. He growled and rose, turning to her.  
"Come here" he said, his breath ragged as he opened his arms for her.  
She ran to him and threw her arms around him, their lips connecting and a feral passion igniting between them. Suddenly, he realized how much he'd missed her. Even though he'd gotten to touch her, hold her and kiss her, it had been nothing like that. They hadn't been able to unleash their animals together for a long time.  
"I love you" she whispered against his lips.  
He reclaimed her lips, continuing her kiss and drawing back gently for a quick moment, "I love you too."  
TBC  
Chapter 7  
Logan smiled as he opened his eyes. It almost seemed impossible to believe that two days ago he'd been working 21 hour days. He looked around the room, surprised to find everything still intact. Especially the window, he was almost sure he'd broken it to get in. Nikki chuckled at his side, "I know, I'm surprised it all survived too."  
She snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, "How'd you sleep?"  
"Best sleep in months" he said, grinning, and kissed her. She sighed as his lips traveled down her neck, "I guess you did sleep well."  
He glanced up, "With you here, I always do." She pulled herself closer to him, his arms winding around her and holding her tightly to him.  
"Did you mind being here with me all this time?" she asked.  
He laughed and lightly kissed her nose, "You don't know how much I missed you. I just wanted to spend more time with you, but now I get all this time with you...it's perfect."  
There was a soft knock at the door, "Mom? Dad? Are you guys awake?" Laura asked.  
"What is it Laura?" Logan called, his eyes meeting his love's and he softly caressed her cheek.  
"Yeah, um...I think Mom should come out here...it's kind of a girl thing..." Laura said.  
Nikki flipped him over and kissed Logan very softly on the lips, "I'll be right back." She got off him, slipped on her robe and walked out. Logan propped himself up on one arm and looked after her, noticing her warm smile back to him before she slipped out of the room. He sighed and lay back, smiling at the joy of it all. It was almost 9 o'clock in the morning, and it felt like it was going to be a good morning.  
She walked back in and sighed, striding over to him and curling up against his side.  
"What?" he asked.  
"Just some...girl stuff. No big deal" she said.  
"Laura?" Logan asked.  
"No" she said, "Claudine. Pregnancy stuff."  
Logan chuckled and sighed, "Okay then."  
Nikki grinned and rested her head against his chest, "Did you mind if we just slept in today?"  
He ran his fingers through her hair, "Sure. Take as long as you want darlin."  
She smiled and listened to the calming beat of his heartbeat, her eyes closing. He kissed her very gently, "It's okay, just rest. I think you need it."  
She smiled, "We're both going to need it again tomorrow."  
He chuckled and rested back against the pillow, a few more minutes couldn't hurt...

Laura started to creak open the door. It was almost 11 and niether of them were up yet! Then she saw them, the peaceful way they were curled up together and she smiled, then eased the door closed.  
TBC  
Chapter 8  
Logan started the simulation, the droids of Purifiers rushing at him from all around. The part that was strange to his other team mates, this was his morning workout.  
Nikki was acompaning him this morning, her sinuous movements like the strike of a cobra made him even more proud of her.  
He caught her from the backswing of a strike, killing the final soldier on her side, and he kissed her. His lips pressed hotly to hers, the primal rage against their enemies had turned into passion between them.  
"Woo" Laura said softly, fanning her face, "Did it get hot in here fast or what?"  
"Laura, what are you doing?" Logan asked.  
"Oh nothing, just checking in" Laura said, sitting on the bodies before they could evaporate.  
"Go ahead Laura, it's all yours" Nikki smiled and tugged Logan out by the collar.  
He laughed when she dragged him into the hallway, "What's that about?"  
"Stopping your temper in it's tracks, how great is it that I can do that?" she asked, grinning.  
She looked at the simulated carnage of fake blood on her clothes and laughed, "I'll be back, I have to clean up."  
Logan laughed, tempted to take off his shirt and shake it out at her, but he decided against it.  
He waited downstairs for a while, listening to Laura blow up a couple things one after another, before she came out.  
"Are you waiting to corner me or something now?" she asked.  
"Nope" Logan said, "Just...thinkin'."  
Laura rolled her eyes, "Okay. Whatever."  
He noticed halfway that she hadn't gotten blown up. She'd probably been setting bombs at the underground caves in Afganistan again.  
He walked upstairs, deciding it was as good of a time as any to continue his thoughts somewhere...less morbid.

"He's not going to work like that anymore Scott" Nikki said over the phone, clearly annoyed. She'd been trying to convince Summers for a while he needed to let Logan make his own decisions, and whatever he wanted he could do, but in her opinion, though Scott wouldn't say it outloud, he was worried about his precious killing machine killing other people without his orders.  
"Nikki, he has to come back. For the good of the team" Scott said.  
"'The good of the team'? That's a load of bull$#^% and you know it!" Nikki shouted at him, exasperated. "They can handle themselves just fine without him. Now if I need to, I will change the damn number to get you to stop calling. That goes for our cell phones too."  
She hung up on Scott and growled. Half of her was so angry she wanted to go kill him, destroy the danger room, and take out half a brigade of Purifiers at the same time, and half of her was hurt and afraid. Scott didn't think she could control him the way she did. He wanted to have Logan back with them, just in case. Scott had tried to keep them apart at the beginning, who said he still wasn't trying?  
"What happened?" Daken asked, walking downstairs. She glanced over to him, and he wasn't just her step-son anymore. He was her old, reliable friend who she could count on not to spill a word she told him to anyone.  
"Scott's trying to get Logan back to everything he was doing" Nikki said, sighing, and sat down.  
He reached out, his hand hesitantly touching her shoulder, "He wants to be with us. He can be with us. If we have to go beat some sense into Summers's thick skull then we will."  
Tears streamed down her face as she hasitily wiped them away with the back of her hand, "But he's known Scott longer. They have this wierd 'you're-my-brother-in-arms-so-I'll-show-you-respect' thing going on. If Scott lied to him, told him something to turn him against me, against all of us, who said he wouldn't?"  
Daken reached out and pulled her into a loose hug, "Because I know my father. He'd want proof of anything anyone said, unless it was someone he loved. He'd never doubt you or me, but Scott, he'd want proof. He'd want hard, undebatable evidance before he'd agree to anything Scott said. They may respect each other, but there's still a helluva lot of hostility with them."  
"But what if Scott makes him choose between being a hero and being with us? Logan wants to help people. He could choose either way" Nikki sobbed.  
"No he wouldn't" Daken said softly, "He'd choose us. Hell, if he had to choose between me and you, he'd probably choose you. He loves you. You're his whole life. He'd decide based on what he could live without. He loves you, and he can't live without you. I see that. What makes you think he could?"  
"I can't" Logan said.  
They both glanced up and Logan went over to them, sitting on Nikki's other side, "You both matter to me. Next time Summers calls, let me handle him. If anything were to go down, I'd be here with all of you. That's how it would end up. If Summers is going to make me choose, then I'll pick you as my team. The X-Men are family, sure, but we'll see them around. It's not like they won't come visit sometime. But I won't pick them over my family."  
Daken half smiled, "There's the sentiment we all knew was coming."  
Nikki turned and held onto him, "Just for the record, I'd pick you too."  
The End.


	17. Part 17

**This Is Why We Have A Dog! (OS)**

"Now, let's go to the reptile house" Hank began. The kids cheered, and then Hank began to say things they didn't understand. Vincent really didn't care, he just wanted to go see some idiot fall in the lion cage like what happened last time. But last time he went to the zoo with Laura, and she'd been laughing too hard to focus on the little fight the lion and the moron got into.  
Vincent looked around the exhibits of things his friends usually had as pets. Then, he saw something that made him want to bust up laughing, or roll his eyes, he wasn't sure.  
"The Wolverine Frog?" he muttered, walking forward and looking in the window. "What's so special about you?"  
The frogs looked like pretty ordinary frogs. Hopping around, minding their own business.  
"Great, another fanboy scientist" Vincent muttered, rolling his eyes. Then, he heard the familiar 'shish' of a bone claw unsheathing, and he looked around. No other ferals were here but him, and his own claws were drawn back. Then, he looked back in the little glass room. Two frogs were fighting over a girl frog. It would've been funny, if the two frogs didn't have claws.  
"Holy crap" Vincent murmured. The big frog took a swipe at the little one, and the bright green one, the girl, he was sure, decided she'd had enough and let out her own little claw and cut the big one. He let out a small chuckle, seeing these frogs fight reminded him of the few times, (though it still happened, just not as often) Daken and Logan fought, and his Mom would get in between the two before they could kill each other.  
He looked around and saw the little screen in the glass where the frogs got fed. 'Well' he thought, 'It couldn't hurt.'  
He unsheathed a claw, lifted the screen and took the small one and the girl. The other frogs weren't paying attention, and neither was the big one. He was too busy tending to his wound from the two smaller frogs.  
Vincent slipped the two in a pocket in his backpack and shut the screen before rejoining his class.

"Mom! Dad! Laura! Guess what I got today at the zoo?!" he called when he walked inside the house.  
Nikki walked out of the kitchen, "What?"  
He opened the pocket and held out the two frogs, "They're like you and Dad, see?" He tapped the back of one's leg and a claw shot out.  
Nikki stared at it, "I think they are."  
"That's cool" Vincent said.  
Nikki took the female frog in her hand, and looked at it. It squirmed in her hand, and she barely had the time to hold it out before it unsheathed it claw.  
"She wants to go back to her mate" Nikki said, astounded.  
"Cool" Vincent grinned.  
Laura jogged downstairs, stopping, "What is that?"  
"Frogs, wanna see?" Vincent asked, holding them out.  
Laura cringed away, "Thanks, I'll pass. I don't do slimy."  
She walked by and went out the back door, not bothering to go by Vincent and the frogs.  
Sal walked downstairs with Tayla and looked at Vincent's frogs, "You know what? I just decided I don't want to know."  
"Can we keep them?" Vincent pleaded.  
"Do you know how to take care of them?" Nikki asked.  
Vincent nodded, "I read the thing that tells what they are."  
"Okay, go put them in a terrarium or something" she said, "Put them in your room, okay?"  
Vincent nodded, "Okay."  
Logan walked in from the garage to see Vincent running upstairs with the frogs and looked at Nikki, "A zoo pet?"  
She nodded.  
"This is why we have a dog" Logan muttered, walking off.  
The End  
**Alone (OS, NPOV)**

I was alone. There were different meanings of the word, and two of them applied then, where I sat on the small dock on the lake. I looked at the rippling water and relished the silence. It gave me time to think. Logan was home now, and the kids had wanted to spend some time with him, but it didn't bother me. I'd desperately wished for a moment like this. I'd needed a moment alone, to be weak and vulnerable. Because I was alone. There wasn't another person like me that existed in the whole world. That was what was terrible.  
Logan was the closest thing to anyone like me I'd ever met. My father had been like this, a crossbreed, a complete circus freak, and he was gone. It had been years. I had no revenge to lust for, no extremely power to overthrow. I'd never given much thought to what would happen after I'd finished my crusades. I could still regain the good guys' power from Osborn, but...it would be a while, and it would take a lot. That was a war for another day. I was the only one of my kind left, and my love thought he understood. He was wrong. He didn't know what it was like to be alone, really, truly alone. I knew he tried so hard to understand what I went through on my own, but...it had become different lately. I wasn't as whole, as together as I used to be. But I didn't want to be alone anymore. I wanted to have someone to talk to, someone who could make me feel like I wasn't a complete circus freak.  
"Hey" Logan said softly.  
"Hey" I whispered.  
"You got really dark there. I got worried" he said, coming over and wrapping his arms around me.  
"You were listening?" I asked. "I didn't think you used our connection anymore."  
He laughed and sighed, "Are you that mad at me? I didn't think you'd mind, sometimes I just like to know what you're thinking. Even after all this time, you still surprise me all the time."  
I laughed and put my head on his shoulder, "I can't help it. I'm the only one left. I'm part of a severely endangered species. I just want someone to take on this kind of power so I'm not the only one."  
He stroked my hair, his fingertips lightly brushing my cheek. I closed my eyes and felt the warmth of his touch. It was a feeling that in my earlier life, I'd never thought I'd experiance. He was comforting me.  
"I know you are. It doesn't matter" he whispered, "Because one day there will be someone like you. You'll tell them everything they need to know, even if you don't know all of it, and they'll be happy to know there isn't just them."  
He stopped stroking my hair and kept the slow brushing of his fingers along my cheek, "And I do try to understand you. I can't help it if you're the most unique, beautiful, kind woman in the entire universe."  
"Just the universe?" I joked.  
"Well, there are other universes of you and I. So that means that there are more of you, and if you look at it that way, then you really aren't alone" he said softly.  
Sal jogged down to us and he looked worried.  
"What's wrong?" I asked.  
"Carlisle just called. You won't believe it" he said, astounded.  
"What?" I asked.  
"A crossbreed's just been born" he said softly.  
I laughed, the joy overcame me. I wasn't alone. "Everytime I start thinking something, usually something happens to prove me wrong" I said, "My father must be having a field day screwing with me like this."  
"It's the first one in over a hundred years" Sal said, "The parents don't want it. They don't want any association with mutants. Carlisle and Tanya are taking him in."  
"Him?" I asked, "I have a baby brother?"  
Sal smiled, fear for my sanity gone, "Yeah."  
I turned and looked out at the lake again. This was that whole thing about second chances my mom always used to talk about. I had never been a good sister before, and maybe this was my chance. I'd take in my little brother and teach him everything he needed to know.  
"It's a little ironic, but guess what his name is?" Sal asked.  
"If you tell me it's Nick-" I began.  
Sal laughed, "Not that ironic! I'm just saying, since I know you'll be teaching him, it's a little, well a lot, ironic. His name's Akihiro."  
I looked at him, "Did you do that?"  
"No, he came from a Japenese family. They'd named him before they knew he wasn't human" Sal said.  
I chuckled, it was ironic, but maybe this was better than it sounded.  
"Okay. Go tell Carlisle we're going to have to work something out. He's going to have to start learning early" I said, rolling my eyes.  
Sal beamed, "Thanks Nix, I knew you'd come through."  
"Come through?" I asked, "Come through for what?"  
"Carlisle doesn't have enough room for him, but he couldn't just let him be abandoned. He wanted to know if you'd take him in" Sal said, "And you just agreed."  
I sighed, "You usually know what he's doing, why didn't you warn me he was going to do that?"  
Logan chuckled softly, "Because. I wanted you to know on your own you weren't really all that alone."  
I looked at him, "You already accepted, didn't you?"  
He smiled, "Yeah. Sorry."  
I smiled, "Don't apologize. But, this is going to be more difficult than we're used to."  
Logan smiled, "I'm up for it."  
I couldn't help but grin back, "Me too."  
The End  
**War Stories (OS)**

Laura walked in the living room with a notebook and sat down, staring at Logan and Nikki.  
Logan glanced at Nikki, who smiled, and looked at Laura, "What?"  
"I need to hear war stories for my social studies project" Laura said.  
"Cyke's class?" Logan asked.  
"Yeah...why?" Laura asked.  
"Figures. He probably wants to say how young he is compared to me" Logan said, "What'd he tell ya to find out?"  
"I need to know about World War II" Laura said.  
Logan rolled his eyes, "You already know the stories."  
"But Pixie told me you were talking about how you were in Hiroshima when the bomb dropped once, I need to know about that and I'm done" Laura said.  
Logan winced at those memories, and Nikki cut in, "You know, your father wasn't the only one in Hiroshima when the bomb dropped."  
Laura's jaw dropped, "You were both there, but you never met each other?"  
"I was in the city part of Hiroshima. Logan was in the more rural area on the edges of town. Still, the bomb leveled everything" Nikki said.  
"So what happened?" Laura asked, scooting closer.  
"I was in Hiroshima because of the war. Back then, they didn't do too thorough inspections on people, so I put in under an alias and went into war. I'd been following someone, keeping him alive for a while, so I had to follow him into war when he'd been drafted" Nikki began, "He was in the Sixth regiment, American military. He wasn't the smartest in war, he needed a team, but he was a stratigist. He knew what he was doing. Our brigade had been attacked outside of town and we ran. We were the only two to survive. We ran into the city, and people weren't exactly noticing us. We were going to bunker down in a little store when I heard it drop. I looked up and saw it in the sky, and I just pulled him by the collar and ducked into the nearest building. It dropped and I was pretty sure we were both dead. The whole building collapsed, the whole area was totally leveled. The worst part was that the bomb site was so close, and we were lucky compared to everyone else. It had been an apartment building before it got knocked over, and a lot of people were dead. As it was, we were incredibly lucky. I was closest to the blast, I should've died, but because of my healing factor I didn't. He ended up with radiation poisioning and had to take off a leg, but he survived it. The worst part was, to escape being found out, I had to disappear. I gave him pretty much everything I had, and what little I did take I ran into the rural areas with."  
"Did you guys cross paths?" Laura asked, interested.  
"We might've" Nikki said, "I did pass a few places on my way out, but that wasn't the only time I had to disappear. I made it to Nagasaki to see it get bombed not too long later. Then, I just sort of gave up. I made it a few towns over, near Tokyo and I hid out. I was sort of waiting to die. But...it never came. So I set up a small base, tried to contact him. Couldn't get through. I got out of there though, hid out on a medivac to Canada. Once we got there, I jumped out and headed out."  
Laura gaped, "Damn. Who was that guy though?"  
"Kaleb Young. He's still alive, living in Florida" Nikki said.  
"Wow. You saved a guy from an atomic bomb. And got blown up twice. Damn" Laura said.  
"You think that's bad, listen to your father's Vietnam stories. To this day I still can't hear details on that" Nikki said.  
Logan wrapped his arm around her, "I made it out alive, didn't I?"  
"Ugh, don't tell me, I don't want to know" Nikki said, putting her hands over her ears.  
Logan laughed and kissed her cheek, "I won't torture you darlin. Not yet, anyway."  
The End  
**Crossbreeds**

Chapter 1  
Logan waited outside the house in Chicago, when Nikki walked outside.  
"Wanna meet Akihiro?" she asked, the smile dawning on her beautiful features.  
Logan reached out and brushed his fingers along the baby's cheek, "He's adorible."  
He stared up at them with strange colored eyes, like a faded crimson mixed with gold into a beautiful color like hard amber, the brownish orange almost glowing. He smiled and reached out, touching the back of Logan's hand.  
Logan looked over at Nikki, her eyes were wide with that loving wonder that took place every time she saw a little child. She may have been one of the most brutal killers he'd ever seen, but she had the kindest gentleness around children.  
"Are you both going so soon?" Carlisle asked.  
"We really should get him home and let the kids adjust to having him. This is just between us, isn't it Carlisle?" Nikki asked, "No one else knows?"  
"No. Edward took care of even the parent's memories. As far as they know, they had complications and lost the baby" Carlisle said, remorse in his tone.  
"You had to do what you had to do to keep him safe" Nikki said, her gaze returning to Akihiro, who was playing with a strand of her hair in facination.  
"Take care of him" Carlisle said softly, his voice thick.  
Nikki walked over to him, "He'll be back. After all, he has to come visit Grandpa too, you know."  
Carlisle smiled, "I'm too young to be a grandfather."  
"Great-grandfather" Logan corrected, "And we're too young to be grandparents. Let's just keep pretending Carlisle, and we'll all stay sane."  
Nikki chuckled and the baby in her arms cooed at the sight of her hair in the sun, how it almost seemed to glow like bloody fire.  
Logan smiled, "Ready?"  
Nikki returned the bright smile, "As we'll ever be. Let's just hope the rest of the world is."  
Logan rolled his eyes, "It's a good thing we live pretty far away from people then."  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Nikki sighed and gave up. Akihiro was sitting on the floor of the danger room, his little arms crossed across his chest, and a scowl/pout was on his small lips. There were dents in the metal where he'd slammed it with his little fists, and Nikki had given up on trying to control him and lay down, her head ringing.  
Akihiro stopped pouting and crawled over to her, sitting down by her side. He put his little hand against her face and showed her with his magic, like he'd seen Renesmee do before, what he wanted. He wanted her to sit up and start playing again.  
"No honey, it's not a game" Nikki sighed, barely able to sit up.  
Akihiro pouted and lay down, curling up against her side and whimpered. He put his hands on her face and showed her how sorry he was.  
"It's okay." She whispered, brushing her fingers through his short black hair.  
Logan chuckled in the doorway, "Giving up already?"  
Akihiro showed her how he wanted to play with Logan instead. "Don't break him" Nikki warned, and Akihiro sat up, patting the floor near him.  
Logan walked over and lifted him up, stroking his hair and gently rocking him, "Give us a break, okay?"  
Akihiro's eyes drooped. He yawned, stretched, and stuck his thumb in his mouth before his eyes closed. Nikki sat up and tugged his thumb out of his mouth. He lay against Logan's shoulder and slept.  
"How did you do that?" Nikki asked.  
Logan laughed, "He got worn out."  
Nikki smiled, "Yeah, because he beat the crap out of me. He likes you better."  
Logan sighed, "He loved you, and you know it. When I'm with him, all he can do is ask for you."  
"Yeah, because he wants his personal punching bag back" Nikki said, rubbing her side.  
Logan chuckled, "He's a boy. You know how they are. They're strong, and especially him. He loves to roughhouse. It's a good thing, he'll be a strong fighter one day."  
"Oh great. Now we're worrying about that" Nikki said, rolling her eyes.  
Logan reached out and stroked her cheek, "Relax. Do you mind if I take care of him?"  
She sighed, "Sure. I need a minute anyway."  
Logan carried Akihiro into the living room, setting him down gently. "Can I watch him?" Tayla asked.  
"Don't do anything" Logan said cautioningly.  
Tayla sighed, "I won't. But can I?"  
"Sure" Logan said.  
Tayla stared at Akihiro's little, sleeping form. Vincent walked in, playing his video game loudly, and Tayla ran over and turned the volume down all the way.  
"Hey!" Vincent protested.  
Tayla cut him off, "Shh! Aki's sleeping."  
Vincent walked over and looked down, "I don't see what's so special about him."  
Akihiro yawned in his sleep and Vincent glanced to Tayla, who was 'aww'-ing.  
"Okay, I admit it. He's kinda cute" Vincent said.  
"I knew you'd like him eventually" Tayla grinned.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
"What do you mean you can't tell me?!" Scott shouted.  
"It's not your business Cyke, now if you'll excuse us, we have a life to get back to" Logan snarled and hung up the phone.  
"He's being a real pain in the $$ again, isn't he?" Nikki asked, rolling her eyes. She held baby Akihiro in her arms while he drank blood from a bottle.  
Logan sighed, "Isn't Cyke always?"  
Nikki looked away, stifling a laugh, and instead watched the baby drink. He had small fangs, not very sharp, but they'd grow. And as for what magic he had, wasn't beyond being used for his own entertainment, and means of communication. He wasn't lycan, that was one of the few differences between him and Nikki, and they had no honest idea what his power was going to be, since he was X-gene positive.  
"You know, Emma's been telling me some pretty disturbing things" Nikki said, "It's got me worried."  
"What?" Logan asked, looking at her.  
"About how they want X-gene positive females put on birth control. How they don't want a replay of Hope. If only they knew someone who could cause so much more havoc and distruction than her existed, maybe they'd take these usless ideas away" she said, rocking Akihiro gently in her arms.  
Logan sighed, "Darlin-"  
"I know" she said, "But he's not ours. One day he'll go with Carlisle, be a part of that family, but after we can teach him about his vampire side, and his magic. Then when his mutation develops they'll leave that to the Professor."  
"I think Carlisle would let you keep him" Logan said, brushing his fingers through Akihiro's short hair.  
"But I couldn't. You saw how broken up Carlisle was when we had to take him. We can't keep him from them, they're going to be his actual family."  
Logan sighed, "One day things are going to be different, I know. Laura's growing up, Daken's actually thinking of moving out, and then it'll just be you, me, Vincent, Tayla and Sal, but he doesn't count."  
Nikki chuckled.  
"They probably won't pass that anyway. That's like telling humans they can't have a baby. What makes you think they won't anyway? It's like China and the whole 'one child' policy back then. You don't think women had more than one kid just because they wanted to?" Logan said, leaning over and rubbing her shoulders.  
"It just makes me wonder..." she said in a small voice, "What are they going to do to kids who are mutants, or will be mutants? What happens to them? This is exactly what the X-Men are against, and they're just letting it happen."  
Tears gathered in her eyes and Logan stroked her face gently, "Listen to me, nothing's going to happen. If I have to go down to the White House myself and tell the president it ain't happening, then I will. But nothing is going to happen to any kid just because of what they are. No one can tell anybody else how to live their life. Given, the whole murdering thing, but everything else seems okay if it's justifiable."  
Nikki laughed ruefully, "My parents were told they couldn't have a child together. Because my mom was part Moroi, and my dad was the immortal kind of vampire, what they called Strigoi. She didn't care, but it really hurt when it was used against my dad. That's why I'm part of the reason he's dead."  
Logan wrapped his arms around her, kissing her hair softly and rubbing her back, "That's a load of bull$#^% and you know it. You didn't do anything, you were a damn toddler! By the time that was happening you were probably just getting potty trained."  
Nikki giggled and sighed, "You really don't think so?"  
"Darlin, I think the old president would've passed that one, but this new guy, he's got two little daughters, a wife, and he knows that if his kids were mutant like us he'd still be their father before a president. But if he needs a little incentive, I'll make sure you get an oppertuinity to talk to him" Logan said, leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.  
"Do you really mean that?" she whispered.  
"Nobody tells my woman what she can and can't do" he replied, holding her against his side.  
"So...Daken's thinking of moving out? Where?" she asked.  
"That big mansion in Panama, just for a while though. I can gaurentee he'd be back in about a month, pullin' a tough guy act even though he really missed us" Logan said.  
"Hm, I seem to remember a certian superhero fixing a fight so he could get caught to be with the supervillianess he was in love with" Nikki said, grinning.  
"Can't help it darlin, you've always been irisistable" he said, kissing her lightly.  
She laughed and rested against his side, "Irisistible, huh?"  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
They were working today. Logan smiled at the thoughts of half his hours and more time off at home with his family.  
"Logan?" Emma asked, walking in.  
"Hey Em. What's goin' on?" he asked, sitting up.  
"I think you need to go to DC" Emma said in a small voice, "The advisor's been suggesting it all morning. Logan, please. I...it's not just that I want what's best for the world, but I do, it's just..."  
"You want the option" Logan said.  
"How'd you know?" she asked.  
"Because. Nikki was saying the same thing yesterday. She wanted the option of being a mother again one day, and not having that taken from her. I get there are easier ways, say movin' to Madripoor or something, but I get that it's something that could come up" Logan said.  
"You both actually live in Canada though" Emma said.  
"I know, but we live here too. Nobody deserves to get their options taken away from them" Logan said.  
Emma smiled lightly, "Will you do it? Please?"  
"Sure, but I want to be the one to tell Nikki I did it myself" he said.  
Emma made a motion to lock her lips and toss away the key, "My lips are sealed."  
Logan smiled and walked off, going to the jet. He was going to do essentially what Nikki had done when the old president was in office, when she got better rights for Native Americans. If Silver Fox would've been alive for that, that would've made her and Nikki best friends, probably. He was going to go in there, talk it over, and 'suggest' that it wasn't the best idea to pass this one.

Not too long later-

The two girls were staring, mouth agape at Wolverine, sitting in a chair outside the oval office.  
"W-Wolverine?" the younger of the two asked.  
He smiled warmly, "Hey."  
"C-can I have your autograph?" she asked.  
Her sister was just staring at him, "I didn't know superheroes could talk to the president."  
Logan chuckled, "We can. Ususally we don't, but I'm just going by the book here."  
"Wolverine?" the secretary asked, "President Obama will see you now."  
He smiled at the two girls and they glanced at each other and squeeled as he walked in.  
"Hello Wolverine. What can I do for you?" President Obama asked.  
"It's about the act against mutant births" Logan said.  
"Ah. I thought we'd hear something civil about it, so far there's been some riots, but...nothing civil, until now. What about it?" the President asked.  
"You shouldn't pass it" Logan said, "There are other things the X-Men, and other teams like them, could do. We could expand cerebro, find the mutants before they're even born and protect them. The whole reason for that attack in Alaska was because some people wanted to kill that baby. Nothing would've happen if they hadn't found out, and we can keep it covered."  
The President sat and thought for a moment, "I like that idea. Do you think people like the Fantastic Four could handle one side of the country on their own?"  
Logan smiled, "So you're not passing it?"  
"Not since I've heard that idea. That has to be the best idea I've heard on the mutant births yet. I'll go with that, if you don't mind" the President asked.  
"Go ahead. It's better this way" Logan said.  
"By the way, I'm just curious, but why did you, of all the heroes, come to me about this?" the President asked.  
"My wife was getting nervous. So were a lot of other women. They want the option of being a mother. I don't want people denied their options" Logan said.  
President Obama smiled, "I'd do the same in your place. Thank you Wolverine."  
"No, thank you Mr. President" Logan said.  
"I understand you're not very civil with government, why with me?" the President asked.  
"Because, you aren't lying. Most of them lie and cover it up. You're not like that. Not like them. That's a good thing" Logan said, walking out.  
The President sat there for a moment and smiled, "I just talked to Wolverine. And he didn't get angry. I must be making some progress."  
"You are" Logan called back. "Especially now."  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
The next day, the buzz at Graymalkin Industries was about the President's decision. Laura was holding Akihiro in her arms, bouncing him lightly on her hip.  
"Let's hope this is good" Armor whispered to Pixie.  
Nikki was standing up front around the TV with Emma, Scott, Logan and the Professor.  
"My fellow Americans" the President began, speaking to the crowd that was silenced with suspence, "I've vetoed the act against mutant births. I was told by a very reliable source, who shall remain nameless, that the whole reason for the Alaska incident was because of a group of rogue purifiers. I assure you, they will be tried and brought to justice. As for the mutant births, look around you. Do you not see superheroes? They are mutants, and if a young child, identified as a mutant, becomes one of them someday, wouldn't you want to help that child grow to be whoever he or she would want to be? Maybe a doctor, or a lawyer, or even that neighbor that helps you when you're carrying too many grocieries. Mutants are just humans with gifts that should be embraced. Like humans with talents, maybe yours is to write, or draw, or whistle bird calls, mutants can do other things. They should be treated as equals, and my new law states that any discrimination against mutants will be illegal. Anyone found behind discrimination will be tried and jailed. Thank you, that will be all."  
The press shouted questions, but the president turned and returned to his work in the oval office.  
"Well I'll be damned" Nikki said, shaking her head, "That really just happened."  
She turned to Logan, the pure shock still plain in her eyes, and then the cheering began. People took off their hats and threw them in the air, others started dancing with joy. Nikki laughed and walked over to his side, "It's like Oz after they killed the witch."  
Logan chuckled, "More like the day he won the election."  
Nikki laughed and looked at him, "You had something to do with that, didn't you?"  
Logan smiled, "You know me too well darlin."  
He opened his arms and she grinned, throwing herself into his arms and crushing their lips together.  
"Thank you" she whispered, her voice thick.  
"I love you, I'd do anything for you" he whispered, kissing her gently.  
"Dad, you did have something to do with that? What'd you do?" Daken asked.  
"Talked to him. You'd be surprised how different this guy is from Fury. With Fury, you gotta threaten him to get your way, this guy, I actually got a chance to be civil" Logan said.  
"You? Civil? Seriously?" Daken asked.  
Logan laughed, "I know. It's a change."  
"Big one" Daken said, grinning.  
Scott walked over, "I have to say it Logan, well done. I guess I really don't need to be part of all the decisions. You did good on your own."  
Logan nodded, "Thanks."  
Scott turned and Logan shouted after him, "Hey!"  
Scott turned back and Logan smiled, "You too."  
Nikki smiled and snuggled against his side, "Is this a new side to the big bad Wolverine we're seeing?"  
Logan's arms tightened around her, "Nope." He leaned in and kissed her passionately while the cheering in the background continued.  
The End...for now.  
**A Walk On The Wild Side (OS)**

The piercing glow of the summer moon was beautiful, especially over the grassy land. It was one of the most perfect nights in the whole summer to hunt, and they were going to take the oppertunity.  
This was Logan's favorite part of the summer, when they would go hunting together and spend the whole night in the forest. When they would track, hunt, and spend a little time walking on the wild side.  
Nikki disappeared from his sight and he looked around, "Nikki?"  
He heard the rustle of leaves overhead and looked up, in time to feel someone jump on his back, "I win baby."  
Nikki kissed the base of his throat and her arms wrapped around his neck, holding herself against his back.  
"Oh you're such a scary little monster" Logan purred, reaching behind himself and pulling her forward.  
She squeeled and laughed as he swung her around so her legs were wrapped around his waist and her arms clung to his neck. He laughed and lowered his lips to hers, lightly brushing his lips against hers.  
He ran his fingers through her soft crimson waves, brushing the indigo strand back. He trailed his fingertips along her cheekbefore slipping down her throat.  
She sighed and rested against him. He sighed and unwrapped her legs from around his waist. He sat her down on a rock and sat beside her, kissing a soft path down her throat.  
She sighed, "Come on baby, that all you got?"  
He grinned, "I'm just gettin' started darlin'."  
Nikki grinned evily and jumped up, "Only if you can catch me."  
She disappeared into the trees and Logan laughed, he'd walk on the wild side with her more often!  
The End  
**Listening To Your Heart (OS, NPOV)**

I was smiling as the rain poured down. It was a beautiful day, to me at least. I'd walked outside and stood, just enjoying the feel of the rain on my skin. It wasn't a light rain either, but a true downpour, and I loved it. The water was soothing. It was almost like an element thing, fire versus water.  
Logan walked outside and wrapped his arms around me, "What are you doing out in the rain?"  
I turned and smiled at him, his eyes were bright, "I like the feeling of the rain."  
He grinned and leaned down to me, pressing his lips to mine in a slow, gentle kiss.  
"Come inside" he whispered against my lips, "Dry off. The kids will be home soon."  
I smiled and walked in with him. He twirled me around and let me sit on the couch, "What did you want to do?"  
He grinned, "I want to do something I don't usually do. But you can't tell anyone I did this, because it would destroy my reputation. Not even MJ, or Sue, or anyone, okay?"  
"Okay, sure" I said, confused for a moment before I realized exactly what he was getting at, "You're going to sing for me?"  
He led me up the stairs and sat down on the window seat to our room, taking an old acoustic gutiar out, "Yeah."  
I smiled and sat there, waiting for him to begin. He glanced at me, seeing the water dripping off my hair, the light smile on my lips, it was like when we'd first met. When our love had been forbidden.  
He smiled back and sang to me,  
"Would you dance if I asked you to dance?  
Would you run and never look back?  
Would you cry if you saw me cryin'?  
And would you save my soul tonight?  
Would you tremble if I touched your lips?  
Would you laugh, oh please tell me yes?  
Or would you die, for the one you love?  
Hold me in your arms tonight  
I can be your hero baby  
I can kiss away the pain  
I will stand by you forever  
You can take my breath away  
Would you swear that you'll always be mine?  
Or would you lie, would you run and hide?  
Am I in too deep?  
Have I lost my mind?  
I don't care, you're here tonight  
I can be your hero baby  
I can kiss away the pain  
I will stand by you forever  
You can take my breath away  
Ooh, I just wanna hold you, I just wanna hold you  
Am I in too deep?  
Have I lost my mind?  
I don't care, you're here tonight  
I can be your hero baby  
I can kiss away the pain  
I will stand by you forever  
You can take my breath away  
I can be your hero  
I can kiss away the pain  
I will stand by you forever  
You can take my breath away  
You can take my breath away  
I can be your hero."  
I felt my eyes fill with the familiar tears of joy that accompanied any thoughts of Logan showing me how much he loved me.  
"Oh Logan" I whispered. I'd only heard him sing at very rare intervals in the whole time I'd ever met him, and only one other time had it been to me. I could count the whole three times he'd sang in the past few years. But this had to be the single most beautiful way his voice was ever used.  
He reached out, pulling me into his arms and stroking my hair, pressing his cheek against my head, "You liked it?"  
I scoffed, "You're perfect, why wouldn't I like it?"  
He chuckled and lowered his lips to mine, "No, I'm not perfect. You are."  
He brushed away a tear that threatened to fall from my eyes and I smiled at his antics. I felt that pang of jelous pain hit my heart.  
"What?" he asked.  
"Same old Logan" I whispered, hopelessness washing over me. If he could have ever been a lethal killing machine, and evolved into this sweet, perfect being, then it was because he was so much better than me. Why did he love me when I was so far from the perfection he was?  
He gently guided my face up, brushing away my tears, "Stop that. You are perfect. Don't even think of yourself that way."  
"Only to you" I whispered, "And some day you might see through that and realize I'm not everything you thought I was."  
He put his hand over my mouth to cut off my protests, "You always will be. You don't realize how bewitchingly beautiful you are, do you? How graceful, and magnificent, and perfect? You're sweet, gentle and caring. How anyone like you could ever kill is beyond me, but you have strength and power I can't even imagine. You don't see yourself very clearly. When I was first with you, when I worried about accidentally stabbing you from the nightmares, I thought I was an animal. You stopped me before I could run out, you told me I wasn't an animal, and I believed you. Now you have to believe me when I say you are the single most perfect being in my whole universe. Do you understand?"  
I laughed and threw my arms around his neck, pulling myself tighter to him, "Of course I do." I nuzzled his throat and sighed, "Thanks. I think I needed that."  
He gently guided my face up again, "Just like I did once."  
He leaned down, smiling, and pressed his lips to mine passionately.  
Vaguely, in the distance, forgotten thunder boomed.  
The End  
(A/N- That song was 'I can be your hero' by Enrique Iglasias)  
**Escape From Weapon X (AU L/N)**

Chapter 1  
Logan growled, his animal taking over as the guards threw him into the dark room. He lunged, about to kill the first man he saw, when the door slammed shut in his face.  
He let out a loud snarl and clawed at the door.  
"It won't work, I already tried" a soft, distinctly female voice said.  
Logan turned and saw her. She was in the corner, her hair falling partly over her eyes as she sat there, scratching shapes onto the wall. His animal side faded back upon noticing her, but now it had come back, merely curious of her.  
She let out a soft warning growl as he approached. He retracted his claws and stopped at her side. She didn't look up, and he sat beside her. She was beautiful, or by what he could make of her as she huddled in the corner. She clearly wasn't comfortable with him there. He brushed a lock of her crimson hair back, taking in her scent with a small sniff.  
She stiffened and turned to him, unleashing the full animalistic fire of her silver and green eyes on him. He let out a calming purr, gently touching her cheek, showing her he wasn't a threat to her.  
She turned and looked at him, and a moment of wordless communication passed through them.  
"Are you an animal, or who are you?" she asked, keeping her voice soft.  
"Logan" he said softly, "You?"  
She smiled, and he liked it, "Nikki. Welcome to Weapon X, or as some of us experements call it, Rock Bottom."  
He chuckled and found that spending time with her was calming his animal side, and pleasing him too.  
"How'd you get here?" he asked, "What can you do?"  
She sent down her claws, wincing slightly, "They just put the metal on me. It hurt like hell, just about went animal from it too. But I kept control. Most of the others, they don't get experemented on half as bad, and they still loose their minds. Mostly from the dark. When night really sets, you'll hear all this screaming...they don't want to be alone in the dark. You can hear them up and down the halls, in the cellblock. It's terrible."  
"Where are we?" he asked.  
"Northern Canada. Close to Alaska maybe. But right here, we're under the cell block. You can hear them all night. It helps just to ignore them" she said.  
"Why are you hiding from me? I won't hurt you" he whispered, brushing his lips along her collarbone.  
She shied away and blushed, looking at the wall, "I know, I'm just...I don't like having people touch me."  
He reached out and took her face in his hands, turning her to look at him, "Listen to me. I will not hurt you, and I promise, if I do touch you, I will be gentle." He slowly stroked her face from hairline to chin and she closed her eyes.  
"Why don't you want people touching you?" he asked.  
She opened her eyes and they were full of sadness, "I only let people I care about touch me. I can't have attatchments here, just in case..."  
He stopped her, leaning close and pressing his forehead against hers, "Shh, it's okay. You can be attatched to me, I won't let anything happten to you, and nothing can happen to me."  
She trembled as she reached up, her hands resting on either side of his face. He wrapped his arms around her and pressing her to his chest. She took a deep, shaky breath and stroked his cheek slowly, "Can I ask you something?"  
"Anything" he whispered.  
"Escape with me" she whispered, drawing back and staring into his eyes.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Logan sat with her and talked to her softly, when the loud cries started.  
Nikki huddled closer to him, putting her hands over her ears, "I told you."  
Logan ran his fingers through her hair, "Just ignore it."  
Gunshots rang out and the screaming, all of it, stopped. Logan was curious, but Nikki trembled against his side, "They're coming for us next."  
Logan pulled her up and held her against his side, "This is our chance. We can get out of here."  
"It's not that easy" she began.  
He pulled her against his chest, lowering his lips to hers in a passionate kiss, cutting off her explanation.  
He drew back and she touched her lips softly, shock the only emotion she showed, "I'll lead. When they shoot at me, you get past and get out. I'll cover you, and I'll follow you."  
He kissed her lips again very softly, nipping on her lower lip very softly before she melted to him, kissing him back more than willingly.  
Logan sighed and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her tighter against him.  
They heard the footsteps and Logan drew back, "I'll protect you."  
The doors opened and one of the doctors walked in. Logan pushed Nikki behind him and growled at her.  
"Relax Mister Logan, we won't hurt either of you. You two are the only surviving experements now. Keep it this way, and maybe you'll survive this" she said, walking forward, "I don't know how much I can do, but I'll try to make this better for both of you. I mean that."  
She reached out, about to touch Logan when Nikki growled. The woman looked at them and left.  
Logan turned to her and finally took in her appearance. She had slight muscle under soft, pale skin. He wondered if it was from the lack of light here, or if it was natural. Her hair and eyes were beautiful and bright against her pale skin.  
"It's okay" he whispered, walking forward.  
She went up to him and threw her arms around his neck, pressing a soft kiss to his throat. "Are you okay?" she whispered.  
He chuckled and unlocked her arms from around his neck, looking into her eyes. He held her face in his hands, "I'm fine. Don't worry."  
She sighed, her whole body trembling for a moment before she collapsed against him, "Oh Logan..."  
He tugged her into his arms, cradling her against him and kissed her lips very softly, "We can still escape."  
"W-what?" she asked, looking at him.  
"The security left with her. We have a chance" he whispered.  
"Okay" she nodded, "Let's go."  
He held her behind him as they eased out the doors. Logan glanced around, they usually weren't that sloppy, but it was always possible.  
He took her hand and ran, looking for any scent that could be associated with the outdoors. Then the smelled it, snow and animal. Even if they got out to the pens, they could still cut through the fence and get out to the actual wild.  
They came upon a different exit, a door straight out to a driveway.  
Logan glanced to her and she smiled back, and ran outside with her. The cold air rushed into their lungs and Nikki laughed breathlessly.  
They ran into the trees, letting the foliage take over. When the dawn started breaking, Logan realized just how far they'd run. It was very, very green. The snow had faded not too long back, and if it was even possible, they had run all the way across the country.  
When he slowled, she dropped to the grassy ground, panting. He looked down at her and sunk to her side, "Are you okay?"  
She nodded, "Damn you run fast."  
He smiled and stroked her cheek, laying beside her. He turned her and wrapped his arms around her, tugging her onto his chest.  
She sighed and kissed his chest, snuggling closer to him.  
"Cold?" he asked.  
She nodded, still breathless.  
He lifted her in his arms, careful of her, and started walking.  
"Where are we going?" she asked.  
"Anywhere. Somewhere we can hide out, get you warm again" he said, kissing her forehead softly.  
Logan heard the growling and put her down behind him. She sat up, "Logan, don't."  
The wolves lunged out of the trees, snarling and Logan's claws came down, "Baby, I don't think I have a choice."  
He reached behind her, keeping close to her in case he had to defend her.  
The wolves snarled and Logan growled back, the full on snarl making the wolf falter.  
"Logan" she whispered, fear in her scent.  
Logan snarled again, louder this time, and the wolves backed off, realizing they wanted to keep their tails.  
He turned and lifted her up again, "Come on. Wolves can be scavengers. That means we're close."  
She snuggled into his chest and he slowly rubbed her lower back, hushing her. He smiled widely, "We found it."  
She looked up and saw the cabin, it wasn't big, but it was good enough.  
He took her inside and put her down on the couch, covering her with a blanket, "Stay here for a second. I'll start a fire."  
He took the firewood and lit it, bringing more firewood in and letting it sit beside the fireplace. He shut the door and brought her off the couch, wrapping her tighter in the blanket, and sat in front of the fire with her.  
She shivered in his arms and reached out, rubbing her hands together in the warmth.  
"Better?" he asked.  
She nodded, "Thanks Logan."  
He set her down very gently and went into another room. He brought her clothes and another blanket.  
"This was the best I could do" he said, "Looks like it's just a guy that lives here."  
She took the blanket and looked at him, "Put on the shirt for a while, get your scent on it. Then I'll put it on."  
He smiled and did as she asked, before getting some food out of the kitchen. She stared at the food for a moment and glanced back to him.  
"Go ahead" he said.  
"What'll you eat?" she asked, looking back to him.  
"Whatever else is in the kitchen. Come on, eat" he said, kissing her very softly.  
She nodded and lifted a small cupcake to her lips, taking a small bite.  
He laughed, "Eat, I don't care how you look, I can tell you're hungry."  
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck in encouragement.  
She sighed and held something out to him, wrapped in a silvery wrapper, "I'd feel better if I knew you were eating too."  
He took it, opened it, and ate whatever was inside too fast to really taste it.  
She smiled, "That's better."  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Logan watched Nikki's huddled form as she slept. He'd wrapped her in the shirt much earlier, and he found it hard to sleep around her. He wanted to watch her sleep, listen to each soft breath that he found so calming. He brushed a lock of her hair back that had fallen over her face and pressed a light kiss to her throat. What were they going to do now? He wasn't even sure they had anything to go back to, neither of them remembered their lives anymore.  
She turned and her arm wrapped around his neck. He let her curl up against him, resting her cheek against the base of his throat. He inhaled deeply, taking in her warm scent. She smelled so good. He lay intertwined with her for, he didn't know how long, but eventually, her eyes fluttered open. She yawned and stretched before realizing she was next to him, "What are we doing today?"  
He shrugged, "I was hoping you had a plan."  
She shrugged and stood. He almost laughed at how far down the shirt came on her. It fit on her like a dress, almost going down to her knees.  
He smiled and walked after her, she turned back and her lower lip jutted slightly in a small pout.  
"What?" he asked.  
"You're wearing pants" she said, confused.  
He laughed out loud at that, her confused expression making him laugh even harder, "You were pouting when you said that. I get the impression you like it better when I'm naked?"  
She blushed and looked down, "Maybe."  
He stopped laughing and realized that it was a very strong possibilty that she felt the same intense way about him that he felt about her.  
"Do you want me now, or for good?" he asked, gently guiding her face up by her chin.  
She stared directly into his eyes and whispered, "Forever."  
He couldn't take it anymore. Her wide, beautiful eyes and the soft expression of sadness, like she wasn't sure if he felt the same way...it drove him crazy. He wanted desperately to know what she was thinking. He covered her lips with his own, pulling her against his chest and holding her to him. Her fingers twined in his hair, locking their lips together. He sighed, her lips had the same warm sweetness her scent had. She held onto him, keeping their lips cemented together. He lifted her in his arms, pressing her back against the wall. He reached to undo the top button on her shirt when they both heard the oncoming flight of low helicopters.  
"$#^%" she cussed, breathless.  
He chuckled softly and heard the approaching sounds, "They might have heat sensors. Come on, we'll get underground."  
He pulled her hand and led her into the stone basement.  
She faltered at the door.  
"Nikki, come on" he said softly.  
"I can't" she whispered, fear making her scent cloying. Her heartbeat raced. "I can't go down there."  
He gripped her wrist and tugged her down, shutting the door behind them and quickly pushed her onto an old mattress. He jumped off the stairs to land at her side and she let out a soft growl, her claws ripping out to lunge at him.  
He let her pin him against the old mattress, "Why did you do that?"  
"Because I wasn't about to let your fear get you killed" he said honestly.  
She faltered and he gripped her upper arms, turning her so now she was under him, "Just be quiet and they'll pass over us."  
They waited in still silence, both of them incredibly aware of the other. When it was clear the helicopters had passed without stopping, the danger was clear, then she growled and shoved him off, "I'm out of here."  
"Wait" he said, catching her arms. "Why? Where'll you go?"  
"Anywhere" she said, trying to break free from his grasp.  
He gave a light tug and her knees gave out, dropping her onto his lap. She stared at him in shock and he chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to her exposed collarbone, "Now, what were you saying?"  
A shiver ran up her spine and she snarled, "Let me go."  
"Why?" he asked, showering her neck with kisses.  
"Because that was uncalled for. Why do you treat me like I can't take care of myself?!" she growled and shoved him back.  
"I don't" he said, "I know you're capable of killing, hell, probably more than me, but I want to protect you."  
She scoffed, "Me? Why me? What's so 'innocent' about me?"  
He growled and flipped her over, pinning her wrists to the mattress so she couldn't move, "I love you. I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe, to keep you away from them. Do you understand?"  
She stopped her struggles and protests and stared at him, "You love me?"  
"More than anything" he whispered.  
She arched up and crushed her lips to his, trying to find purchase to get herself up. He gently lowered her back down, drawing back, "Just wait."  
She chuckled, "Why should I?"  
"Because" he said, "I don't know what's between us, but-"  
"I love you too" she said.  
"What?" he asked.  
"I know you wanted to hear it, I wanted to say it. I love you. So much" she whispered, stroking his cheek.  
"Show me" he said, leaning into her hand.  
She sat up, smiling beautifully, "I thought you'd never ask."  
He reconnected their lips, and all thoughts of danger were gone.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Night had fallen again and Logan smiled as he abesently stroked her hair by the comfort of the warm fire. She lay in his arms, her head resting on his chest, "So where does this leave us?"  
He chuckled and kissed her head, "We're mates. We travel together already. We can keep going, or we can find somewhere and try to live our lives."  
She sighed and looked at him, "Do you really love me?"  
He took her face in his hands, slowly stroking the curves of her lips, "More than anything. More than my own life."  
She drew back as if she were electricuted, "Don't say that!"  
He pulled her back into his arms, "Shh, it's okay. Don't worry. I won't leave you, ever. I'll protect you."  
His words soothed her and she nestled against his chest again, focusing on the soothing feeling of his fingers running through her hair.  
"You don't regret this, do you?" he asked.  
She looked up, "No, why would I?"  
"Because, you seemed so angry with me and then...it just sort of happened" he said.  
She sighed and sat up, "I meant it when I said I love you. I love you more than anything too. Even more than my own life. But I can say it. What I do remember, what they let me keep..it proves I didn't live much. I did have a loving family, once. They didn't erase all of my memories, just the more recent ones. After I left home I went to hell. I'm not a good person Logan, and I know I wasn't when I got to Weapon X. What makes a sweet, loving, selfless, perfect man like you love someone like me?"  
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her down onto him, softly pressing kisses to her neck, "Because I love you. You are sweet, you are beautiful, you are perfect in every way to me. I get that your dangerous, so am I, big deal. I'd rather have your claws in my back because you lost control from what I was doing to you, than have you hate me."  
She blushed and turned away, "Sorry about that."  
He chuckled and his lips brushed her own, "It was worth it."  
"You want to know what makes a serious woman relax?" he asked.  
"What?" Nikki asked, half expecting another innuendo.  
He started tickling her, "This."  
She laughed out loud and squirmed, thrashing half heartedly, "Stop it!"  
He lifted her up, pressing her to his chest, "See? It worked."  
She laughed and rested against him, "I love you."  
"I love you too" he whispered.

"The Weapon X's are in the cabin" a soldier radioed in, "By the fire."  
"Take them out" the voice over the intercom said.  
Logan sniffed and growled, Nikki catching the scents just as fast, "Run" he growled.  
He pushed her out of the room as gunfire erupted.  
"Come on" he said, tugging her over and throwing her some clothes.  
She looked at it for a second and Logan looked at her, "There was some chick's clothes here, just get dressed, we're takin' the bike."  
She rolled her eyes and hurried up, he eagerly took her hand and tugged her after him.  
She ran with him and he pulled her onto the back of the Harley, "Where are we going?"  
"Wherever gets you away from them so I can come back and kill 'em" Logan growled.  
He pulled out and she held on, "I can help you, let me!"  
His claws came down as he slashed through a few of them, "Fine, don't get hurt."  
She held onto him with one arm and took the other side, killing with surprising efficiency.  
Logan growled as they charged out, surprised to find that the small armada they'd taken out was all Weapon X had sent after them.  
"Logan!" she gasped and Logan got the bike out of the way, his claws shooting out again to cut through the gas tank and swerved around, keeping going for a while before swerving around and watching it explode.  
"You okay darlin?" he asked.  
"I think we need to go" she said, her voice strained.  
He turned to look at her and swore under his breath, "$#^%. How'd they aim?"  
She looked up to him, "It'll heal..."  
He moved her hand and saw the blood from her side, "$#^%."  
"Just pull it out" she whispered.  
He did and cussed again under his breath, "It's carbonadium."  
"$#^%" she cussed, putting her hand back over the wound.  
"We need to find a doctor" he said.  
"No, no doctors" she hissed, "The last time I was on an operating table it didn't go so well."  
"I could help" a voice said.  
"Who the-?" Logan began.  
"Allow me to introduce myself Logan, Nikki, I am Professor Charles Xavier" the invisible voice said, before a man stepped out of the trees.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
"Who the hell are you?" Logan asked.  
"I'm a friend. You can trust me Logan, I'm not like the soldiers that followed you" Professor Xaiver said.  
"They'll follow us" he said.  
"No they won't. In fact, to them you don't even exist. Not anymore. I made them forget you, and what evidence that you were there has disappeared. They will never remember. You're both safe. You can trust me" Charles said.  
Nikki groaned, "Logan, I'd love to sit here and chat, but I'm getting pretty lightheaded here!"  
He lifted her up and held her in his arms, "If you try to con us-"  
"I won't" Charles said, "Let me help."  
"Lead the way Chuck" Logan said, putting Nikki down on the seat of his bike and pushing the bike forward after Charles.  
Nikki whimpered as the ground jostled her, pain shooting through her side.  
"Here we are, we'll be back to the mansion soon. Come on, we need to hurry. Time is of the esscence now" Charles said.  
Logan held Nikki with one arm, taking the brunt off the jostling as he pushed the bike up into the jet with her on it. He pushed it into the back, kicked down the kickstand and lifted her in his arms, "Come on. Shh, it's okay. I'm here."  
He sat down with her in his arms, pushing strands of hair off her face. The jet lifted and she whimpered again, her fingers locking in the jacket he'd taken.  
"Shh, it's okay" he whispered.  
The red of her shirt was stained darker with her blood, her other hand was clamped over her side as she whimpered, close to crying. He rubbed her opposite leg, keeping away from the wound so he wouldn't hurt her.  
She threw back her head, letting out a ragged breath, "God, Logan it hurts."  
"Shh, it's okay. I know" he whispered, kissing her head softly, "I'm here. It's going to get better."  
He kissed her head very softly, keeping his lips on her forehead.  
She whimpered and a soft sob fell from her lips, "This is terrible. I'd take Weapon X again just to get away from this. That I could heal from."  
He stroked her hair, kissing her head again, "I'm sorry baby, don't worry. I'm here. I'll protect you, remember?"  
She cried out and held her side, "Logan!"  
"Can't this thing go any faster?!" he asked, cupping Nikki's face in his hand, pressing her against his chest.  
"Then hang on" Professor Xaiver said and the jet lurched ahead.  
The jet took a sharp dive and Nikki whimpered, "Logan."  
"Shh, I'm here" he whispered, holding her tighter.  
"We're here. Leave the motorcycle, I'll have someone take it to the garage for you" Charles said.  
Logan nodded and stood, holding her close and careful not to jostle her.  
A big, blue, furry man in a labcoat stepped forward to meet them and Nikki's eyes widened. She glanced back to Logan, who shrugged.  
"Logan, Nikki, this is Doctor Hank McCoy. You both can trust him" Charles said.  
Nikki whimpered and her grip on her side loosened, "I will, mostly because the world is spinning."  
Hank motioned to them and brought them into an infirmary, "Hold onto her, if you want to."  
Logan nodded and held her with one arm, letting Dr. McCoy treat her wound.  
She whimpered and looked up to him, "Logan."  
"I'm here" he said softly, squeezing her hand gently.  
She looked into his eyes, her eyes glowing with pain, "Stay with me."  
"Always" he whispered, lowering his face so their noses pressed together.  
"The wound is cauterized. She won't be bleeding out anymore. We're going to take this slow, wait for her healing factor to take over. Can you wait with her?"  
Logan nodded, slowly stroking her cheek.  
"Is it good if I want to fall asleep?" Nikki asked, woozy.  
"Go ahead. You lost a lot of blood" Hank said, "Your healing factor might do better if you're asleep anyway."  
"Logan?" she asked, "Will you stay?"  
Logan kissed her lips very gently, "Of course. I will never leave you."

It was a strange feeling, like she had something cold, wet and sticky against her side, plastering her shirt and jeans to her side.  
"Hm, what-?" she asked out loud, blinking awake.  
"Hey" Logan said softly, "How ya feeling darlin?"  
"Better. What happened? I remember before I was about to pass out...but then..." she said.  
"Shh...don't worry love. You're okay. I just talked with Hank. You healed. The Professor wants us both on his team. Superheroes, go figure. Wanna go for it? It's not like we have anything better to do" Logan said.  
She glanced away, "What about us? What happens now?"  
He smiled and cradled her face in his hands, "You'll marry me. That's what happens now. Think you can stand me for that long?"  
Her lips trembled as a light sob slipped out, "You're so funny Logan, you make it seem like you're not totally perfect in every way to me. You'll be the one putting up with me."  
He kissed her passionately, his lips molding with hers in a warm familiar way that brought back memories of them together.  
The two of them, by a cabin. Their wedding. Logan had a good-paying job, the two of them not really caring if they had powers or not. Every night they spent together, every breakfast she cooked, the moments they spent sitting and laughing together. They were close to their home in upstate New York. Logan used to cross the boarder every morning and every evening when he went to and got back from work. Their love, their joy, their life together.  
She gasped and looked into his eyes, "I remember."  
He kissed her again, if possible, even more passionately than before, "I remember too. I couldn't have asked for a better wife than you. I love you."  
"I love you too" She whispered, holding onto him.  
The End  
**The Great Twinkie Run (OS)**

Vincent was sitting in his room with two of his friends from school.  
"You got Twinkies?" Adam, a boy who could talk to animals, asked.  
"Nope. My brother ate the last one this morning for breakfast" Vincent sighed.  
"Dude, it's summer and you don't have any Twinkies? What kind of a kid are you?" Alex, a pyro, asked.  
"The kind that has to listen to his parents or else" Vincent said, throwing his baseball up and catching it.  
"Mom said no baseball in the house!" Laura shouted.  
"There's no bat, it's not baseball!" Vincent shouted and kicked the wall.  
Laura growled and he heard the door slam.  
"Oh man, you just made your sister angry. Won't she cut you up?" Alex asked.  
"If she does, she gets grounded, she knows it" Vincent said.  
"Where's she going?" Adam asked.  
"Where else, to the bathroom to talk on her cell phone. It's one of the most soundproofed rooms in the house" Vincent said.  
"And it's...two in the morning. Wow. And still no twinkies" Alex said.  
"Then let's go get some" Vincent said.  
"But your mom and dad-" Adam began.  
"Are asleep. We'll make it quick. All we have to do is go down the path, down the street for about 5 minutes back the way we came, and we'll come to a gas station. We can get Twinkies and all kinds 'a stuff. Just think; Pop Rocks, Twizlers, Fruit Pies..."  
"Venom" All three boys whispered at once.  
"Shall we?" Vincent asked.  
Alex grinned, "I'm in."  
Adam smiled, "Sure."  
The three rose, Vincent grabbing a backpack and slinging it over his shoulder.  
"How much did everybody bring?" Vincent asked.  
"I got 30" Adam said.  
"I got 60" Alex said.  
"I got 20" Vincent said softly.  
"That's your allowance?" Alex asked.  
"My mom says even though we're rich doesn't mean we have to be spoiled. Even though she says that she still gets us everything we want" Vincent said.  
"That's a hundred and ten bucks, we can buy the whole candy isle!" Adam said, grinning.  
"Then let's go" Vincent said, grabbing two flashlights and handing one to Alex as they crept down the stairs, and slipped out the door.  
The crunch of their sneakers down the gravel driveway was the only sound until they got to the road.  
"This is really creepy" Adam said.  
They walked down the side of the road and got to the gas station.  
"Ready?" Alex asked.  
"Bring out the money" Vincent said, and they walked in.  
The boys got everything they wanted, and more, and started back to the house.  
"That was just pure luck man. A hot counter girl and a hundred and ten bucks worth of junk food. We are lucky men" Alex said.  
"We're not men" Adam said.  
"Then we are lucky dudes" Vincent said, and high fived Alex.  
They crept back upstairs and once they were in the room they turned on the TV and turned on the video game console.  
"Dudes, welcome to paradise" Alex said, and flopped into a beanbag.

Morning-

Laura walked up to the door and knocked, "Yo, Cloverfield, hurry up, breakfast is in 10, and I'm not making breakfast for you."  
"Go away" Vincent groaned, "We're having a hangover."  
Laura rolled her eyes, "Whatever."  
Alex groaned and flipped over on the beanbag, "A hundred and ten bucks to get a three way hangover."  
"It's not a hangover" Adam said, "It's a stomach ache. A bad one."  
"Feels like a hangover" Alex said.  
"You've had one?" Vincent asked.  
"No, but my sister has. She says it's hell" Alex said.  
"Adam, Alex, your parents are here!" they all heard Laura yell up, "And Mom's going to embaress Vincent if he doesn't get his little butt down here!"  
Vincent groaned, "Go away, we died!"  
"What should we call this?" Adam asked.  
Vincent grinned, despite his full stomach, "The Great Twinkie Run."  
The End  
**The Return Of Feral**

Chapter 1  
Victor Creed, called Feral, drove up to the Xaiver mansion for the first time in months. Kitten was smiling at him, "We're back."  
Their family had been living at Xaivers while Feral regained his humanity off with Kitten.  
"Victor, Kitten" Emma said, smiling warmly to them.  
Kitten glanced to Victor, confused. Emma was wearing a pair of jeans, not even skinny jeans, and a plain green t-shirt.  
"Hey" Victor said, "Nice new look Em."  
Emma smiled and nodded, "Thanks. How're you Kitten?"  
"Good" Kitten smiled, happy.  
"Welcome back, both of you" Emma said, smiling warmly.  
"What're you doing?" Kitten asked.  
"Planting. It's a beautiful day" Emma said.  
"No, I mean...how'd you become...not a man-stealer Emma?" Kitten asked.  
"I just decided it was time for a change" Emma said.  
"Need some help?" Kitten asked, sitting down beside her.  
"Thanks" Emma said softly, "Oh, if you guys want to see Logan and Nikki, they're inside."  
Victor smiled, "I'll tell Nikki you said hey."  
Kitten smiled and let him walk in without her.  
Victor crept in and saw Nikki sitting there. She sniffed the air a second and smiled.  
"Hey Vic" she said.  
"Damn it. You can never let a guy put his hands on your neck and go 'seven days' can you?" Victor asked.  
Logan laughed, "She won't even let James do that. Last time he tried she all but flipped him over the couch."  
Victor rolled his eyes and jumped over, sitting on her lap, "Miss me darlin?"  
"I'm not your darlin, and get off me sasquatch. I like my legs 3D" she said, tossing him off uncerimoniously.  
Logan chuckled and put his arm around her again, "She ain't your darlin, she's mine. Got that Vic?"  
Victor stood and brushed himself off, "You really know how to hurt a guy Nik."  
"Oh, you want hurt? Stand still, it'll hurt" she aimed her foot where it really would hurt him and he laughed, walking over and ruffling her hair, "Good to see you again."  
He placed a friendly kiss on her cheek and she swated at him, "Ew Vic, I didn't want doggy slobber."  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Victor sat on the arm of the couch, his mind completely absorbed by the baseball game until Nikki spoke, "So, how was vacation?"  
He chuckled, "Not a vacation. It was more like...that psyche camp in 'The Howling'."  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "That was completely steriotypical. Do you really think any of us are really like that?"  
"Well, you and Logan maybe, but that's only the fireside thing-" Victor began, before Nikki half shoved him off the edge of the couch.  
"So, what did I miss?" Victor asked, leaning over Nikki and whispering to Logan, "Any new kids?"  
Logan smacked him and rolled his eyes, "Vic, it's barely been, what? Two, three months?"  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, the team still together?" he asked.  
"Nope" Logan said, "But you're welcome to join up with everyone else."  
"I'm not doing X-Force Logan. I can't resort to that" Victor said.  
"I'm not asking you to. X-Force is sort of temporarily disbanded. She's not letting me out of the house anymore, so Domino got pretty...well, she's Domino. You know it's bad enough already" Logan said.  
Nikki smiled and Victor looked at her, "What's with her?"  
"She gets jelous of Domino frequently" Logan said, "But she still knows I love her more than anything." He kissed her neck while Victor looked away, more out of disgust than politeness.  
Nikki giggled and sighed, "Love you too."  
Nikki heard Domino's footsteps down the hall and grinned, crushing her lips to Logan's and tugging him down on the couch. He lightly pinned her against the couch, kissing her eagerly.  
Domino rolled her eyes in jealously and disgust, scoffing and walking off.  
Victor chuckled, "I take back everything I've ever thought about you being a good little girl, you're pretty damn bad$$ when you wanna be, aren't you?"  
Nikki giggled, "Well, you're not the only one that can be a bad kitty." She smiled innocently and Victor laughed, Logan kissing her lightly again.  
"Nikki!" Kitten squeeled, laughing.  
"Hey Kitty!" Nikki said, grinning as she hopped over the back of the couch agily to see Kitty.  
They hugged and Logan and Victor rolled their eyes. They were whispering to each other so low the two men couldn't hear.  
"I get the feeling they're plotting against us" Victor said.  
"Doubt it. Just probably...talking girl stuff" Logan said, shrugging it off.  
"Oh, so 'girl stuff' is what they talk about. Sure" Victor said, laughing.  
"What?" Logan asked.  
"You have no idea half the things Kitten says they talk about" Victor said.  
"Like?" Logan asked.  
Victor leaned over and told him, and Logan glanced back at him, "And you don't...?"  
"Hey, I brag about it. They give details" Victor said.  
"Well...damn" Logan said, running his fingers through his hair.  
"Yup" Victor agreeed, and returned his attention to the game.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Elie was more than shocked. Victor was huge.  
"So, you're the sister I've been hearing about, right?" he asked.  
She glanced to Nikki who smiled. Sister was the right term for them most of the time.  
"Yeah. I'm Elie" she said.  
Victor ruffled her hair, "Victor Creed."  
Elie scowled as she fixed her hair, making Nikki laugh.  
"Hey, where's Logan?" Victor asked.  
"I thought he was with you" Nikki said.  
"He was, but he hasn't been back for a little while..." Victor trailed off, "Stay here, I'll be back."  
Nikki reached out with her magic, she had to find Logan through their connection.  
'Logan, where are you?' she thought to him, seeing what he was seeing.  
'Stay there. I'll be right there darlin' he thought to her.  
He was in the courtyard between the two buildings of the mansion, Deathstrike and her Reavers facing him.  
She gasped, and felt herself come back to where she sat with Elie.  
"We have to go. Now" Nikki whispered and ran down the hall.  
She ran down the hall and ran into the courtyard, going to Logan's side.  
"I told you to stay there" he whispered.  
"You really think I'm going to stay there when you're in danger?" she asked retorically.  
Nikki and Elie took the Reavers while Logan faced off against Deathstrike.  
Elie was handling herself pretty well, even decapitating a few. They'd tag teamed the last one, just letting him drop from the death blow when they heard the sickening sound of claws running someone through, and Logan's pained grunt.  
"Logan!" Nikki cried, running to him.  
Elie stood in panic for a moment, shocked. Nikki was pressing her hands to the worst bleeding wounds. They were closing too slowly.  
"Shh" he whispered, pressing his hand to her cheek, "I'll be okay."  
She was about to protest when Deathstrike moved closer, raising a claw to strike Nikki this time, and Elie sprung.  
"You don't threaten my family!" Elie shouted, and rushed Deathstrike from behind.  
With a sickening crack they didn't expect, Deathstrike's head fell from her body.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Elie stood, panting as she looked at them, "Is he-?"  
Logan coughed, "Still livin'."  
Victor was in the doorway, "What the hell happened out here?"  
"Elie got pissed" Nikki said, still worried about her love, but proud of her friend.  
Elie got down at Logan's other side, "Are you okay?"  
Logan looked at her, "It'll heal."  
Nikki leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, "We'll be here."  
The two worst that Nikki was covering with her hands were healing, and the other eight were close to healed. She pressed her cheek to his, he kissed her neck very softly. Elie reached out and put her hand over his, letting him know she was here too.  
"C'mere Elie" he said, opening his arms.  
She hugged him, "You're a really great guy Logan. I'm glad Nikki has you."  
He smiled, "Thanks."  
Nikki softly kissed his cheek and smiled, "They're almost gone."  
He kissed her neck very softly, sitting up and pulling her onto his lap. She giggled and sighed, feeling his lips trace a path along her neck.  
She glanced back to Elie, blushing and Elie waved it off, rolling her eyes.  
Logan got a little more adventurous and Nikki blushed even brighter, "Babe, we're still in front of Vic and Elie."  
He kissed her lovingly, running his fingers through her hair, "Hm, doesn't matter. They don't mind."  
"Yeah, sure" Victor said, "I'm going back to the game now. I'll tell you lovebirds how it ends."  
Elie giggled and blushed, "I'm here."  
Logan laughed and pulled Nikki up with him, "Come on. Let's go. We don't need to hang around the mechanical dead bodies."  
"Why didn't Vic help us?" Elie asked.  
"Because he's a lazy $$ now" Nikki said, "Guess we gotta get Cyke to get him back in shape."  
"Oh no you don't princess!" Victor shouted, hearing her plan.  
"Who you calling princess, little girl?" Nikki asked.  
Victor let out a rumbling growl and Nikki grinned, "Oh this oughta be fun."  
The End


	18. Part 18

**Old Wounds (OS)**

Logan sat by the side of the lake. He wanted to tune out the world. But he couldn't help strengthening the connection with his love, and listening to her thoughts, seeing through her eyes. She had such a beautiful, unique perspective on the world. He saw himself in her eyes, listened to the worry in her thoughts, and sighed, returning to his own mind.  
"You're giving up being stealthy" he observed.  
She sat down beside him. He wrapped his arm around her and she gently kissed his neck. "Yeah" she said.  
He sighed, "Why are you so worried?"  
"You're in pain" she said softly.  
"It's not physical" he said.  
She looked at him and her eyes were wide, "Did I-?"  
"No. Stop that, you didn't do anything" he whispered, slowly stroking her face. He gently kissed her, holding her close, "Just a bunch of old wounds opening up."  
She stroked his face, "I know I'm not them, but I just want to think I compare at all-"  
He put his hand over her mouth, "Stop that. You mean more to me than all of them. I know that seems terrible, and it feels like it to some part of me, but the rest of me just tells him to shut up and enjoy having you. I don't like having a concience, you make it so hard to think as it is..."  
She giggled and snuggled into his arms, "I feel your pain, literally, you know that, right?"  
"No" he whispered, "You listen-"  
"No. I can feel it anyway. When you hurt, I feel it. It's terrible" she whispered, putting her hand over her heart and snuggling closer to him, "I hate feeling it. I hate feeling you in pain. When you're happy, I can't feel it, but it makes me happy not to feel any pain from you. I don't want you to hurt."  
She stroked his face, leaning close to him and kissing his lips softly.  
"Did you feel it when Deathstrike ran me through?" he asked.  
She gave a small nod against his chest, "That was terrible."  
Once again, all of his heart went to her. He scooped her up in his arms and cradled her close. He'd experianced the pain firsthand, but to have someone else feeling your pain firsthand, especially when it was the woman he loved, was unimaginable.  
"Shh" he whispered, "I love you. I will try not to make you feel what I feel."  
"It's inevitable" she whispered, "We can't deny it. We're going to feel each other's pain. That's probably how you know when you need to come stop me from thinking. Like now, with you."  
He chuckled and held her, the warm feeling of her body against him was healing the wounds again. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent, listened to her soft breathing.  
He leaned down and captured her lips, the warm, sweet taste of her lips proved one thing to him. Where she was his love, she was also his cure. She could take away all of his pain, but still love him. Nobody could really tell how he tried to make up for being who he used to be, but she did, and she didn't care.  
"The past is the past Logan" she whispered, "Please stop mourning over it and move on."  
He kissed her hair, rubbing her back, "I know. I love you."  
She smiled, pulling herself into his arms even tighter, kissing his neck, "I love you too. Will you move on? For me?"  
He looked down to her in his arms, meeting the gaze of her beautiful eyes, "I already started, remember?"  
He kissed her again, savoring her warmth and realizing, maybe he didn't have to make up for anything. It was pretty clear to him what his destiny had been. He'd gotten her. She was his destiny. He would never, ever be able to be without her.  
"I love you" she whispered.  
"I love you too" he whispered back.  
"Where are they?" Connor asked.  
"Having a moment, let them be" Elie said, seeing the very sweet, romantic moment between her friends. It was beautiful, and she'd let them be.  
The End  
**Deadly Reunions**

Chapter 1  
Logan looked at Nikki as she slept, unable to disturb her. They had to go to the mansion for a few hours, and he was enjoying being able to stay up late and sleep in. To be able to come home and get some things he wanted to do done. But most importantly, he'd missed spending time with his love.  
She stirred and felt his arms around her, his lips on her throat, "Good morning."  
"Morning" he said, pressing his lips to her neck again, gently nipping her neck.  
She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, "How'd you sleep?"  
He inhaled her scent, feeling intoxicated by her very scent, "Perfect. I was with you, remember?"  
She smiled and sighed as he gently rubbed her back, "How'd you sleep? Dream about me?"  
She grinned and looked at him, "Mm-hm. It was very nice too, but it's a little hard to tell my dreams from reality."  
He laughed and kissed her, her warm scent taking over his mind.  
The wind blew in from the window and he stiffened, sitting up.  
"Logan?" she whispered, listening closely.  
"Stay here darlin" he said, shutting the window.  
"Why? Logan, what's wrong?" she asked.  
"My ex-wife is about three miles from here" Logan said.  
Nikki's fearsome snarl ripped through the room, "Viper is here?"  
Her voice was very soft, very low, and promising death.  
"Darlin, please stay here. She doesn't know about you, not that I know of, and she doesn't know about our life together. I don't want her showing up to mess that up. I'll take care of her. Let me take care of it" he said. Logan walked out and heard the sounds of Viper's small army, not Hydra, but close.  
"Logan" Viper said, stepping out of the trees, "How surprising to see you here lover. Are you returning to me so easily?"  
"Not in his life b$#%^" Nikki snarled, swinging down by her claws and attacking Viper.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Viper tried to block Nikki's claws, but clearly Nikki had more advantige. She cut through the bo staff as if it were nothing, and with a single kick had brought Viper down to struggling under her foot.  
The troops reacted, and so did Nikki. She sent long-range magic flowing from her hands. The sudden burst of bright gold momentarily stunned them, but the magic worked it's way and changed it. She put them back where they were supposed to be, with no memory of Viper, or anything that had just gone down.  
"Your little army is gone. You're stuck with me. What do you have to say to that...b^%#$?" Nikki snarled.  
Viper gave the best human impression of a growl, "Kill you..."  
"I'd like to see your try" Nikki snarled.  
Logan didn't exactly know what was going to happen, but he'd always suspected that if the two ever met the biggest catfight in history would happen, and he was close.  
She let Viper out from under her foot, "I'm giving you one chance to defend yourself. If you can, maybe I'll let you walk away."  
Viper gave a battle cry as she leapt at Nikki, but Nikki twisted her arm, snapping a bone or two. Viper cried softly, but bit her lip.  
Nikki sniffed, "You know, I can smell the blood starting to pool under where you're biting. You're only going to make yourself bleed, you know. I'll be doing enough of that as it is."  
She released Viper's arm and took a lunging swing at her, ducking under Viper's pulled blade and into a spinning kick that sent Viper sprawling to the ground, the knife out of her hand.  
Nikki raised her claws over her and hesitated very, very close to her skin, almost brushing it, "So, did you want to give up and run away yet?"  
Viper shouted and struggled again, actually managing to sideswipe Nikki's side, reversing the position.  
"Who's in trouble now?" Viper asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.  
Nikki thought for a moment, "Still you."  
She hoped it wouldn't hurt too much when her head connected with Viper's, and it didn't, but Viper saw stars and fell to the side, holding her head.  
Logan actually laughed out loud, going over to his mate and pulling her up, "Nice, darlin. You wonder why I like working with you?"  
She laughed, "Well I am pretty bad$$ for a girl."  
Viper was laying on the ground and whimpering, her head splitting with pain. Logan leaned down by her, some compassion for her still in him.  
"Hey, you want help?" he asked softly, not speaking too loudly or it would hurt her head even worse.  
She nodded, and whimpered again when the action hurt even worse than listening.  
"Lay back" he ordered in a soft voice, and Viper willingly complied.  
Nikki stood with her arms crossed across her chest, "Why are we helping her? Didn't she just try to kill us? Or do you really have old feelings for her still?" Her voice wavered on the last question, threatening to break.  
Logan stood and took Nikki's face very gently in his hands, "We're helping her because her skull is probably split in a few different places thanks to your hard head." He smiled jokingly and gently tapped her nose, making her relax and put her arms around his shoulders. "Second, yes she did, but it doesn't matter since you pretty much KOd her anyway. Third, you know I love you, and only you, so why even ask that?"  
Nikki snuggled into his chest, she could tell he was telling the truth, but it was just so hard to believe. Her ego had taken hits when Viper had followers, when Viper was beautiful, and when she could fight. She was everything Logan could've ever wanted in a woman, but she was evil. So there was a bust. "Because it's so hard to believe" she said softly, pain in her voice.  
He took her face in his hands, "Let me text Cyke and tell him where to find her. We'll go home, and I'm going to prove to you how much I love you."  
"Didn't we just do that?" she asked.  
"No, I mean the real way. I love you darlin, you have to know that. I will never change my mind baby. Not for anything" he whispered, pressing their noses together.  
She closed her eyes and sighed, "I know. I believe you."  
To Be Concluded!  
Chapter 3  
Logan had heard when the X-jet was close enough that they knew when Cyclops had picked up Viper. The jet left, faster than before, and Logan knew it was because of Viper's injuries. He'd have to thank Nikki for that.  
He was ready to surprise her, and he knew how rarely, because of her hightened senses, that anything was a surprise to her.  
"Hey beautiful" he said, smiling, as she walked down the stairs in a beautiful pale yellow sundress.  
She blushed, "Hey yourself."  
He took her hand, gently kissing her knuckles, "Come on, you're going to like this."  
"Can I just ask why it was such a big secret?" she asked.  
"Because you never get surprised enough" he said, "And thank you, for taking Viper out for me."  
"For you?" she asked, "So you did have a brilliant master plan."  
He laughed, "Yeah, until you showed up. I sort of thought you would, all because I told you to stay here, but when you did I didn't expect you to show up guns blazing."  
He led her down the incline to the lakeside, and she smiled, "Oh...well I really didn't expect this."  
He gently kissed her and led her over, to a sunset dinner by the lakeside, "I know, I hid it very well, didn't I?"  
She smiled and sat down, "Yeah, you did."  
He held her hand across the table, and stared into her eyes most of the time.  
The sun had started to set when they'd been sitting together, "Thank you."  
"For what?" he asked.  
"For doing this. I know there are times when I'm not worth it, but you put up with me anyway" she said, looking unhappy.  
He shook his head, "You're always worth it. I love you."  
She smiled, "I love you too."  
The End  
**Differences (Daken POV)**

I could see their cute little moment from afar, and I didn't want to watch. Some part of me still burned with hatred and envy at everything my father had. For the most part, I was grateful. Grateful that despite everything I'd done, when I'd come to him with no money, very little possessions, and practically had to get down on my knees and beg, he'd still let me stay with him. Nikki was everything my father knew she was, because she'd always been my friend. She was the only person I could really call a friend. She'd bailed me out of some pretty deep trouble, without any personal gain to her. I'd always wondered how she ended up a villain, but I knew she wouldn't stay like it. I was right, apparently.  
"Daken?" Vincent asked.  
"Hm?" I asked.  
"Can I go now, I finished" he said proudly.  
"Sure" I said, and he hopped off the chair and went to go watch TV.  
I laughed inwardly. Who'd ever thought I would be helping out with my family, taking care of my brothers and sisters. What was unbelievable, I had kids. I was taking care of kids. And I had Claudine. I'd never wanted someone to love, I'd never wanted anyone. But I wanted her. I needed her. She was like my air, my water, I needed her.  
"What's wrong with you?" Laura asked.  
"Thinking" I muttered. Laura had been a living weapon once. But now she was more human. We were related, closely, and I could actually see her being my sister.  
Everyone departed and I went upstairs. I walked into the huge, vast library and sat by the window. It was my favorite place to sit and think. Most people avoided this room, because they were sure it was haunted by my grandfather. I didn't believe in ghosts. I knew it was terrible, but I didn't. My father, on the other hand, did.  
There were still so many differences between us. I was a killer, a living weapon, I was bred to kill. I always had this darkness in me, and I had no idea how to deal with it now. My father was good, compassionate, and he was good for the life of a family man. Sometimes I wondered if I should go off on my own, let out my darkness on my own, but I couldn't do that. I knew I couldn't leave my family. I was too close to them.  
I leaned my head back against the windows and closed my eyes. For a moment, I was back in the study of my home as a child. I wondered what would've happened if I'd never killed Akihira and Natsumi's child.  
This was why I'd chose the library because of it's solitary nature. I never wanted anyone to see me suffer. Or cry, especially cry. I was a killer by nature, that didn't mean I don't regret it.  
Tears streaked down my face and dripped off, landing in small dark red dots on my t-shirt. I looked out the window, and saw they weren't out there anymore. I figured I had about half an hour before anyone came looking for me.  
"You okay?" my father asked, making me jump. Oh man, I didn't pay enough attention. I quickly wiped my eyes, sniffing softly, "Yeah."  
He looked at me skeptically, "What's wrong?"  
"Nothing" I said.  
"Bull. Tell me" he said.  
I sat up and looked at him, "I love you guys. I love Claudine, I love my family...but I can't stop this hatred inside me. It's darkness, and I don't want it. I want to be normal, I want to be compassionate. I don't want to kill people anymore. I regret it, with all my soul I regret it."  
He moved to my side and sat down, "I'm glad you said that."  
My eyes burned with unshed tears, "If I can't keep controling my emotions, you can't tell anyone I cried."  
He nodded and I let more tears fall down my face. He put his arm around me in an akward one-armed hug. But he was comforting me. I leaned into his hug and let out a small sob. Even as a child, I'd never had anyone to comfort me. I'd respected my adoptive father too much to go crying to him. My adoptive mother had never really loved me. I'd relied wholly on myself for my whole life, but...it was different now.  
I felt like a child again, and it didn't feel so bad. It stopped being so hard to stop crying, and I sniffed, leaning up again, "Thanks."  
"No problem" he said, gently rubbing my shoulder. I knew it was strange, but I was sure of one thing now. I could always confide in my father.  
"Dad?" I asked.  
"Yeah?" he asked.  
"I love you" I said akwardly.  
He smiled, and said the same, with equal akwardness.  
One thing we were both sure of as we walked down the hall, we weren't speaking of this to anyone.  
The End  
**Crossfire (AU)**

Chapter 1  
It was no surprise to her, though at the time it felt it should've been. She knew one way or another it would come down to this.  
There was a shockwave through the ground and she knew he was using his power against her. She leapt, and struck a near-killing blow.  
"Yeah!" the guys cheered, some passing each other money from lost bets.  
With a final swipe of the scimitar, she cut off her opponent's head, earning more cheers from the crowd behind her.  
"Next victim" she said, smiling joyfully.  
This was how it went on days Nikki just didn't want to go to school. She crashed at the arcade with the local ditchers of the next three districts. In the arcade, everybody knew everybody else, because if you weren't ditching, you went there after school, and at 3:30 on a Tuesday, it was certianly after school. No one could know the difference.  
"Hey, you see that new guy?" Pete Parker asked, looking over to the corner, "He just moved here from like, Japan or something."  
"It was Canada genius" Mac Gargan said over the rows of machines.  
"Yeah, but I heard he lived in Japan for a while, and he was like a ninja or something" Pete said.  
Nikki grinned and looked at the newcomer, "Well, he's in my arcade. Looks like I'm going to have to play him."  
Pete looked at her like she was crazy as she strode over to him, the black duster very much like the jacket worn in her favorite vampire movie.  
"Hey. You new here?" she asked.  
He smiled, a crooked, easy smile, "Yeah."  
"Where ya from?" she asked.  
"All over" he said, a note of sadness in his tone.  
"Most recent?" she questioned.  
He smirked, "Canada."  
"Come play me. You're in my territory now, you're going to need to beat me at my own game" she said, pulling him along.  
People parted the way and she leaned on the machine of Soul's Edge II, a demon fighting ninja game.  
He looked at her from under his hat, "I don't play video games."  
"Then what are you doing here?" she asked.  
The whole arcade was silent, and he looked around, "I sort of got forced to go meet people. I don't like being around people."  
She leaned down and looked into the shadow under his hat, where he hid his face, "Will I ever see your face?"  
He looked at her and blinked for a second, "Outside."  
They were keeping their voices low, and he moved past with an air of grace she'd never seen. He was certianly a ninja or something, like Peter had said. It was beautiful.  
She followed, as if mesmerized, and paused at the door.  
"Continue!" she shouted back to the people, and they resumed their lives quietly.  
She walked into the parking lot to see him leaning on the wall, "Who are you?"  
"Logan" he said.  
"Logan what?" she asked.  
"Just call me Logan" he said.  
"Let me see your face" she said.  
He took off his hat and her heart skipped, "Maybe you should've warned me."  
"What?" he asked.  
A slow, unintentional smile dawned on her lips, "You're...dazzling."  
He laughed, "I've heard a lot, but never that before."  
"Then they have to be blind" she said.  
"How old are you?" he asked.  
"Eighteen" she said.  
He looked her over and his eyes were sad, "You have an old soul, know that?"  
"Why does that upset you?" she asked, reaching out.  
He drew back and looked away, "You look like someone I knew, once."  
"Once upon a time?" she asked.  
He laughed, a small smile on his lips, "Yeah, once upon a time. It seems like there's not enough of those."  
She took his cell phone out of his pocket and he looked at her questioningly. She typed her number into his contacts.  
"If you ever need me, just call. Text. Whatever" she said, holding it back out to him.  
He took it from her and she noticed the fingerless gloves on his hands.  
"Why do you wear those?" she asked.  
"Because...of something I can't really talk about" he said.  
"How old are you?" she asked, rolling her eyes.  
"Eighteen" he said.  
She was tempted, and asked, "How long have you been eighteen?"  
He chuckled, "A while."  
She smiled, "Well, welcome to New York, Logan."  
He was surprised she remembered his name, and she touched the phone in his hand, "I'll text you tonight. Meet me in the junkyard. I'll show you exactly who's the freak around here."  
She smiled at him, her eyes glowing almost with a dark joy, and she turned, striding around the corner, turning back, grinning with her beautiful, exposed white teeth, and disappeared.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Logan waited until it was dark, and went to the junkyard. It was a strange, eerie feeling he'd never gotten before.  
"Hey babe" Nikki purred from the darkness.  
He turned, every intention of hurting her, until he saw it was her, "Don't do that."  
She smiled, "Do you want to see why I'm the freak here?"  
He looked at her quizically and her claws shot down, a small snarl on her lips, "I'm the most dangerous of anyone here."  
His claws shot out and met hers, "How'd you do that?"  
"It's natural" she said, "You?"  
"Mutant" he said, "And apparently, you are too."  
Her claws went back and she slowly stroked down his claws, creating small cuts on her fingers. He drew back and she sighed, "Logan, do you even know how special you are?"  
His eyes met hers and he felt a rumbling purr start in his chest, "Pretty damn special since you're like me."  
She looked both happy and surprised, and he couldn't deny the strange attraction he felt to her. She was dangerous. So was he.  
He leaned up and crushed his lips to hers, kissing her passionately.  
She held onto him, returning the kiss. Her hands gently slipped down his chest and he groaned, pushing her back and kissing her neck.  
"Runt?" a loud shout echoed through the empty junkyard, "Get out here before I tan your hide!"  
Logan drew back and pulled Nikki over to an old car, pushing her inside and getting her down on the floor. She covered her nose and beared it. The stink of the garbage would cover both of their scents.  
A body-builder blond walked out of the path from the entrance, "RUNT?! Where the hell are you?!"  
"Who's that?" Nikki whispered.  
"My step brother Victor" Logan said softly, and covered her mouth with his hand before Victor could hear.  
Victor listened and sniffed the air, walking over by them.  
Logan quickly covered her, pressing her down and Victor sniffed inside the cab of the car, "Damn little brat."  
Logan was tempted to growl and start a fight with Victor right there, but Nikki rested her hand on his chest, her eyes pleading with him to stay with her. She looked so fragile, like he needed to protect her, and he pulled her gently against his chest, hiding her huddled frame from Victor's sight.  
Victor growled, and they heard him make a running bound and leap over the chain-link barb-wire-topped fence.  
Logan looked out and heard Victor leaving, the start of an engine, and the angry growl it seemed to make as it screeched down the street. The car exaust started to fade and Logan pulled Nikki out again, "Sorry."  
She shrugged it off, "It's fine. I'm a little ticked off that he walked in on our moment."  
'Our moment' he thought, the selfish way he thought of her as his filled him with a sort of masochistic pride. He knew it could never last, Victor was always sure of that.  
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
"Victor would kill you if he ever knew.." Logan said softly, pulling her into his arms and closed his eyes. She leaned up and he kissed her lips softly, gently parting her lips with his tongue. She sighed and her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling them as close together as possible.  
"Tell me" she whispered, breaking away.  
He looked at her and saw her beautiful eyes, wide with curiosity.  
"I've only had three girlfriends in my life" he began, sitting down. She sat down beside him and waited.  
"We moved to three places. I was born in Canada, and from there we moved to Ireland. I fell for a girl named Rose...my powers manifested. She thought it was cute, and she loved me back. Victor got his powers too, and wanted to leave. My mom was too glad that I was happy to leave, and Victor killed Rose to make me leave. We went to Japan from there. There was this girl, Itsu, she was beautiful. I fell for her, but I was afraid of what Victor would do. She bearly returned my feelings. We only went out twice...before Victor killed her. Then we went back to Canada. I stayed single for about four years, until Silver Fox moved close to me. I couldn't help being taken with her. She was beautiful, and sweet. She loved me before I could admit I felt the same way about her. We dated for a year, and I was sure Victor wouldn't hurt her. When she decided to throw me a party for my birthday...Victor showed up. He brought her away from the party. She thought he just wanted to talk to her....I could hear her screaming....when I got there, Victor had bitten her neck, her blood was running off his fangs, and he whispered 'too bad you didn't get her in bed first runt'."  
"No" Nikki whispered, "That stupid little-!"  
"Nikki, do you see what I'm saying? He lured her away, he....he touched her, he forced himself on her, and he killed her! I can't let that happen again...I thought it was bad when Rose's parents found her, or when I found Itsu...but that was so much worse" Logan said, his voice thick with pain and sorrow.  
"He can't do that to you! You're his brother! I'll rip that $#%&in moron's throat out with my teeth myself!" she snarled, picking up a huge piece of sheet metal and throwing it at the fence.  
"You really think you can take me baby girl?" Victor snarled from on top of the fence.  
"Victor" Logan growled, pushing Nikki behind him.  
"I warned ya runt, if you got with another stupid little playtoy I'd rip her apart and-" Victor began in a snarl.  
"You think you can take me, ya dumb animal?" she snarled, moving past Logan, "Then fine, come see what I can do to you."  
He snarled and leapt at her as she lunged into a crouch, ready to take his head off.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Victor lunged at Nikki and she slammed her claws through his shoulder. He roared in pain and threw her back against the blacktop. She recovered quickly and dodged his next attack, her claws blocking his as she slammed her opposite set into his skull. He fell down, three holes punched in his forehead.  
"That might buy us some time" she said, "Especially if I hit where I think I did."  
"Where?" Logan asked.  
"The place where all his memories could be stored. If I'm right, his brain will heal, but his memories won't grow back" she said, looking at him.  
"Then we have to go, just in case you're wrong" he said.  
She glanced at Victor, bleeding on the blacktop, and smiled at Logan, "You sure about this?"  
He grinned, "Might as well."  
"I'll meet you at the train station in an hour" she said.  
He nodded, and they both ran away.  
Nikki returned home, both her parents were working. Her Yorkie puppy hopped at her feet, happy to see her return home.  
"C'mon Cal, let's go" she said, lifting up the puppy and carrying it up to her room. She'd always planned for the day she'd leave home without a trace, and had packed for it too. She'd always traveled light, keeping her three favorite books in a backpack with her other special possessions. She stuffed the bag into her duffel bag of clothes and zipped it shut, then grabbing her tote bag of her puppy's things, throwing her duffel over her back, hauling the bag on her arm, and taking the puppy in her arms and leaving. She went out to the two-car garage, starting up her dad's first-model Taurus, and peeling out.  
Her puppy, Callie, hopped around in the backseat. She knew where Logan lived, and pulled up at the curb. She locked Callie in the back, seperating the front and back with her bags to keep the little dog there, and went up to the house. No cars were in the driveway, and she saw Logan coming with his stuff.  
"Hey" she said as he opened the door.  
"You pack fast" he said.  
"You too" she said, "And don't squish my dog."  
"Your...dog?" he asked, and she opened the back to let Callie hop into her arms.  
"Wanna drive?" she asked, and he tossed two bags in the back and went up to the driver's side, "You get shotgun."  
She grinned and they sped off to the station.  
"Where are we going?" he asked.  
"I haven't decided yet. Do you know where we can go?" she asked.  
"I'd go where the airports are. Get on a plane, and get the hell outta here" he said.  
"California?" she suggested.  
He grinned, "Might as well. The land of the sun."  
She smiled and lay back, "I like that."  
He grinned, "We're starting over, aren't we?"  
"Nope. Just getting away from your psychotic brother" she said, grinning back joyfully.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
The cross-country escapade had seemed nearly impossible once they'd left. They had no idea of how to get anywhere, or where they would go once they reached California.  
It had taken massive amounts of patients on both thier parts to get across country, and even more to find out where they would go.  
"San Francisco?" Nikki asked, "What's so important about there?"  
"There's this mutant activist guy, Chuck Xavier, he's always on TV for a press confrence or something. I swear I've seen the guy on TV more than the president" Logan said, "He has this school for mutants, he takes them in and teaches them to use their powers. I thought maybe we could go here...if you wanted to."  
"We know how to use our powers Logan" she said, "I don't need some quack telling me some psychoanilitical bulls#^%."  
Logan chuckled, kissing her gently, "Don't worry about it, if we don't like it, we can leave. He says so all the time."  
Nikki smiled, pleased, "Okay."  
He led her down the street, getting a cab. The puppy, Callie, squirmed in her arms, and she shushed it with soft words of comfort, that clearly worked.  
He kissed her hair, waiting eagerly to see this place.  
"This is as far as I'm taking you" the cabbie said, and Logan nodded to him.  
Nikki stepped out with Callie in her arms, glancing to Logan, "Is this such a good idea?"  
He took their things, handing her what was hers, and started down the street, "I don't think we have much more of a choice."  
Callie was cringing into her chest, whimpering softly. As if it wasn't a big tip-off already.  
"I don't like this" she said.  
"Hello? Anyone out there?" someone shouted.  
Logan popped his claws, pushing Nikki behind him, as the guy covered in ice stepped out.  
"Chill man, I'm Bobby Drake. I'm guessing you're looking for Xavier's?" the ice guy said.  
Logan nodded, Nikki looking at the boy warily. "You found it" the boy said.  
Logan followed him, keeping Nikki close by. He didn't trust them.  
Callie perked up, barking in her high soprano, at people.  
Some kids ran forward to pet the dog, and Nikki started trusting them.  
"Logan, Nikki, welcome to The Xavier Institute For The Gifted. I'm Professor Charles Xavier. You're safe now" a bald man in a wheelchair said.  
"I'll believe it when I see the missles they have in this place" Logan whispered to Nikki.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Logan approached the man warily, "You'll help us? Why? What's in it for you?"  
The Professor chuckled, "I'm not like the people of your past Logan. I don't help people because it benifits me in some way. Rather, it's a gift in itself."  
Nikki stepped forward, whispering to Logan, "He sounds like a fortune cookie. He's definitely a teacher."  
The Professor chuckled again, "Since you came all this way, come inside. And before you ask, yes, she can come too."  
Nikki grinned and scratched Callie behind the ears.  
Logan walked with them, the Professor leading them to a room.  
"We're a bit short on space as of recently, so I hope you two don't mind sharing a room-" The Professor said.  
Callie jumped out of her arms to snuggle into the pillows. "It's perfect" Nikki said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.  
Logan put down his stuff and the professor looked at them in amusment for a moment, "Come down for dinner. But I'll leave you to unpack."  
He left and Logan looked at her, "Are we staying?"  
"Do you want to?" She asked.  
"Do you?" he asked back.  
"Yeah, actually I do. It's nice not being considered a freak..." she said.  
"What about our old neighborhood, huh? They were all like us" Logan said.  
"Yeah, but District X isn't the best place to raise a growing puppy" she joked, scratching Callie's stomach.  
Logan smiled, and laughed, but looked around the room, "You can take the bed, I'll take the couch."  
"We can both take the bed. I don't bite...too hard" she said, grinning playfully.  
Logan laughed and started unpacking, with Nikki setting up Callie's things too.  
The evening went uneventfully, and when they returned to their room, an air of akwardness had set in. She didn't know about him, but her mind kept returning to the junkyard. Not to Victor, but to her almost-moment with Logan.  
She couldn't look at him when she lay down, but instead watched her dog sleep.  
"Nikki?" he asked.  
She turned, "Yeah?"  
"What're you thinking about?" he asked.  
'Bad question' she thought. "The junkyard."  
He chuckled, "Me too. Victor's...well, idiotic. But he's nothin' more than an idiot. He's a homicidal idiot, but still an idiot. He'd never be able to follow us."  
She looked away, "I'm not thinking about Victor."  
He looked at her quizically before blushing, "Oh."  
She blushed, turning a fierce shade of red as she averted her eyes from his face.  
"I was...thinking of that too" he admitted.  
She looked up at him, waiting for him to continue.  
"I think, if you wanted to, we could pick up where that left off..." he said softly.  
She looked up at him, gently stroking his face, "I thought you'd never ask."  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
For the first time in years, Logan actually smiled at the sunlight streaming in the window. He stroked Nikki's hair softly. He was slightly amused by how she used him as a pillow, but at the same time, he never wanted her to let go.  
She yawned and stretched, smiling, "Hey."  
"Good morning sleeping beautiful" he said, kissing her lovingly.  
"It's sleeping beauty" she said.  
"No, she's got nothing on you" he said, placing gentle kisses down her neck.  
Callie barked, as if to tell them to get a room, and Nikki took her squeek toy and threw it across the room, starting a makeshift game of indoor-fetch.  
Logan chuckled and brushed back her hair, "You like it here."  
"I'm happy" she said.  
He smiled, "So am I. I want to stay here too. Do you think we should..?"  
"Yeah, I do" she said, "If the professor will let us, we will."  
He nodded, and they got dressed to go meet with the professor.  
"I have to catch up with you" Nikki said, picking up Callie.  
"Why?" Logan asked.  
"I have to take her outside" she said, looking at him.  
"Oh. Bathroom. Right. I almost forgot. Go ahead, I'll meet you there" he said, letting her go.  
She brought Callie back in after a few minutes outside, and let her go back to her pet bed. Nikki went down the stairs to where Logan was outside the professor's door, "Ready?"  
He took her hand, "Yup. You?"  
She shook her head, and he gently kissed her, squeezing her hand, "Now?"  
She beamed, "Okay."  
He knocked at the door, keeping their hands twined together, and the Professor called, "Come in."  
Logan led the way and the Professor smiled, "What can I do for you?"  
"We'd like to stay" Nikki said in a soft voice, "If that's okay."  
The Professor smiled, "Of course. You both have finished high school, correct?"  
They both nodded and the Professor smiled, "Then in the fall you may start collage level classes here, and have training with your powers."  
"I hear there's a superhero team here" Logan said, "If we wanted to join them-"  
"By all means you can" The Professor said.  
Logan turned to Nikki, "This is going to get real interesting real fast."  
She smiled, "I'm up for it."  
They squeezed each other's hand, smiling to each other.  
And so ends another else-worlds tale. But two words still remain...  
The End  
**Child Of Flame, Daughter Of Power**

Chapter 1  
Daken walked into his room, seeing Claudine sitting by the window with a book.  
"Hey" she said, smiling.  
She stood and he took her face in his hands, very gently, and kissed her softly on the lips. He rubbed her stomach, holding her close. She was round with their child, and so close to bringing their baby into the world.  
"How was your day?" she asked.  
"Terrible. Do you want to know what my torture today was?" he asked.  
She sat down and waited for him to continue.  
"I had to go out on five different missions, one after the other. And all for some pretty stupid crap too. Where are all these big-time bad guys the X-Men used to fight? They're all hiding, so we have to take care of everyone else's work too now" he said, changing out of his uniform.  
She reached out, and he moved to be by her side. She gently stroked his cheek, "It's okay. Cyclops will have to give you some time off soon."  
He smiled and kissed her lightly again, "I know."

Sebastian Shaw had been perfecting his strategy to bring Daken and Miss Sinister back to his Hellfire Club, but he had a better idea than before at that moment. He knew how to bring them back, but it would take time. He would have to make the child listen to him and him only. He heard the movements close by, and was almost sure he'd have to go.  
"Listen" Nikki said softly, hearing the rustling of the leaves.  
Elie listened, turning her head to the side, and moved slowly in the direction of Shaw's hiding place. 'Unbelievable' he thought, 'In perfecting my plan, it gets foiled.'  
"Hey!" Laurent shouted, and the two turned, giving Sebastian a window to leave.  
"Aw damn it" Elie said, "You let whatever it was get away!"  
Nikki sniffed, "Shaw."  
"Who's he?" Elie asked.  
"Sebastian Shaw, of the Hellfire Club" Laurent chimed in.  
"Go to the cabins. Tell them not to leave. Then go home, and stay there until I tell you differently" Nikki said.  
Elie followed Nikki in, texting Connor to stay where he was and she'd be home when she was done at Nikki's.  
"What can I do?" Elie asked.  
"Just wait here. We don't know what he's planning yet, so we have to be careful. Stay here for now, we'll start planning in a few" Nikki said, going upstairs.

Daken could feel the air of apprehension outside the room, and he looked up from where he'd rested his head on Claudine's, just playing with her hair as if they were in their own blissful little bubble.  
"What's wrong?" she asked  
"Something, but I don't know yet" he said.  
She reached out with her mind, skimming the peaceful thoughts of the younger Howletts, Logan was worrying about Daken, Elie about Nikki, and...  
"Shaw was here" she whispered.  
"When?" Daken asked.  
"A few minutes ago. Nikki and Elie were going to catch him when they heard him, but Laurent had to be an idiot and interrupt. Shaw escaped, and now everyone's on lockdown. They don't know what he's planning" Claudine said.  
Nikki knocked lightly at the door and Daken opened it, "Where was Shaw?"  
"She already told you?" Nikki asked.  
Daken nodded, and Claudine gave a small smile.  
"He was in the trees, down by the path" Nikki said.  
"Do you know what's going on?" Daken asked.  
"No, but we're going to come up with something. You can stay here with Claudine if you'd like" Nikki said.  
"I want to be a part of this too" Claudine said.  
Daken looked at her, "We're both in on this."  
Nikki nodded, "Then come down, we're all going to try to figure out what he's going for."  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
They talked amonst themselves, trying to come up with plans.  
"What's going on?" Laura asked, walking downstairs.  
"Shaw was close" Claudine said. "I didn't even hear his thoughts either."  
Daken glanced to her, and realized what Shaw wanted. He stood and pulled Nikki and Logan aside.  
"He wants us back" Daken said.  
"And how would he plan to do that?" Nikki asked.  
He looked at Claudine and his eyes filled with sorrow, "He'd try to use her to get to me, and me to get to her, but to get to both of us...he'd have to use the baby."  
Nikki let out a soft growl, "He won't. We're not going to let him. Go talk to her, we're going to start planning how to block him until we have a window for an offencive."  
She turned and went back to her small group, who were all on the edges of their seats, ready for a bloody battle.  
Daken looked at his father, "We have to protect them."  
"I know. I know how much they mean to you, and we will. We're taking care of this, and when Shaw gets close, we're going to take care of him" Logan said.  
Daken nodded and went back to Claudine.  
Logan sat down at Nikki's side, and started planning.  
"We're going to set up patrols, like in the pack. Shaw doesn't get close. What happens is when he gets close, we're going to start running an offencive" she began, then called out three of the group, "You're the first team, our front line. You move in first, and Shaw thinks he's got it handled. We move in after you, and he knows he's outnumbered and outgunned. We can take care of all of this, quickly, before he even gets a chance to put his plan in action."  
Logan chuckled, "Where were you when Cyke was pulling off some stupid no-brained plans?"  
She smiled, "Probably planning military strategy in Romania. I'm a woman of many talents love."  
The others sighed and rolled their eyes, before returning to strategy.  
Claudine rested her head against Daken's shoulder, "Why aren't you planning with them?"  
"Because I'm not leaving you. Shaw wants our baby, and I know you can take care of yourself, but if he brings others to come after you, I'm going to be there protecting you. Nothing is going to happen to you or our baby" he said, kissing her hair softly.  
She rubbed her round stomach, "I'm scared."  
Daken kissed her forehead, "Me too."  
"He can't get to our baby, can he?" Claudine asked.  
He rubbed her back, trying to ease the fear he smelled on her, "No. I won't let him." He gently kissed her forehead again, bringing her as close to him as possible.  
"You know Shaw's not going to win, right?" Elie asked them.  
"Why?" Claudine asked.  
"Because, Nikki's already telling people how to get him vulnerable enough to probably kill him" Elie said.  
Daken grinned, "Knowing her, she's going to."  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Claudine looked out the window, worried about their friends.  
"Hey, are you okay?" Elie asked from the door.  
"Yeah. What's going on out there? Have they found Shaw yet?" Claudine asked.  
"No. They're not looking for him, they're trying to pick up the scent and possibly send a team to find out where he is and if he has others with him" Elie said.  
Claudine scoffed, "I know Shaw. He'd save himself the recruiting time and just take care of us himself."  
"Do you think he'll come alone?" Elie asked.  
"Probably, if he doesn't he won't bring too many others with him" Claudine said.  
"I'm going to go talk to Logan, stay here" Elie said.  
"Don't I always?" Claudine sighed, and felt the baby kick.  
"I know" she murmured, rubbing her stomach, "We're both going to have more freedom soon. They're only doing what's best for us."  
She felt another soft kick, almost as if the baby knew what she was saying, and was trying to tell her he or she understood.  
Claudine gently rubbed her stomach, looking out the window and longing to be able to do something. She reached out with her mind, trying to figure out what was going on. Random thought fragments went through her mind, nothing too important. Some of the pack had traveled up, and were almost salivating at the chance to get to take out the legendary Sebastian Shaw. Some, like Laurent, were bored and just wanted it over with already so they could get back to their lives. Victoria was concerned, but happy that she, Elie and Nikki would get to be a team again. Logan was, well Logan, he was strategizing with the woman he loved, and taking glances at her any chance he could get.  
Claudine left his mind before it got disturbing. Then she reached out to Daken. His thoughts were, as always, concerned with her. He didn't want her to be upset with him, having her stay there, but he didn't want her in harm's way either. She smiled at the warmth of his thoughts, the love, and stopped listening. It was nothing too interesting, anyway.  
'I'm almost ready' a voice said in her mind.  
"What?" she whispered out loud, but no one's mental voice had matched that.  
'Momma, you've got to get ready. I'll be there soon' the little voice said.  
Her eyes filled with tears and she rubbed her stomach, smiling, "You can think to me."  
She could almost hear the little voice rolling it's eyes, "Yes. And I'm a girl, to let you know."  
She smiled, "Okay baby girl."  
"Logan's keeping it in mind-What's wrong?" Elie asked.  
"I can hear her thoughts" Claudine whispered, "She can think to me. She's a telepath."  
Elie smiled, "Must be fun, being able to communicate like that."  
"I never dreamt this could happen though" Claudine said softly, wonder in her voice, "But she says it's almost time. She'll be here to know you herself soon."  
Elie smiled, "I bet you can't wait."  
Claudine beamed, motherly pride swelling up in her heart, "More than you can imagine."  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Elie jogged outside, beaming as she ran up to Daken, "It's time."  
"Claudine?" he asked, stunned.  
She nodded, "She's okay, she knew it was coming."  
"How?" Daken asked.  
"The baby thought it to her" Elie said, "Yeah, I know I sound crazy, but the baby's a telepath too."  
Daken grinned, "And she can actually understand us?"  
"It seems like all kids of ferals are smart" Elie said softly.  
Daken grinned, and went inside. Shaw was going to anticipate this, he knew, but they'd be ready.  
He sat there at Claudine's side, and she looked at him, "This is really happening." Her voice was soft, and he laughed softly, "Yeah."  
He stroked her cheek, "We're really having a kid together."  
She grinned, "We can actually do this."  
He smiled, holding her hand in his own, as their baby girl wailed in the background.  
"What're we going to name her?" Claudine asked, taking their baby girl in her arms.  
He stared into the wide violet eyes, the color like a combination of both of theirs, her small hand reaching out to him. He took her small hand in his, touching her palm with his thumb, "Hey. I'm your dad."  
She recognized him and smiled with a small giggle. He looked to Claudine, "I don't know. She's...well, she's beautiful."  
"Kayla?" Claudine asked.  
"Sure" he whispered, "It's a good name for her."  
"You're getting all choked up" she joked.  
He smiled, "Yeah, I guess I am."  
"Kayla...Emily? Kayla Emily?" she asked.  
"Kayla Emily Howlett. For a third generation, it's not bad" Daken said, smiling.  
"You might not want to remind your parents how old they're getting" Claudine joked, smiling widely.  
Kayla giggled and looked into Daken's eyes, 'I finally see you Daddy. I know your voice.'  
Claudine heard Kayla's mental voice and smiled, "She's incredible, isn't she?"  
Daken just beamed in wonder, "I see you too Kayla."  
Claudine rested her head on Daken's shoulder, Kayla touching both of them. For a moment, they all forgot about the near danger. But, that couldn't last too long.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
"I dunno..." Nikki began, staring at the DVD in Elie's hands.  
"Oh please, it's good" Elie begged.  
"Alright, put it on" Nikki said.  
Elie did, and started the movie right away.  
"That's David Bowie" Elie said.  
"Are you serious? In very strange...very tight, pants?" Nikki asked.  
"I know. That's my favorite part" Elie said, grinning.  
"Hm, I know what my favorite part of the whole invention of spandex" Nikki grinned, a wicked gleam in her eyes.  
"Logan in it?" Elie guessed, knowing if she wasn't on the spot, she'd be close.  
"Yep" Nikki grinned, laying backwards over the couch.  
"You're like a bad teenager" Elie said.  
"Oh please, like you and Connor in tight leather?" Nikki asked, grinning playfully.  
Elie nudged her with her elbow, and blushed lightly, "I can't help that he has muscle."  
"And I can't help that my man is the most perfect in the omniverse. That, and he has an incredible body" Nikki grinned, a dreamy sigh slipping out.  
"Don't kill me, but you know he's hot" Elie said.  
"Oh I won't, but I don't think you have a chance against Connor" Nikki said.  
Elie laughed, "Don't get me wrong. I love Connor, but Logan is...wow."  
"Tell me about it. And you may have seen him with his shirt off before, but when the moronic bad guys who have never touched a comic book go up against him, and sometimes the clothing ends up...well, gone" Nikki began, and Elie blushed and fanned her face a little, "THAT's my favorite part."  
Nikki heard leaves rustle, and she jolted up, sniffing the air. Elie was at her side, on her feet in a heartbeat.  
"Nikki?" Elie whispered.  
"Shaw" Nikki whispered, and started outside.  
Sebastian Shaw looked insane. Nikki was shocked, he'd never seemed like the type to be insane.  
"Shaw, you don't have to do this" Nikki whispered, looking for an easy attack, something that wouldn't involve too much of a fight.  
"Yes. Yes I do" he laughed softly, and Nikki knew he'd lost his mind.  
"What happened to you?" she asked softly, trying to distract him.  
"Didn't you girls ever know why you were so similar? Why you think so clearly together? You're family, or didn't your mother dearest ever tell you that?" Shaw asked, taking a step toward them.  
"Nikki, he's not crazy" Elie whispered.  
"He seems like it" Nikki said softly back to her.  
"Nikki, he's drunk. Clearly this wasn't part of the plan" Elie said.  
She turned and stared at Elinoria, "He's...drunk? He can do that?"  
Elie rolled her eyes, "Well not everyone can be blessed with a healing factor."  
"Then...is he telling the truth?" Nikki asked, looking to Elie as a soft thump hit the surface of the ground.  
Nikki turned and saw Shaw, passed out, on the grass. "He might've been" Elie said.  
"I can't believe this. There's one way to find out" Nikki said.  
"We're going to torture him?" Elie asked.  
"No, we're going to give him to the X-Men. We're going to find out ourselves" Nikki said.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
Elie looked at Hank and the others while they stared at the genetics and Nikki leaned back against the wall.  
"What're they talking about?" Elie asked.  
"How should I know? It got to the point where all I could understand were the 'buts' and the 'ands'" Nikki said.  
"Wow" Elie said, "But aren't we both...old?"  
"No, not really. Our uncle is almost 800 years old, that's saying we're really young" Nikki said.  
Elie giggled and Hank walked out, "Shaw seemed to be telling the truth. You two are sisters."  
Elie leapt up in the air and did a cheerleader dance, "Yeah! Finally!" She danced around and Nikki grinned at Hank, "Thanks."  
"No problem" Hank said, and Nikki put her hands on Elie's shoulders to keep her on the ground, "Let's go celebrate."  
Elie cheered and ran for the car, "I call shotgun!"  
Nikki rolled her eyes, waved to Hank, and left after Elie. The two climbed into Nikki's red Mustang, and pulled out down the Golden Gate bridge with David Bowie and Queen playing on the radio, Elie's favorites.  
"This is so cool! You're really my sister! Wow. That is so cool!" Elie gushed, overjoyed.  
Nikki laughed, the brightness of the sun and her sister's sunny mood made her incredibly happy, "Isn't it?"  
They pulled up the interstate, and after being on the road for about two and a half hours, they finally were able to pull down the street to the house.  
"Oh man, wait until we tell them!" Elie grinned.  
Nikki laughed, "I can't wait to hear what they say."  
Elie paused, "Nikki, do you smell that?"  
She sniffed the air and cussed under her breath, "Shaw's back. How'd he break out?"  
"Ask him, not me" Elie said.  
They went inside the mansion to warn the others.  
TBC  
Chapter 7  
It had all gone according to Shaw's plan. He'd exposed the family ties between the girls to give them something to be preoccupied over, while he took his path back. Little had they known, he did have someone with him. A mutant girl, about 14, with the ability to make living hollograms from her mind. It was amazing what his money brought him.  
That was how he'd taken care of everyone else.  
Once Wolverine, Daken and X-23 had been suffeciently distracted, he'd moved in. But Miss Sinister was proving to be difficult. She could see past them, pushing the illusions back into the child's mind. Shaw was getting sick of their telepathic war, and was considering just going for her himself.  
Claudine took her oppertunity while the girl was creating a new illusion for the others, and sent a psychic blast at her, knocking her unconsious.  
Claudine turned and scooped Kayla up in her arms, whispering to her that she was okay.  
'Momma, look out!' Kayla thought to her in a panic, and Claudine felt the cold metal of the knife at her throat, "Put the baby down."  
She did, and whipped around, delivering a kick to Shaw's midsection, throwing him out of the room.  
Elie moved past the body and stood in front of Claudine, who'd picked up Kayla and Nikki stood in front of Shaw, her claws out, "Now, where were we the last time I fought you?"  
Shaw lunged, and she dodged, making a swift cut across his face. He was momentarily blinded by the blood falling over one eye, and as he wiped it away she lunged again, this time knocking him to the ground with the deep cuts in his shoulder.  
"You shouldn't have done that" he said, an eerie calm in his voice, as he lunged with the knife. She dodged one attack, his strikes fast and clearly ameture.  
She lunged for another attack, and felt the knife tear into her stomach.  
She cussed and backed off, pulling it out of her side, with blood running from the deep cut that was beginning to heal.  
She heard an absolutely feral snarl, and Elie leapt, fangs in the place of her canines, talons on her hands, almost like she was half-bat, but not.  
"DON'T TOUCH MY SISTER!" she roared, leaping at Shaw.  
He was defenceless against her sudden attack, and she toppled him over the railing and onto the back of the Wendigo the little girl had created. As it turned to see it's disturbance, Elie took it's head off. She'd gone into an absolute bloodrage.  
"Elie!" Nikki shouted, going to the railing. Her voice seemed to draw Elie partly out of the rage, "You're not an animal."  
The words Elie'd been saying to her for so long suddenly meant so much, and she looked down at Elie as she shook her head, the talons and fangs retracting, "Sorry."  
Nikki started down the stairs, all eyes on her, "Don't be. You did what you needed to do. And I have to give you credit, you moved in on my fight. You're the only one in our family to have enough guts to do that."  
She smiled and strode over to Elie, "Sisters?"  
"Sisters" Elie said, grinning, and hugged her.  
Nikki hugged her back, who would've known Sebastian Shaw could bring a family together?  
The End

**Vampyre (OS)**

Nikki smiled at Elie as they sat together on the stone bench in the garden. It seemed like a lifetime ago, before Elie had even wandered into the territory, that she'd been sitting at the very bench, wondering if she was doing the right thing. Always wondering if she was doing what was right.  
"I think I need a codename" Elie said, being the first to break the silence.  
"Well what kind of a codename to you give to a highly gifted vampire that can sensory deprive people by touch and has fangs and talons. Though I guess the fangs and talons could just be a vampire aspect...like a secondary mutation, you know?" Nikki asked.  
"Yeah, but still..." Elie trailed off, "You know, you're Wolverina. I'm just...Elinoria."  
"No you're not" Nikki said, and thought for a moment, "You're Vampyre. Like the species as a whole, not just a single vampire. You're my sister, best friend, and one of my two parnters in $$ kickery."  
"What about Connor?" Elie asked.  
"He gets to be your partner" Nikki said.  
"So when we go on missions, it'll be like double dating!" Elie said.  
"I can see it now. 'Isn't this romantic honey?', slices the head off some random murderer. 'Sure is darlin', kiss over shoulder, cut gun in half, and then you and Connor kiss on sidelines before swinging in to help us" Nikki said, sarcastically.  
"Wow. You have a very strange imagination" Elie said, earning a soft smack from Nikki.  
"But really, you think we could be a team? All four of us?" she asked.  
"Yeah, sure, why not?" Nikki said.  
Elie jumped up and squeeled, hugging Nikki tightly, "Oh this is so cool!"  
"Ell, I'd try not to break me if I were you" Nikki said softly.  
"Oh, sorry" Elie said, and grinned, "Can I go tell Connor?"  
"Go ahead" Nikki said, motioning to the path.  
"I'll be back" Elie said in a rush as she ran way.  
"What was that about?" Logan asked.  
"Apparently, the psycho imagination runs in the family" Nikki muttered, and tugged Logan along to go inside. The End  
(A/N- This was actually based off a conversation Wolvielover120 and I had last night, and there are actually some things we wrote to each other in it.)  
**X-Warriors Reunion**

Chapter 1  
Wade walked up to the door, banging loudly.  
Nikki walked over, exasperated, and Wade walked in, "I'M BA-ACK!"  
She smiled sympathetically at Maria who walked in with the baby, who had grown up some since they'd last seen her.  
"Hey squirt. You crazy as your dad yet?" Victor asked, lifting her over the back of the couch.  
"No. She resists all attempts at insanity" Maria said.  
Lizzy snuggled Victor, her way of saying she missed him.  
Victor brushed his clawed fingers through her soft hair, "She's adorible Maria."  
Wade glanced where Lizzy was cuddling Victor, and almost fainted.  
Lizzy was playing with a lock of Victor's long blond hair, twisting it around her fingers, and she reached out and kissed his jaw softly.  
Victor laughed and let her continue playing with his hair.  
Maria, Kitten and Nikki were catching up on their gossip and such, while Victor occupied the little one.  
Logan looked at Wade, "It's okay man. Tayla does that all the time."  
Wade glanced at Logan, and actually fainted.  
"Hey Maria? Your Deadpool fainted" Victor called.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
The day of insanity passed sucessfully, and the next morning, Nikki thought of something.  
"If we do bring the X-Warriors back...can Connor and Elie join?" she asked Logan.  
"Sure" he said, "Why not? You're our boss now, Missus Howlett."  
She grinned and walked over to him, curling up beside him and kissing him gently, "I love you."  
He stroked her hair, "I love you too darlin. You can lead this team, I know it."  
She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, "You know I had a dream about you last night."  
"Really?" he asked, looking at her, "What about?"  
"Oh some random crap" she said, "But it was still cute since we were together."  
Logan brushed his fingers along her cheek, from temple to jaw, pressing his lips to her forehead, "Are you sure you're not gonna tell me?"  
He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, softly stroking her hair, "Nope." She popped her lips on the 'p'.  
He leaned in and gently kissed her, making her sigh, and parted her lips with his tongue. She held onto him, molding their lips together, and he stopped seeing the urgency in finding out her dreams.  
"Get a room" Laura muttered, walking in.  
Logan continued to kiss Nikki, gently lifting her onto his lap and chuckling against her lips when he heard Laura's disgusted growl.  
He broke away from her, leaving her breathless against him, "Damn. I should hold out on you more often."  
Logan chuckled and kissed her again gently, "I wouldn't if I were you, you never know what'll happen next time."  
Nikki grinned, "Then I think I will."  
"Can we please get back to the task at hand? Please?" Laura asked, "Can we join up, please?"  
"No" both of them said at the same time.  
"But don't tell me we're going to have to-" Laura said.  
"No, you won't have to babysit. Megan already asked us if she could, and Lizzy loves Megan" Nikki said.  
"But why am I staying here?" Laura asked.  
"Because, you still need to watch your family" Nikki said in that soft, but motherly tone.  
"But Megan babysits Lizzy Wilson, can't she babysit them too? She's younger than me and she gets to go with the X-Men, why not me, I've already been doing this my whole life!" Laura complained.  
"Because you should retain your humanity Laura. I would know, I tried after years and it was almost impossible. Please Laura, can you just listen to us this once?" Nikki asked.  
Laura nodded, "Sure."  
She started for the door but turned to see them again, "Thanks. I'm glad you actually care."  
"We always do Laura. That's why we do the things we do for all of you" Nikki said.  
Logan let her be the voice of reason, since nine times out of ten, she could voice everything perfectly. Tell them the exact truth, but make it seem nicer than it may be.  
Laura nodded and walked away.  
"You don't want them to take it on" Logan said softly.  
"It's not that I don't, I do, it's just...we finally got all of our family to settle down. To stop being in such a hurry all the time. I'd like it to last a little while longer before we all end up back in the X-mansion a couple days a week" she said.  
Logan nodded, rubbing her shoulder, "I know darlin, so do I."  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
In their cabin not too far away, Elie was ecstatic to be a superhero like her now-sister. Connor, on the other hand, didn't think as much of it since he'd already lived the life, he just wanted to be with the woman he loved.  
"Oh be nice, will you? This may not be the first time you've done it, but I haven't yet" Elie said, sitting down in front of the TV.  
Connor wrapped his arms around her, kissing her gently on the lips, "I know, but please, Ell, it isn't worth it. I don't want you getting hurt."  
"I won't, Nikki can-" Elie began and Connor cut her off.  
"I get that she can protect you and all, but you're more of a liablity on this team than an assett love" he said softly.  
"What?!" she shouted, sitting up, "I can take care of myself better than a lot of people, even you, and I can make this work. I'm not going to get myself hurt Connor, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."  
She walked up the stairs and went into the bedroom, laying down on the bed, and she curled up, upset.  
"Elie? C'mon baby, I didn't mean that the way it came out" Connor said, sitting down and running his fingers through her hair.  
"Connor, please, give it up. Just give me a little time alone, okay?" Elie said.  
"Okay" Connor said, and left the room.  
Elie stood and walked to the window, climbing down, and with leaping strides, took the night. She heard the howling of wolves, and saw Sal and Nikki ahead in thier wolf forms.  
"Nikki!" she called, and the wolf turned, leaping at her and tackling her to the ground, barking and wagging her tail.  
"Hey Nikki" Elie said, scratching her behind the ears.  
Nikki gave her a strange look and climbed off, sitting and looking at her with her head turned. Sal trotted up and nudged Elie off the ground.  
"Do you guys mind if I come back to the mansion for a while?" Elie asked.  
Nikki barked, wagging her tail, and nodded in the direction.  
Elie was going to practice tonight.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Elie had run three level six battle simulations, and had come out victorious through all of them, and started to wonder what she was trying to prove.  
"What're you doing here?" Laura asked.  
"I'm training" Elie replied.  
"For what? You're on their team, and you're a good fighter, but why is it they opted to corrupt you so easily" Laura asked.  
"Because I can handle it" Elie said.  
"Yeah right" Laura said, looking her right in the eyes, "What about when you make your first kill? When you can kill without feeling that sickness in the pit of your stomach? Tell me, how much will you love yourself after that one, princess?"  
Elie looked at Laura, "It's none of your business."  
She strode past Laura and walked down the hall, away from her, but a question still lingered on her mind...what if Laura was right? What if she did change?  
She had to go find Nikki.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Elie found Nikki in the back garden.  
"Nikki?" she called.  
Nikki looked up, her eyes meeting Elie's, "What's wrong?"  
Elie found herself entranced, Nikki's mood had gone from peaceful to sad just by seeing her expression, "I can't do this."  
"Yes you can" Nikki said softly, with the wisdom only older sisters could offer, "Elie, I know you can, why else would I have asked you to come with us?"  
"Because I'm your sister" Elie said.  
"Exactly, if I didn't think you could take care of yourself and others, I would've wanted you to stay the hell away from this. I swear, you can, you might need a little incentive..." Nikki began.  
"Like?" Elie asked.  
"Go home. We'll work in the morning. And I promise Elie Sparrow, I will make a fighter out of you yet" Nikki said, her eyes taking on a wicked gleam.  
Elie smiled, "I better not end up dead."  
"You won't" Nikki said, as if she had a plan already.  
Elie already knew this wasn't going to end well.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
Elie woke up early, still not too pleased with Connor, but better than the night before. She went to the mansion, as usual, but knowing her sister was probably going to put her in near-death situations this morning.  
She walked in and was about to ask where she was when Laura said, "Danger room. Good luck."  
Elie walked down the hall of the mansion's underground. It was designed close to the X-Mansion's design, and it was the only part of the house that gave away anything of their superhero nature. She could hear Nikki sparring in the danger room, and decided to look in on it.  
Nikki whipped around, trying to attack her opponent, when her kick was blocked. She moved with her unbeatable speed, and Elie heard Nikki's opponent grunt. She looked in, almost pressing her face to the glass.  
'Holy crap' she thought.  
"I win" Nikki purred, leaning over Logan and kissing him passionately.  
He kissed her back, using their position to flip her over and pin her under him, "You were saying?"  
Her expression of shock turned to a glare, "Get off me."  
He gently kissed her neck, "C'mon darlin', don't you like playing with me?"  
Her expression softened, and she kissed him lovingly, "It is fun, but I can think of something better..."  
Logan kissed her back and Elie choked, turning away.  
"What are you doing Elie?" Nikki asked, staring at her.  
Elie turned and stared at her, blushing, "Oh, I didn't mean to-"  
"Relax, just pretend you didn't see anything" Nikki said, and when she walked into the danger room.  
"Logan and I are both going to be training you this morning" Nikki said, standing beside her love.  
"Um...will either of you kill me if I attack one of you?" Elie asked.  
Nikki laughed, "No. Pick a target."  
Elie turned and leapt at Logan. He easily blocked her attacks until she struck him wrong and fell on her backside.  
"Damn" Elie said softly, "How did you-?"  
"You got predictable" Logan said, "If I were you I'd try not to do that."  
Nikki giggled and walked over to him, kissing him gently, "Mind if I watch?"  
Logan's eyes darkened fractionally, and Elie rolled her eyes, "Anything you'd like to see?"  
Nikki grinned mischeviously, "Take off your shirt."  
"Okay, he can strip, or we can work, which will it be?" Elie asked.  
"You already know how I'm going to answer that" Nikki said.  
Elie rolled her eyes, Nikki and Logan had been together for a long time, and still they were so passionately in love.  
"I guess I'll start on my own" Elie said, getting up and walking away, when Nikki moved quickly and made a surprise attack. Elie blocked it and used the momentum Nikki had used to attack her to swing Nikki around and slam her into the floor. Elie moved to stand up, getting away from her.  
"Ow" Nikki muttered, rubbing her head, "Nice job Elie. I'd call that good for a surprise attack. You're going to face a lot of those."  
"Why don't I take over from here?" Logan asked, "I'm a little less breakable darlin'."  
She nodded and let him help her to her feet, "Don't kill her."  
Elie was a little scared by Nikki's statement, but when her eyes focused on Logan, who was assessing her as a target, she was scared.  
'Aside from Deadpool, do superheroes get to run away?' she thought.  
TBC  
Chapter 7  
Connor walked up to the door and knocked on the glass, saving Elie from her 'training session' which she could swear Logan was having way too much fun with.  
"What?" she asked.  
"I am willing to do anything, ANYTHING to make you happy with me again, what can I do?" he asked.  
Elie grinned, "I have an idea."  
Later-  
Elie sat on the bench in the courtyard to the X-Mansion, watching Connor walk around in his Goblin King from Labyrinth outfit.  
Nikki rolled her eyes and looked at Logan, "How did I know this was going to happen?"  
Logan chuckled and put his arms around her waist, "Want me to wear something like that ever?"  
She giggled, "Wear your uniform home sometime, I'll show you how happy I'll be with you."  
He gave her a playful growl and kissed her lovingly, despite the small audience starting to gather.  
Connor walked over to Elie, "Can we please go home now?"  
Elie beamed, "I'd be honored...Goblin King."  
Connor rolled his eyes and sighed before picking her up in his arms and carrying her off to the jet.  
"Hopeless romantic" Nikki muttered, before Logan kissed her again.  
The End  
**Eternal (OS, NPOV)**

The sky was bright for an evening, the clouds beautiful shades of orange, lavender and rose, the stars that had come to rise early were glittering brightly overhead.  
Though I don't have any artistic talent whatsoever, it seemed better to try to draw all this than to take a picture.  
Surprisingly, so far I'd captured it almost perfectly. I must get the art from Elie.  
I heard soft, familiar footsteps and caught his scent, smiling to myself.  
"Wouldn't it just be easier to watch from the door?" I asked, joking.  
Logan sat down beside me, wrapping one arm around me while he held me close, "I don't know about you, but I like this better."  
I chuckled, resting my head on his shoulder. He watched me, not the stars, as I finished the drawing, color and all.  
"It's beautiful" Logan said.  
"It matches perfectly" I said proudly.  
"But it still has nothing on you" he said softly, gently kissing me.  
I couldn't help smiling, "You think I'm more beautiful than the sunset?"  
"More than the stars too" he whispered, both of his arms wrapping around me and pulling me back against his chest. I relaxed against him, letting him stroke my hair and watch the sky grow darker with me.  
I turned to him after I didn't know how long, gently touching his cheek. He looked at me, his beautiful eyes, such a perfect blue, it could compare to nothing, meeting mine.  
"I love you" I whispered, leaning against his chest and listening to his heart beat.  
He stroked my hair, "I love you too."  
His lips pressed to the top of my head, and my heart reacted audibly, making him laugh.  
"It's been years and you still do that every time I kiss you?" he murmured, smiling.  
"Any time you touch me" I whispered.  
My lips brushed his throat with my being so close, and even his heart reacted. It was my turn to laugh, "You blame me when you do it too?"  
He smiled and turned my face to meet his, locking our lips.  
He cradled my face in his hands, running his tongue across my lower lip, and I could've jumped in his arms more than willingly...if I had the strength to do it. He made me go weak, and I loved it.  
He started moving away, and I pulled myself fully against his chest, kissing him more heatedly than before. He gently pulled away, still holding my face in his hands, "Don't worry darlin, we've got all night."  
I smiled at the promise only I got to hear, and I let him scoop me up in his arms.  
"This is for you by the way" I said, giving him my sketchbook with the drawing in it.  
He smiled and kissed me lightly, "Keep it. I already got the one thing I'd always wanted."  
"What?" I asked.  
"You."  
I smiled and kissed him, "You're so sweet."  
He grinned, "Yeah, sure."  
"No, you are. And that's one of the reasons I love you" I said, gently kissing him again.  
"Forever" he murmured, kissing me gently.  
"Forever" I echoed, our lips meeting again.  
The End  
**New X-Warriors**

Chapter 1  
Elie was surprised to hear her phone go off so early. She reached out of bed and felt around on the bedside table for it. She found the phone and flipped it open, bringing it into her view.  
"Why is she calling me at-" she glanced at the clock, "Ugh, 5 AM?"  
She took the call and sat up, rubbing her eyes, "What's up?"  
"C'mon, get outta bed, you got a mission to get to" Nikki said, sounding less like a morning person and more like someone who was depending on coffee to keep her up at an hour like this.  
"Can't Scott handle it this early?" Elie asked.  
"Nope. That's why he asked us to come. They're dealing with their own problem" Nikki said, yawning.  
"Of course they are" Elie said, "When do you want me there?"  
"15 minutes?" Nikki asked.  
"Sure" Elie said, and hung up.  
Connor was deep asleep, his messy dark hair in every direction on his pillow, and more than one soft snore coming from him. Elie laughed and smoothed his hair before going to hurry up getting ready.  
About ten minutes later and she'd gotten ready quickly, mostly relying on vampire speed, and was grabbing toast on her way out. She wrote Connor a quick note, leaving it on the kitchen table, and raced out to the Howlett mansion.  
"Hey sis!" Elie cheered, having had a nice splash of cool water to wake her up.  
Nikki looked at her, half groggy, "I hate Cyke."  
"I know" Elie said sympathetically, "Coffee not working?"  
She shook her head, laying on her arm for a moment, "I'm so tired."  
"What time did you go to bed?" Elie asked.  
"Two" Nikki said.  
"Why?" Elie asked.  
Nikki looked at her like she was insane, "There was a game on last night. The team Logan was rooting for won."  
"And...?" Elie asked.  
"We celebrated" Nikki said, grinning mischeviously.  
"Oh" Elie said, "Why am I not surprised? Where is Logan anyway?"  
"Probably taking a nap in the jet. We're still waiting for Maria and Wade. Victor's on his way."  
"Okay, so who's watching the little ones?" Elie asked.  
"Vicky and Kitten" Nikki said, putting her face in her hands and rubbing her eyes, "I need to go back to sleep."  
"The coffee should be working, how many did you have?" Elie asked.  
"Six" Nikki replied, "And still nothing."  
"Well stop it before you kill yourself! Too much caffeine is not a good thing!"  
"I have a healing factor Elie. That means it pretty much cancels out alcohol and caffeine, the two things I really need with this job" Nikki said.  
"What about Logan?" Elie asked.  
"He's got it better than I do now. He hasn't had a drink in months. He only drinks socially now. I, on the other hand, am taking all sorts of crap from Cyclops and aparently my 'factor just won't give out when I want it to!" Nikki said.  
"No offence, but I think you're a little drunk on caffeine" Elie said.  
"That would be a change" Nikki muttered.  
"You're never usually so dark. You must be tired" Elie said.  
Nikki put her head down, "You think I can catch a nap?"  
"Try for it" Elie said.  
Nikki's eyes closed and she relaxed, and Eie stood there, watching her sleep for about 5 minutes until she stirred and groaned.  
"What?" Elie asked.  
"Wade and that flamin' music!" Nikki snarled.  
Elie heard the voices of Wade and Maria along with Victor and Kitten, and the sudden halt of the blaring music was a blessing to their sensitive ears.  
"We're here!" Wade shouted.  
"If you wake up my kids I'm going to kill you. And I have good mine to now, what the hell's with the music?" Nikki snarled, "It's 5:30 AM!"  
"Yeah, I know, and I'm not sure, didn't Cyclops tell us to be there by 6? We better get movin' pippen!" Wade said, always his annoyingly cheerful self.  
Nikki growled low in her throat, "Keep it up Wade."  
Maria handed Lizzy to Kitten and followed Wade.  
Victor kissed Kitten gently, "I'll be back soon baby."  
"I'll be waiting" Kitten said, clearly worried.  
He smiled and kissed her softly again, before leaving with Nikki and Elie.  
"Time to go?" Logan asked when they reached the jet.  
"Probably shouldn't give Summers any more reasons to kill us" Nikki said, grinning mischeviously.  
Elie looked at the clear love between the two of them, and wished she'd woke up Connor. But she'd seen the look on Kitten's face when Victor was leaving, and she decided against it. It was better to let Connor sleep through the mission, then to have him worry too much about her.  
"Alright, time to go" Nikki called, as the jet went airborn.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Nikki paused Elie before they got off the jet, "Listen...I had a terrible nightmare. You died, and...I never got over it. Please Elie...be careful out there, please."  
Elie nodded, "Okay. You too?"  
Nikki nodded, and hugged her sister tightly. Elie could feel the makings of tears starting in her sister's eyes, "Please be careful."  
"Okay" Elie reassured her, "Do you want me to stay here?"  
Nikki shook her head, "At the moment, the safest place is with us. Wait until later, I might tell you to come back here."  
Elie nodded, and followed Nikki off the jet.  
It didn't seem like they were too far away...but Elie's mind kept drifting to Nikki. How scared she was, how absolutely weak and fragile she seemed...Elie had never seen that before.  
Nikki glanced back and visibly relaxed when she saw Elie smile at her.  
'That dream really must have been terrible' Elie thought.  
They heard shouting voices, and gunfire, and Elie was shocked. Who was out here?  
Nikki glanced to Elie and motioned her to Feral's side. He was big enough to block her and someone else.  
Victor chuckled, "I don't get why she's panicing. This is just like every other job we've done."  
"Because she had a nightmare Vic" Elie said, and looked at her.  
"She okay?" Victor asked.  
"I think so" Elie said softly.  
"Then let's go to work" Victor said, "And she's right, stay behind me unless we tell you otherwise, okay?"  
Elie nodded and stepped behind Victor. She really didn't want to sit out..she wanted to help, but she was starting to wonder if Nikki was right? Maybe she'd be their greatest offence protected like this.  
"Ready?" Logan called back.  
"No" Wade whimpered.  
"Too bad, let's go" Logan said, and lead the team in.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Nikki watched the guards drop by Maria's gun, and knew it was a trap.  
"Vic, get Elie out of here!" she shouted.  
Victor pushed Elie up the bank, stopping near the jet. Elie pushed out from behind him and started to run to her.  
Nikki was pushing as many of her team out as she possibly could, when a metal wall went up between them.  
"Oh $#^%!" Deadpool shouted, turning.  
There were three droids in the places of the many robotic guard.  
Logan's claws came down, "Looks like we each get one."  
Deadpool manned-up, pulling out his katatanas and moving in without a one-liner.  
Logan and Nikki smiled to each other and went in themselves.

"NIKKI!" Elie pounded at the metal, her bare fists making small dents in it.  
"LOGAN! WADE!"  
"They can't hear you" Victor said, "The damn thing's soundproofed. Thick too, it would take a while for even adamantium to cut through this."  
"Son of a b!%#^!" Elile shouted, kicking the metal hard.  
"I didn't think you cussed" Redeemer admitted.  
"Well I do" Elie said, "NIKKI!"  
They heard a loud blast and suddenly three adamantium claws were out one side.  
"What the hell is going on over there?" Feral said softly.

Nikki was stuck. The droid had blasted her into the metal, and she was stuck. This wasn't good at all.  
Logan glanced to her, "You okay baby?"  
"I'm stuck!" she yelped, trying to retract her claws, but finding they were stuck all the way through. She whimpered and tugged, trying to pull them free as her droid gained ground.  
Deadpool shot up his target and moved over to her, "Hang on."  
She looked away when he pulled out a gun, but shot the metal instead. It wrapped around the bullett, sheets upon sheets of it, creating a dent.  
"There's your problem" he muttered, taking her wrist and pulling hard.  
He pulled her claws out and both dropped to the ground in time for the droid to blast the place they had been.  
Logan took out the circut board on his, and Nikki pushed the men back and took her droid's head off, disabling it.  
"Now what the hell is going on here?" Logan asked.  
"That...would be me" a familiar, to Logan at least, voice said.  
"Who the hell is she?" Nikki asked.  
"White Rabbit?" Logan asked.  
"The dumb chick Arcade dated?" Deadpool asked quietly.  
"The one" Logan said.  
White Rabbit hopped down from her own massive droid, "I didn't think you would be smart enough to take them out."  
"They're not hard targets. Now where do we leave?" Logan asked.  
"You don't" White Rabbit said, grinning.  
"You've been spending too much time with Arcade lady, we're getting out of here" Logan growled.  
"They can go, but you Wolverine, I have other plans for" she said, "I need someone who can survive my corses to die on them, and when you can, I can assign people to them."  
"That's it?" Deadpool asked, "I could do that."  
"Well...that's not all" White Rabbit said.  
Nikki growled, "Back the hell off my man b^%#$."  
Logan held her back, "What if I agree, they get to leave?"  
"No! There's no way in hell I'm leaving without you!" Nikki snarled, pulling herself against him and not letting go.  
"They would leave, but they could never come back. You would never see her again Wolverine" White Rabbit said.  
"Oh f&^% you!" Nikki snarled, "Logan stays with me. Try buying some friends, then maybe you'll have some company."  
White Rabbit glared at her, "Who are you to be making assumptions about me?"  
"Who am I?" Nikki growled, "I'm Wolverina b^%$&!"  
Nikki let go of Logan, and lunged for White Rabbit's throat.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
"Nikki!" Logan shouted, while she slashed at White Rabbit. The droid White Rabbit had come in on targeted Nikki, and with a blast sent her back against the sheet metal.  
Logan went to her, gently pulling her into his arms. Her head was ringing.  
"Baby, just stop. I'll be fine, I'll get out on my own" he whispered.  
"F&^% no Logan. I'm not letting you leave my side. You're mine, not hers, mine" she whispered.  
"I know I am. I love you, with all of my heart. Please, don't hurt yourself" he whispered, kissing her lips very softly.  
She pulled herself up and sat upright, "You are not going with her."  
"Baby, please" Logan whispered.  
She turned, and she leapt at the droid, taking it out first, and then leaping at White Rabbit. The claws on one hand came out, two on either side of White Rabbit's throat, and the other pressing right against it. If she decided she wanted to, she could kill her.  
"Are you going to kill me?" White Rabbit whispered.  
"He is mine. Do you understand? He is my mate, my whole life and if you think I'm going to surrender...you've clearly lost whatever mind you had" Nikki snarled, "I won't kill you, if you let us leave. You have nothing, do you understand that? We've destroyed all of your methods of 'protection'. If you ever come after him again...I will personally drain the blood from your body. Clear?"  
"Yes" White Rabbit whispered shakily, afraid to nod with her claws so close.  
Nikki retracted her claws and looked at her, still frozen against the wall, wondering if she should...but decided against it. She walked back to where Wade and Logan were, and with the pure rage she felt, drew back and punched through the thick metal.  
"Nikki!" Elie shouted, leaping over to her.  
Nikki hugged her sister tightly, "You're okay."  
Elie nodded, choked with emotion, and Nikki kissed the top of her head, "Relax baby sister, I'm okay too."  
Elie nodded again and backed off, willing to give Nikki and Logan a moment.  
Logan reached out and pulled her into his arms, practically crushing her against his chest, "Don't ever make me this worried again."  
She shook her head against his chest, kissing his neck, "I love you. I would do anything to keep you safe."  
He chuckled, "and I'd do anything for you."  
She drew back a little, looking at him. She touched his jaw lightly, her lips quivering, and she leaned up, kissing him lovingly.  
Wade whistled, but they ignored him.  
Elie smiled, laughing, "So beautiful!"  
"You're such a sap Elie" Victor said.  
"Well I'm just glad I am a sap rather than a moron" Elie said.  
"Was that a crack at my inteligence?" Victor asked.  
"Good boy Vic!" Elie said, patting his head.  
"Okay, then what's 1.77245?" he asked.  
Elie thought for a moment, and smiled, "Just go ahead and tell me."  
"The square root of pi" he said.  
"YOU GOT THAT FROM TWILIGHT!" Elie shouted after him, but Victor didn't listen.  
Logan laughed and held Nikki in his arms, she kissed his neck gently, "I am just so glad they're getting along."  
"Though your sister might end up killing Victor" Logan said.  
"That I'll pay to see" Nikki said.  
Logan chuckled and kissed her gently.  
"Let's go home" Nikki said softly, holding Logan with one arm and reaching out to Elie, taking her hand. They all went to the jet.  
"Labyrinth?" Elie asked.  
"Sure" Nikki said, and squeezed her sister in a one-armed hug.  
The End  
**Best Sisters Forever (OS)**

Elie had been calling Nikki now, as well as using email when they weren't together. All in all, they'd practically been communicating all the time.  
It was another day with another game on TV, Connor had come for this one.  
"You know, it's gotten even weirder since they're sisters now" he said.  
"How?" Logan asked.  
"All they do is talk to each other" Connor said.  
"They did that before. And that's not all they do, they multitask" Logan said.  
"Yeah but...how do they do all that? I saw Elie cook, clean up the living room, and start writing Labryinth fan fiction when she was on the phone with Nikki. That, and she was listening to David Bowie again" Connor said.  
"They have their music. And I never thought I'd say this, what's so bad about David Bowie?" Logan asked.  
Connor's jaw dropped, "You must really love Nikki."  
Logan looked at him, "If you really love her, deal with it. It's another thing that makes her more beautiful than anyone else, start seeing it like that."  
"Damn" Connor said softly, "So all the annoying things Nikki does-?"  
"She's not annoying" Logan said, glaring at him.  
"Okay...you know what? I'm going to let this drop now" Connor said.  
Logan nodded and returned his attention to the TV screen.  
Nikki and Elie were in Nikki's room, looking through her stuff.  
"Ooh, what's this?" she asked, holding out a black leather catsuit.  
"That's my old Slasher outfit. I kept it mainly out of being a pack-rat" Nikki said.  
"You wear this for Logan?" Elie asked.  
Nikki blushed and pulled it away, "I used to, when I actually wore it."  
"You're terrible, you know that? You could at least give me one detail you never tell anyone else to have me work with" Elie said.  
Nikki leaned over and whispered something to her, than sat and waited for her reaction.  
"Wow" Elie whispered, "Seriously?"  
Nikki grinned and nodded.  
"Wow" Elie whispered again, at a loss for words.  
"I know" Nikki said.  
"This is so cool. We're telling each other everything, and I mean everything!" Elie gushed.  
Nikki grinned, "That's why we're best sisters forever."  
The End  
**Only Because We're Family....(OS)**

"So, I'm technically an X-Woman now, right?" Elie asked, almost bouncing with joy. She'd been so hyper the past few days, but mostly because she was exited about being a superhero.  
"Yeah, pretty much" Nikki said, shrugging.  
"So, what cool things do I get to do now?" she asked, grinning.  
"You get to fly a jet, if you want, and...you get a really cool outfit, but I don't think there's too many perks besides that" Nikki said.  
"Really?" Elie asked, her happiness seemed to grow with whatever she was about to say, "What about Logan?"  
"What about Logan?" Nikki asked warily.  
"Okay, here's my thoery" Elie explained, "So Logan gets in fights, Logan may win, but usually his clothes suffer some casualties..."  
"You want to see my husband naked, don't you?" Nikki asked.  
"Oh yeah" Elie said.  
Nikki walked inside, with Elie at her side, and Logan was in the kitchen, making a sandwich.  
"Hey babe" he said, grinning.  
Nikki grinned, and kissed his cheek, whispering something to him.  
Logan turned to Elie, "Really?"  
Elie looked at him, blushing, "Yeah."  
Logan smiled, "Ya never know."  
She blushed and let him walk past.  
2 Days Later-  
Elie looked over to Nikki before they got on the jet, "Where's Logan?"  
Logan walked out and kissed Nikki lovingly on the lips, "Wait for later babe."  
She grinned and let him walk onto the jet.  
Elie was staring at Logan, "Oh. My. God."  
"I know" Nikki grinned, and walked in after him.  
Redeemer looked at Elie's shocked, but appreciative stare, "Welcome to the team, we get used to it eventually."  
Elie looked at her, "I don't think so."  
The End  
**What If- Jean/Logan/Nikki**

'Look at them, it's disgusting' she thought from her perch in the tall oak by the edge of the Xavier School's grounds. 'It's utterly sickening. I'll applaud the person that cuts her stupid wannabe-ex-cheerleader head off.'  
Slasher was watching from afar, spying for the Marauders, and she couldn't stand Jean Grey. Maybe it was the conflict of personality, or what of that she'd had an oppertunity to see, but it was mostly because of the man who Jean was on his arm. For some reason, she felt so much envy to her almost most hated enemy.  
"Hurry up, we gotta go" Lady Sabretooth said to her team mate, and Slasher jumped down and stalked away.

The Marauders were locked in combat with the X-Men, and Slasher saw her. Unmasked, but not a rookie. Stupid. Jean Grey.  
"I'm takin' Phoenix" she snarled.  
"Really chere?" Remy asked, "I could always-?"  
"No, I want to" she snarled, "This is personal."  
Lady Sabretooth chuckled, "Go Nix."  
They attacked, the three of them splitting off and Slasher leapt at Phoenix.  
"Always thinkin' you're so much better than us, don't you 'Phoenix'?" she snarled, feeling the waves of Phoenix flame touching her, but it couldn't hurt her. She wasn't feeling it, not with the rage pushing on her vision.  
Phoenix actually looked scared as she moved forward, and tried to push her back with telekenesis.  
"Not gonna work on me red!" she growled, and leapt. Phoenix tried to get in her head, but only saw the rage, the desire for her blood to be spilled. The shock had stopped her from seeing the plan there. She'd needed Jean to fight back, needed her to be shocked by the mind of her inner animal, and take her move.  
"Jean!" Logan's voice woke her from the shock, to feel her claws slam through her.  
"Too bad, I was really starting to think you were a challenge" Slasher said, grinning at Jean's shocked expression mixed with pain.  
"Slasher, let's get outta here!" Lady Sabretooth shouted, and Slasher felt the immense joy of finally taking out Jean Grey set in. She ran with them, feeling better than she had with ever delivering a killing blow.  
Logan leaned over Jean, feeling her weak pulse in her throat. Cyclops ran over with Emma behind him, "Logan, is she-?"  
Jean looked into Logan's eyes, "I'm sorry I was another..."  
He gently kissed her lips, "Don't worry darlin, I'm going to take care of this. I'll take care of her."  
Jean coughed blood, "Logan, don't. Just...be happy. Please. For me."  
She looked into his eyes, pressing her hand to his face, begging him to promise in her gaze.  
"I'll try" he whispered.  
Her eyes glazed over and her hand dropped, and Logan's heart was torn in two again.

"I'm going to find her" Logan snarled.  
"What are you going to do?" Storm asked, "It's not like you can kill her. You're perfectly matched Logan, she can beat you if she wants."  
"She won't" Logan said, "And I'm avenging Jeannie. If it's the last thing I do."  
"You heard Jean, Logan, you know she didn't want this" Storm said, but he'd already left.  
Logan went out to his bike, and drove down the street. He was trying to think of a way to kill her, when she leapt down and tackled him off the bike.  
'Damn it! Should've been paying attention' he thought, and felt his back connect with road.  
"Hey baby" she purred, straddling his waist, "What're you doing out here all alone?"  
He pushed her off and his claws came out. "Damn. You're Wolverine? I didn't know you were so...sexy" she purred, striding around him.  
"Give up the games girl, I'm not in the mood. You killed her" Logan snarled.  
"Oh, you don't think I had reason?" she asked.  
"Sleeping with me isn't a justifiable reason" he growled.  
She snarled, her claws coming down to meet his, "Maybe that's not what I wanted."  
"What, you want to see me suffer? 'Cause nothing's better than having the woman you love die in your arms" he growled, barely cutting her.  
"Maybe it's because I wanted her out of the way" she growled.  
"For what? What could be so important you'd kill her?!" he growled.  
"Because I love you!" she shouted at him, not realizing her words before she'd said them.  
"So you'd kill the woman I love because you love me?" he growled, "Why?"  
She backed off, her claws retracting, "You already know. I don't have a better reason. You know, it doesn't matter. Just take that shot, just avenge her already."  
She pulled his bike up, kicked down the kickstand and sat against it, "Just kill me already."  
He walked over to her, "Why should I?"  
"Because I killed the woman you love. Just go ahead" she said.  
He didn't know why he wanted to comfort her, but he pulled her into his arms, holding her, "What made you change your mind?"  
"Because...I was jealous. I wanted her to die so I could have you...but it didn't work. It pushed you away, not brought you to me. I...can't stop...loving you" she said, and he realized she was crying.  
He held her tightly, "You wanna try?"  
"What?" She asked.  
"I'm not saying I'm going to forgive you this easy, I'm saying you're probably the only person I'd end up with alive. If you wanna try, I don't think it could hurt" he said softly, "She said she wanted me to be happy. I said I'd try...so I'm gonna try. She didn't want me to kill you either."  
"Which was what you had every intention of doing" she said, drawing back, "Until I acted like a teenage girl. Don't worry, it won't happen again."  
He stopped her before she could run away, "What if I want you too?"  
She looked at him, "You're going to try. That's it. You didn't say-"  
He pulled her back, and some primal pull drew him to her, but he pressed her against him and said softly, "I will try to keep you alive. To keep you with me. As long as you want me, I'll be here. It's not like I have anyone else."  
She put her head against his chest, "I'm sorry."  
"Me too" he said softly.  
The End  
**Nightmare (OS, NPOV)**

My eyes opened and I groggily rubbed them. Something felt wrong. I sat up, looking around, and not seeing any threats. I listened closely, when nothing registered in my mind, I sighed.  
Logan shifted in his sleep, and growled softly.  
"Oh" I whispered. He was having a nightmare.  
I reached over and gently stroked his face, "Logan. Sweetheart, wake up."  
He growled, louder this time, and I felt a small pang of fear run down my spine. It was so cute in such a deadly way, and I wasn't afraid.  
I shook his shoulder gently, and his eyes opened. With a growl, he leapt up, claws out, as if he were going to attack something.  
"Logan, shh, it's okay. I'm here" I whispered, and rubbed his arm.  
His claws retracted and he looked at me, "Baby? Did I-?"  
"No, I'm fine" I whispered, leaning in and kissing him gently, "What happened?"  
He looked at me and lay back, pulling me against his side, "They were experementing on you, and I couldn't break free. You were yelling for me, you were in so much pain...and I couldn't help you."  
I kissed him softly, "Shh, I'm okay. I'm fine. Don't worry sweetheart, it was just a dream."  
He nodded, "Nightmare."  
I chuckled, "Nightmare. Just relax, go back to sleep."  
He nodded, and kissed my head softly, "Stay."  
I smiled and nuzzled against his neck, "Always."  
The End

**Heartbreak (Logan POV, OS)**

I almost wished I hadn't walked into the Danger Room at the X-Mansion when I had. Pixie was sitting in the middle of the floor, clearly upset...and I had no clue why.  
"Megan?" I asked, instantly regretting it.  
"Oh! Mr. Logan, I'm sorry, I-I'll go" she said, standing up. Oh lord, she was crying.  
"No, I'll go" I said, hoping to be able to duck out. Crying teenage girls were the kind of thing Nikki took care of, not me.  
"Do you have a minute?" she asked, and I was mentally kicking myself for wishing I hadn't walked in. Pixie was adorible and a lot like Jubilee...if I screwed up, I was going to hate myself later.  
"Sure" I said, walking in.  
She walked over and sat down, trying to calm herself. That was unsucessful, she burst into tears.  
"He-he broke up with me!" she sobbed, and threw herself against my chest, crying hysterically.  
I brushed back strands of her tear-soaked pink hair, "Hey, if he was that stupid, then don't worry about him."  
"S-stupid?" she asked.  
"Yeah. You're a great girl Megan, a real winner. If that idiot can't see it, then he ain't worth you" I said, patting her back softly.  
"Thanks Mr. Logan" she said, wiping her eyes and backing off.  
"Hey, Megan?" I called after her.  
She turned, "Yes?"  
"Call me Logan" I said.  
She beamed, and I was a little afraid of that. I'd probably just gotten another Jubilee. But, if she was going to have the fun times Jubes and I had, then I probably wouldn't regret this later.  
"That was sweet" Nikki said, beaming.  
"How long were you standing there?" I asked, knowing the answer already. She'd seen the whole thing.  
"A while" she said, her smile turning mischevious.  
"Love and heartbreak go hand in hand, but love is the only one that lasts" I said, taking her face in my hands, and gently kissing her soft lips.  
She sighed, almost melting against me, and I held her in my arms, feeling her soft, warm lips against mine. Her warm breath was sweet, her scent was addicting, and I couldn't stop.  
Cyclops was at the door, with Emma, we could tell, and he coughed. Emma giggled. Nikki was going to pull away, but I brought our lips closer together, making her gasp at the sudden passion. Then I broke away.  
"C'mon baby. Later Cyke" I said, grinning as I strode past.  
Nikki grinned and ran after me.  
For once, I was glad the Professor had saved me a room here.  
The End  
**Sisters, Lovers, and Oh Brother's (OS)**

Nikki and Elie walked through the halls of the Xavier mansion when they heard the sounds of a fight outside.  
"Again? I wonder if it's Logan vs. Scott this time" Nikki said, grinning.  
They walked into the courtyard and it was Connor, complete in a Goblin King from Labyrinth outfit, fighting Rockside.  
"Great Moon are you kidding me?" Nikki asked no one in particular.  
Connor made a great uppercut and danced back before Santo could hit him.  
"Woo! Go Jereth!" Elie shouted, happy dancing at her sister's side.  
"What's going on?" Logan asked.  
"My brother-in-law's embaressing himself again" Nikki said, rolling her eyes and covering her face with her hand.  
Logan laughed, "Our brother-in-law, and it's only embaressing if he looses."  
Connor got hit in the face, sending him sprawling back on the ground.  
"Now it's embaressing" Logan said.  
"Oh my god! Connor!" Elie gasped, running out from the crowd to kneel by his side, touching his bleeding cheek and jaw.  
"Get out of the way Elinoria" Santo said.  
She stood up and walked over to him, and punched him in the face.  
Santo shouted and staggered back, "Damn! That hurt!"  
Elie's claws and fangs had grown down, and she reached out, probably about to take away his senses when Nikki went forward, "Elie, Santo, hey, let's not do this."  
"I want to" Elie said.  
"Elie, stop it" Nikki said, looking her sister directly in the eyes, "Stop."  
Her claws retracted and so did her fangs, and Elie lowered her hand, "Fine."  
She went back over to Connor, making sure he was okay, and Nikki turned to Santo, "I don't care what your reasons were, don't mess with them." Her claws came down on emphasis. "Or you'll answer to me."  
Santo nodded and Nikki went back to Elie and Connor.  
"That would've been a good fight...if your woman didn't save your $$. I thought you were some sorta fighter" Logan said.  
"Logan" Nikki cautioned.  
He let the subject drop.  
"Santo! I want a rematch!" Connor yelled, "And a fair fight at that!"  
Nikki and Elie turned to each other, rolling their eyes, and said at the same time, "Oh brother!"  
The End  
**Mutant Baby Boom?**

Chapter 1  
Elie glanced down, then looked up and sqeaked, doing a little happy dance and running out, hugging Connor, "It finally happened!"  
"What?" he asked.  
"We're gonna have a baby!" she cheered.  
"That's...wow" Connor said, amazed.  
"Wanna hear what I'll name them?" she asked.  
"Don't I get a say in it?" he asked.  
"I'm the one who has to carry her or him nine months, I think I should be the one" Elie said.  
"Okay...sure" Connor said, still a little worried.  
"Okay, if it's a boy, it's Jereth Mercury, and if it's a girl, Freddie Ziggy" Elie grinned, almost dancing again.  
"...What?" Connor asked.  
"Too bad, I carry them, it's my choice" Elie said, still insanely happy, "C'mon, let's go tell Nikki!"

It was quiet at the Howlett house for a change...too quiet.  
"Where's Auntie Elie?" Tayla asked.  
"I thought the same thing" Nikki wondered.  
"Wherever it is, let's just hope we get peace for one night..." Logan said.  
Nikki sighed and rolled her eyes, ignoring that last statement.  
"Everybody, guess what? We're gonna have a baby!" Elie shouted, running in.  
There was silence until Logan asked, "You sure you haven't been drinking Elie?"  
Nikki elbowed him and stood up, "That's awsome!" She hugged her sister and gave Logan a 'we'll-talk-later-pray-I-don't-make-you-sleep-on-the-couch' look.  
Nikki walked back over and Logan whispered, "That's gonna be one screwed up kid."  
"Oh like your track record's any better. Who's son was a killer for hire? And daughter...pretty much the same thing, just less emotion" Nikki hissed back.  
Daken and Laura both busted up in giggles, grinning at Nikki.  
"Guess what we're naming them?" Elie asked.  
"What?" Nikki asked.  
"Jereth Mercury and Freddie Ziggy" Elie beamed.  
"Didn't you come up with a girl's name?" Daken asked.  
"Yeah, Freddie Ziggy" Elie said.  
"Oh cripes" Daken muttered, looking down, "And I thought MY name was bad."  
"That's..." Logan began, and saw the 'you-better-start-behaving-like-NOW' look Nikki was giving him, "Interesting, Elie."  
"I now, but isn't it cool?" Elie asked.  
Nikki beamed, "It'll be fun."  
"Am I gonna play with Ziggy?" Tayla asked.  
"Yeah" Elie said, beaming.  
For once, Logan stayed quiet. He was not getting involved in a coversation about a little girl to be named Ziggy.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Emma felt...both proud and furious, mostly furious.  
She stormed into the cafeteria at breakfast and yelled directly at Scott, "Scott, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!"  
Everyone went quiet, staring at Emma.  
"What do you mean?" Scott asked.  
"I'm..pregnant" Emma said.  
Laura giggled, and burst into full blown laughter, followed by most of the room.  
Laura stopped laughing, "Oh you're serious."  
People stopped laughing.  
Nikki leaned over to Elie, "Oh that poor baby."  
Emma stalked over to Scott, "I am going to kill you one day Scott Summers. But until this baby is 13, I'll need you around."  
Scott looked absolutely mortified...but probably not as much as Emma.  
Elie got up and ran over to Emma, hugging her gently, "I'm so excited we are gonna have our babies around the same time! We can have our baby showers together and go shopping for baby clothes and deal with our morning sickness together and all that fun stuff!"  
"You are clinically insane if you think I'm gonna do any of those things with you" Emma said, prying Elie off her and stalking away.  
"Wait, can't we go shopping though? You're going to need pregnancy clothes!" Elie called.  
Emma let out an ear-peircing scream, "WHAT?!"  
"You're going to gain weight, just start wondering how you're going to get rid of it" Elie said.  
Emma walked back and stared at her in shock, "What?"  
"Um...you're going to gain weight" Elie said.  
"How much weight?" Emma asked.  
"Um..probably a lot" Elie said.  
Scott moved behind Emma and caught her as she fainted.  
"Wow. And just wait until she realizes there is still the matter of diapers..." Elie trailed off and looked back to Nikki, "How did you handle it?"  
"I was overjoyed, Emma...didn't understand the appeal of something she thought was, and I quote, 'loud, annoying and usually covered with some form of goo'."  
"But your kids aren't" Elie said.  
"They're also smarter than a lot of average kids. Let's hope Emma lucks out and gets no goo either...because otherwise we're dealing with a whole new level of Emma 'tude."  
Pixie burst out crying, "I DON'T WANNA DIE!"  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Elie smiled joyfully as she walked out of Emma's room.  
"What happened?" Nikki asked, the first person in the small crowd to speak.  
"She's getting over it" Elie said, "I've convinced her a kid is a good thing."  
"Not for the kid" Nikki said.  
Everyone around murmured agreement, and Elie snickered, "Yeah, I know, but we'll help, remember? It takes two people to have a baby, but it takes a villiage to raise one."  
"Where'd you get that?" Nikki asked, realizing her sister sounded wise for a change.  
"Fortune cookie" Elie said.  
Nikki laughed, "I should've guessed. C'mon, lets go get started on your ideas."  
"I wonder if they have Labyrinth blankets" Elie wondered out loud.  
Nikki looked at her, "Isn't it bad enough your kids are going to get beat up on the playground for their names, but you're going to make them end up in the infirmary if you go any farther."  
"What about Vincent?" Elie asked.  
Nikki snickered, "Half the time he's the one beating somebody up. I have to admit, I'm very proud of that."  
"You're insane" Elie said.  
"I'm not the one who's naming my kid Jereth Mercury..or Freddie Ziggy" Nikki said.  
"Point taken, but you already knew I was crazy. That's why you love me" Elie said, slinging her arm over her sister's shoulders.  
"Unfortunately" Nikki said, and laughed.  
"Baby clothes shopping?" Elie asked, pleading with her eyes.  
Nikki sighed, "Fine. Shopping."  
Elie sqeaked and ran off to go get her purse while Nikki followe begrudgingly after her.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Elie looked at the display in wonder, joy iminating from her soul.  
"I have never seen so much David Bowie in one place" Nikki said, staring at the display of all the Jareth memorabilia.  
"It's...beautiful" Elie said, grinning mindlessly.  
"It's so...cool" Nikki admitted, staring at one of Jareth in a black Goblin King outfit.  
"You like?" Elie asked.  
"He is...wow" Nikki said softly, touching Jareth's face.  
"He is so cute" Elie gushed.  
"What about Connor?" Nikki asked, grinning.  
"Connor makes a wonderful Jareth" Elie sighed.  
"You do know we're talking about your real boyfried and not your fictional one?" Nikki said.  
"I know. I love Connor...but if Jareth came into our world all bets would be off with him" Elie said, grinning.  
"I don't know how you can be in love with anyone else" Nikki said.  
"You've never, not once, even checked out another guy when you're with Logan?" Elie asked.  
"Never" Nikki said.  
"Robert Pattinson?"  
"Fangirl craze."  
"Cam Gigandet?"  
"You're guilty of that too."  
"Hugh Jackman."  
Nikki had nothing to say.  
"Oh I knew it! You're totally obsessed with Hugh Jackman, am I right?" Elie asked.  
"He portrays Logan very well" Nikki said.  
"You really want to know if he has all of Logan's talents, don't you?" Elie asked.  
"Maybe" Nikki said, "But Logan will always be the best there is."  
"Okay, okay, I'm just saying...and you're totally not paying attention now" Elie said, steering her away from walking into a wall.  
"No, I'm not, your point?" Nikki asked.  
"You're totally thinking about Logan" Elie grinned again.  
"And you're thinking about Connor. No differences there" Nikki said.  
"Oh you're dispicable" Elie said.  
"Diabolical" Nikki said.  
"Psycho" Elie said, giving up.  
"Well you're actually very erudite when you're not...random" Nikki said.  
"What did you just say?" Elie asked.  
"Smart" Nikki said.  
Elie blushed bright red, making Nikki laugh. "Okay...I'm going to regret this later, but let's go Labyrinth shopping."  
Elie squeaked and pulled Nikki in the direction of a store.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Elie and Nikki walked in, carrying multiple bags. Nikki, trying to be the good sister, was carrying most of them, Elie had two bags.  
"Where are these going?" Nikki asked, unable to see over them.  
"Over there" Elie gestured.  
"I can't see Elie!" Nikki said, reaching out with one hand.  
Elie laughed and led her toward the closet, "Just put them down."  
Nikki did, as gently as possible, and looked up, "How much Jareth stuff did you need?"  
Elie blushed, and Nikki finally got to see her room. Posters, a tapestry, a painting, and a life-sized cut out of David Bowie as Jareth were located all around the room.  
"Damn" Nikki said, "I've never seen so much...anything."  
Elie blushed deeper and sat down on her bed, that Nikki finally noticed.  
"Oh my god, you got his bed recreated?!" she asked.  
Elie blushed even brighter, "I told you I was obsessed."  
"How does Connor deal with all this?" Nikki asked.  
"Very well, thank you very much" Elie said, grinning.  
The two moved to the kitchen, going to get lunch, when they heard running footsteps.  
"Nikki, Elie!" Etienne shouted, "Connor's-!"  
"What? Where's Connor?" Elie asked, worried.  
"Connor's trapped" Etienne said.  
"Where?" Elie gasped.  
"Not far. A mine...about a mile away. He pushed me out before it caved..." Etienne said, "We have to go help him!"  
Elie turned and ran, with Nikki following her. Something flew overhead, and it didn't even distract Elie.  
"CONNOR!" she screamed.  
"Elie, let me" Nikki said, and dug through the rocks. She unearthed a hand, and Elie screamed.  
"No! Oh my god...no" Elie gasped, digging into the rock herself. Connor was bruised and bloody. He saw Elie and gripped her hand, "Never forget that I love you."  
She sobbed softly, clutching him, "Connor-"  
He reached up and pressed his lips to hers gently, lovingly, and lay back.  
"No!" she gasped, holding him, "Connor...come back."  
Something flew overhead and Elie looked up in shock to see the owl transform.  
"Perhaps I can help" he said.  
"Goblin King?" Elie asked.  
"Holy crap" Nikki murmured softly.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
"You'll...help him?" Elie asked.  
"Yes" Jareth said, and leaned over Connor.  
"Don't" Connor said weakly.  
"Connor-" Elie began.  
"No. I'm not the Goblin King, he is. I know you love me...and I love you, but I think you could be happier with him" Connor said.  
"I'll be happy if you don't die" she said.  
"I won't. I'm a vampire now, remember?" he asked, chuckling softly.  
"Stop it, this is stupid" she said softly.  
Connor pushed himself upright, and looked between the two of them, "Why did you come?"  
"Because. She had called for my presence, and I knew she would need me, so...I came to help" Jareth said.  
"Great. Then I ask something of you" Connor said.  
"Connor-" Elie began, fearing he was jealous.  
"Stay with Elie. Make her happy" Connor said.  
"Connor!" Elie gasped.  
He stood up, "Sorry Elie. But I know you love him."  
"I love you" she protested.  
"But look at him. He clearly cares about you, and this whole time I've been wondering if I was making the right decision...and I want some time to think" he said.  
"You don't get time. Make a choice Connor. You can choose this life that was just fine with both of us, or you don't" Elie said, angry. Her fangs and claws started growing, and Jareth caught her hands, giving her a warm, calming look.  
"I can't choose Elie" he said softly.  
"Try" Elie said.  
"I'm sorry Elie" he said, and started to walk away.  
"Connor!" she shouted, "But...what about our baby?"  
He glanced back, "I don't know. I'll see you again."  
Nikki ran over to him, turned him around and hit him, "You b$%^d! You %$^&ing b$%^d! I thought you were different than all the other men, but it looks like I was wrong. The first sign of a real committment and you run away. You're a real b%^$& Connor. If you're really leaving, then don't come back."  
Elie had silent tears streaming down her face, "How could you?"  
"Because I'm not him! Okay, I'm only a man! I check out girls, I get in fights, and I don't dress up for girls! Okay, you're beautiful, you're wonderful, I really do love you...but I just can't do this. I'm not cut out for it. You deserve someone better" Connor said.  
"You're an idiot!" Nikki shouted, "If she wants you than %$^&ing stay with her you airhead!"  
"She doesn't need me when she can have someone better" he said, "I'm sorry Elie. I'm sorry for everything."  
He ran away and Nikki growled, "Why I oughta rip that ^%&*ing moron's head off!"  
Elie broke down in tears, sinking to her knees. Jareth bent down behind her, lifting her into his arms and stroking her hair. She turned and cried into his chest, making Nikki stare at her and Jareth, though shocked, continued to try to calm her.  
"What's going on?" Victoria asked, "Where's Connor going?"  
"The loser ran away. Apparently, he was just a stupid human male all this time" Nikki growled, digging her nails into a tree.  
"Who's he?" James asked.  
"That's Jareth. He's...well, Elie knows him. Get used to him, because he's sticking around now. I guess" Nikki said.  
Jareth nodded, "I shall stay as long as Elinoria needs me."  
"I don't think I've heard anyone use her whole name in a while" Victoria said.  
"He's like that. But the way I see it, we're going to see these two together in a while" Nikki murmured.  
"Why?" Victoria asked.  
"He's the Goblin King" Nikki grinned, "She loved him to begin with, and that was why it seemed right. I'm just glad he listens to her."  
Victoria stared at her, "Have you been drinking again Nikki?"  
"^%&* you Vicky. No wait, that's James's job" Nikki said, and strode over to Elie with a playfully glaring Victoria standing back.  
"Elie" Nikki said softly, brushing Elie's tear dampened hair back.  
"What?" Elie sobbed softly.  
"Stay with Jareth. You love him" Nikki said softly.  
"But I love Connor too! How could he do this to me?" Elie sobbed.  
Nikki hugged her sister supportively, "Because, we were vampires for as long as we were alive. We don't know what it's like to be human. People like him...they sometimes never change. But it's better too have someone who was never human, than to try to change a mortal. They all stay the same."  
"But...why did he go?" she asked.  
Nikki kissed her sister's head softly, "Because he was human."  
Jareth lifted Elie's face, "If he could not see the true beauty of you, then he does not deserve you."  
Elie looked at Jareth, tears still streaming from her eyes, "Do you mean that?"  
He nodded, "Only a fool could not love a woman as beautiful as you."  
Nikki grinned and looked back to Victoria, "We have a love connection."  
The End


	19. Part 19

**To Love A Goblin King (OS)**

Elie sat outside under the stars, knowing Jareth was behind her.  
"Hello" Jareth said, sitting down beside her.  
"Hey" she said, glancing over at him. There seemed to be something he wanted to tell her... "What's wrong?"  
He looked at her, "May I reveal something to you?"  
"Sure" she said.  
"I have been here much longer than you think. When you first called upon me, I came. I...I began to fall in love with you. When Connor was gone, I would take the oppertunity to spend as much time with you as possible. Connor may not have been the father of your baby" Jareth said.  
Elie beamed, "You fell in love with me?"  
"Would you like to come see my world with me?" he asked.  
She nodded, and suddenly, they were standing at the side of the Labyrinth, and he brought them over to the Goblin Palace. An array of litle creatures started to gather at their feet and Jareth shooed them back. He took Elie by the hand and led her to his throne, where he sat and pulled her down on his lap. She pulled her feet up to prevent any little creatures climbing on her.  
"What do you think?" he asked.  
"It's beautiful" she said, looking out the window.  
A goblin farted and laughed, and Jareth rolled his eyes, "Oh shut up! All of you!"  
The goblins went silent.  
"Can't you see you're in the presence of your new queen?" he asked.  
They all marveled, with whispers of 'Queen?'.  
He rose with her, holding her against his side, "This is your Queen, Elinoria. You will obey her. Understand?"  
They all nodded, staying quiet.  
"Can we go home?" Elie asked, looking at him.  
"Of course" he said, and transported them home.  
He touched her face gently, stroing her cheeks under his fingertips, and beamed as he stroked her lips gently, "You're very beautiful my Elinoria."  
She beamed, "Will you come back to the cabin with me?"  
He gave her a gentle hug, "Nothing could please me more."  
In the morning, Nikki, Elie and Jareth went to the mansion. Nikki went off to run a Danger Room class with some of the New Mutants and Elie went to go see Hank about the baby.  
"Well, here's something you anticipated" Hank began, "Jareth is the father. But I believe I have a double congratulations in order."  
Elie beamed, "Twins?" She glanced at Jareth who smiled and kissed her hand, holding her hand in both of his.  
A low rumble corsed through the school and Jareth stood, "Can you keep Elinoria safe?"  
Hank nodded and brought Elie to the side, "Wait Jareth!" she called.  
He turned back, "Please be careful."  
He nodded, and turned into an owl, going to see what the comotion was.  
Sure enough, Avalanche had showed up at the school. Nikki seemed to have it handled, until Avalanche caved in the ground under her feet. Jareth swooped down and caught her hand, flapping his wings and carrying her to the level ground. He swooped at Avalanche and his talons went against the helmet, making banging sounds.  
"Hey!" Avalanche said.  
Nikki took care of Avalanche and Jareth landed, turning back.  
"Thanks" Nikki said, "I owe you."  
"The only thing I would ever ask of you is to allow your sister to love me. You don't know how long I've waited for her" Jareth said.  
Nikki smiled, "I would never stop her from loving you. Besides, Elie's like me, once she makes a decision there's no stopping her. And she decided you were hers."  
Jareth smiled, inwardly pleased at that, and turned back into an owl, flying back to Elie.  
He walked inside the room, having changed back in the doorway, "Elinoria?"  
"Jareth!" she shouted and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately. He was taken back for a moment, but kissed her back and pried her arms from around his neck.  
"I would always come back to you" he said, holding her in his arms.  
She sighed and smiled, feeling joy spread through every part of her heart.  
"Elie, ready to go?" Nikki asked.  
"Sure" she said and looked at Jareth, "Will you stay here in this world with me?"  
"Always my queen" he said, staring into her eyes lovingly.  
"Great Moon, here we go" Nikki said sarcastically and rolled her eyes.  
The End  
**Fairy Tales: A Possible Future Story**

Chapter 1  
10 years later  
Elinoria pulled up at the school in her restored VW van, complete with floral print from the sixties. She stepped out in her Peshmodes t-shirt and ripped up jeans, her brown hair tied back in a messy chopstick bun with two pens instead of chopsticks. Her light pink lipgloss shimmered in the early morning light.  
"Now listen, I get that you didn't like the people at your old school, but daddy won't be taking anyone else off to the Goblin city, understand?" Elie said, looking her children in the eyes.  
"Yes mother" Jareth junior said. She had been completely against the 'junior' part, but how her husband could be so persuasive...  
"Okay mom" Freddie, her daughter said, and squeezed her around the neck, "Bud I don't wanna go. Why can't we stay home with Auntie Nikki?"  
"Because, you have to go to school" Elie said, prying her daughter off her neck, "Now listen, you guys can handle it. Just try this school, give it a month tops, and if you don't like it here, then you can go to Xaiver's."  
The two nodded and she smiled, kissing their foreheads, "I love you guys. Please try to stay out of trouble."  
They nodded, and ran off. Within two minutes, Elie heard Freddie saying the words that would banish someone to the Goblin city.  
"Oh brother, here we go again" she sighed, and got back in the car. If she made it over two days in a real school this year, that would be a blessing.  
"Freddie! Jareth!" she shouted, giving them a parental gaze.  
They both stopped and walked off to the corner, contenting themselves with their books. Elie smiled and drove off.  
She pulled up in the garage of the Xaiver school and stepped out, seeing Jareth and Logan getting along for the first time in years.  
"Now I can see why Tayla goes to school here" she said, locking the VW.  
"Hello Elinoria" Jareth said, kissing her tenderly.  
"What? The kids sending people off to Goblin land again?" Logan asked.  
Elie sighed, laying her head against Jareth's neck, "I wish we'd never taught them that."  
He laughed, "If only I could grant that."  
Logan rolled his eyes and Nikki stepped outside. None of the four had aged a day in the past decade.  
"I hate breaking up a moment, but Jareth, you've got a history class to teach, Elie, music, Logan, you and I have to run a danger room for Ororo."  
"Okay" Elie said, grinning, and leaned up, giving Jareth a quick kiss goodbye, "I'll be back soon."  
Jareth smiled and walked with her down the hall, both smiling at Nikki on the way by.  
"Babe, do we have to?" Logan asked, looking up from where he was fixing a car for Forge.  
"It's only a half hour Logan, and it's a beginner class. It'll be over before you know it" she said, smiling.  
He pulled her into his arms, kissing her lovingly, "Will I get a reward?"  
"Later" she said, grinning.  
Logan sighed, "Then let's go sub for the rugrats."  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Jareth stood in front of the history class when the bell rang, and the new student, a boy with pyro abilities (it was actually rarer because a new pyro hadn't been seen in almost the full decade) went up to him.  
"What did you mean by that you were there?" he asked.  
Jareth smiled, "I'm immortal, that's my gift, and I was there for all of it."  
The boy turned, a little creeped out, and left. Elie strode in and sat down on Jareth's lap, kissing him lovingly, "Wanna stay in for lunch, or go out?"  
He gently brushed a lock of hair off his wife's neck, "I suppose we should see what the children are up to."  
"Oh my god, I can feel the migrane developing already" Elie said, as Jareth teleported them off.  
"Oh...my..god" Elie murmured, staring at the goblins wreaking utter havoc on the place.  
"JARETH! FREDDIE! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT SUMMONING MY GOBLINS?!" Jareth thundered, and all the goblins went still and silent.  
The two children in question stepped out from behind the playground equipment and walked over to their fuming father, "Yes Daddy?"  
He looked down at them, with their sweet, innocent puppy dog eyes, and he almost growled, "Stop that, it won't work on me. How many times have I told you the goblins are not to be summoned?!"  
"A thousand" Jareth jr. said.  
"A million" Freddie said, looking down.  
Jareth sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting off the headache both he and Elie were developing, "Get your things, you're going to Xaiver's. Now. Today."  
Every human there seemed to sigh with relief as Jareth jr. and Freddie gathered their things, but the goblins roamed freely until Jareth decided he needed to teleport them back to their city.  
"Oh man..." Elie said softly, a migrane hitting her, "This is not fun, this is not good...and I thank god I'm not a single mother."  
Jareth wrapped his arm around her, letting her put her head against his shoulder to try to fight off the growing throbbing in her skull. The two kids came forward with their backpacks and stood before their dad, waiting to get transported back.  
They were standing in the classroom as if they'd never left, but with Jr. and Freddie with them.  
"Go to the Professor, he'll tell you where to go" Jareth said.  
Nikki and Logan joined them in the hall, "Another bad first day?"  
"They summoned the goblins" Jareth said.  
Elie groaned at his side, "For the love of Mike...I'm gonna go sit down."  
Jareth guided her to a chair at an empty table, and left with Logan to get some food.  
"I think they'll be fine here" Nikki said, "Besides, I could always zap a few goblins myself."  
Elie looked up, "It's not that simple. This is the third school this month! They never used to be this bad! I just wonder...what am I doing wrong?"  
Nikki sighed, seeing Elie nearly in tears was something she hated, "They're kids, they're going through an 'I'm-going-to-destroy-everything-in-my-path' phase. Trust me, Vincent and Tayla went through it."  
"How'd you get through it?" Elie asked, half exhausted, half not really caring if she woke up to get back to classes.  
"We just let them go out in the trees. The forest probably needed thinning anyway" Nikki said, giggling.  
Elie looked up, "Not funny."  
"Not as funny as that" she said, reffering to the goblin who was laying in the jello, bouncing on it like a water bed. Nikki busted up laughing and Elie giggled, as the goblin bounced up, nearly hitting his head, and went back down. Every eye in the room seemed to be on the bouncing goblin, until he hit his head, and laughter erupted in the room. Jareth teleported him away, and Nikki continued to laugh, "See? Your life is good."  
Elie grinned, "What would we do without the goblins?"  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Daken looked at Jareth again. He'd been shooting glances the whole afternoon, and to be honest, Jareth was getting more than annoyed.  
"What?" he finally asked, when Daken looked over again.  
"Nothing" Daken said.  
"They why exactly are you looking at me?" Jareth asked, becoming impatient.  
Daken looked at him like he was sure he was crazy, and gestured up and down.  
"What? My clothes?" Jareth asked, "And what, pray tell, is wrong with them?"  
Daken sighed, "You're not exactly normal, you realize that right? And the fact that you're pretty much my...uncle, is starting to get to my reputation."  
Jareth stood, exasperated, "You are lucky you are no longer a child or I wouldn't care the slightest what anyone said, I would have my goblins take you and leave you in the Bog of Eternal Stench for the rest of your existence."  
"Oh, such a threat" Daken muttered.  
Jareth considered sending a lightning bolt Daken's way...but realized it was probably best to try to stay on Logan's good side.  
"Jareth!" he heard a woman shout, and suddenly there was a brunette throwing her arms around his neck, and it wasn't Elie.  
"Who are you?" he asked, trying to free himself from the strangle hold on his neck.  
The woman bounced back, seeming joyful, "It's me, Sarah. Don't you remember?"  
"Oh for the love of..." he trailed off, turning around. He composed himself and turned back to Sarah, "Sarah."  
She beamed, as if his voice was like giving her a gift on Christmas.  
"Why are you here?" he asked, just wanting to get this over with already.  
"I came to accept your offer" she said, holding her head up proudly.  
"What offer?" he asked.  
"To become Queen, and be at your side forever" she said, as if it were obvious.  
"Sarah, I asked you that years ago, and now you decide to answer me?!" he asked, staring at her.  
"Well I just assumed-" she began.  
"Yes, you did. I already have a queen by my side Sarah" he said.  
"What? Who?" Sarah stammered, "But...what about me?"  
"What about you?" Elie asked, walking in. She was clearly making Sarah jealous just by being in the same room. "Did you get lost on your way to daycare sweetie?"  
Sarah balled up her fists, "It's not fair."  
Jareth rolled his eyes, "How many times have you said that already? I would truly love to know what your place of comparison is, especially by now!"  
"Who is she?" both women asked at the same time.  
"Sarah, this is my love Elinoria, and Elie, this is Sarah. She's the one that won" Jareth said, clearly still annoyed.  
"You married him?" Sarah asked, "But...but she's not even human!"  
"Neither is he, but clearly you still want him, don't you?" Elie said, her voice on the edge of shifting into a growl.  
"Oh come on, bring it on!" Sarah shouted, and Elie lunged. The two clawed at each other, and Jareth stood there, rolling his eyes.  
A young man stepped into the room, walked around the catfight, and stood by Jareth, "You know I'm Toby, right?"  
"I could guess" Jareth said.  
"Sarah does this a lot now" Toby said.  
Jareth laughed at the thought of Sarah actually getting in a fight. "Does she win?"  
"No" Toby said, making Jareth laugh harder.  
Sarah leapt up and screamed as a snake landed close to her. Jareth pulled Elie back, "Are you alright?"  
She nodded, "Oh yeah. That felt good."  
There were scratches all over Sarah, and most of them were bleeding, but Sarah didn't stop screaming as another snake was thrown at her.  
"Freddie!" Elie shouted.  
Freddie stopped, a snake wrapped around her hand, "Yes Momma?"  
"Go ahead" Elie grinned wickedly, and let the little girl have her way.  
Jareth sighed and laughed, "You continue to amuse me love."  
"Well thank you" Elie grinned, bowed theatrically, and tugged Jareth out of the room, leaving Sarah to her snakes.  
"Elie?" Nikki asked, not too long after Elie and Jareth had left the school in favor of being alone.  
"Yeah?" Elie asked, looking up from where she sat, wrapped in Jareth's arms on the small beach by the bay.  
"The goblins are chasing around that girl from earlier" Nikki said, grinning, "I wonder why?"  
"Because she deserves it" Elie said.  
Nikki burst out laughing, "Oh god, so you mean she really did try to steal your man?!"  
Elie laughed, "Yeah, but between me and the kids, we took care of that."  
"You should've seen the look on Emma's face when she saw all of the goblins that had formerly been snakes, it was priceless!" Nikki laughed.  
"Did you get a picture?" Elie asked.  
Nikki flipped open her camera phone, "Oh yeah."  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Logan appeared at the window, making Nikki grin. He motioned her out, and she grabbed her bag, slipping out of the room. She grinned and ran over to him, throwing her arms around him. He kissed her passionately, their lips molding together. He drew back, holding her face in his hands, "Let's go."  
He tugged her down the path, sitting her down off the side of the path and kissing her passionately. She giggled as Logan kissed down her neck, "Why are we going off now?"  
"Because" he said, kissing her collarbone gently, "I love you. I missed you."  
She ran her fingers through his hair, "Then by all means baby, let's."

Elie looked at the clock, tapping her fingers impatiently on the desk. She waited for the clock to strike 2 and let her out of the room, and suddenly, the clock lurched forward, spinning easily, and the bell chimed throughout the whole school. The students cheered, leapt up, grabbed their stuff and ran out.  
"You reordered time, again" Elie said, grinning.  
Jareth stepped in, in his usual poet's shirt, leather vest, leather pants and riding boots, and leaned over her, "Yes, and so I could be with you."  
She giggled, grinning, as he leaned in and kissed her passionately. Her arms wound around his neck, cememting them together. Someone cleared their throat in the hallway.  
Elie jumped, Jareth laughing, and they turned.  
Nikki stood in the doorway, "Ready to go?"  
Elie gasped, "You ditched!"  
"What? How would you know?" Nikki asked.  
Elie plucked a leaf out of her hair, and held it up to her. Nikki blushed, "I-I have no idea where that came from."  
Logan laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her against him and stroking her stomach through her shirt, "Well I know where it came from."  
Nikki giggled as he kissed her neck, crushing them together.  
Elie averted her eyes and turned to Jareth, who was politely looking away.  
"Okay, it's been a very long time, and you two still do that?!" Elie asked, blushing.  
"Oh please, it's been ten years and you two still act like teenagers together, little miss 'I was going to lock the door, but you walked in before I could'" Nikki said, prying herself free of Logan's arms and kissing him tenderly.  
"Wow. Cuddling, snuggling, making out...you two are just a regular Romeo and Juliet. Minus the death" Elie said, "And I would've...you just didn't give me enough time. And trust me, you wouldn't wanted to have walked in on that."  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "Let's just go, we have things we gotta do at home."  
Elie sighed, "Fine. So do we. I just hope Freddie and Jareth behaved themselves..."  
A sudden scream of 'Snake!' proved Elie wrong the moment she said it.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Nikki and Logan sat together on the couch, waiting for everyone to come down, or come over, for dinner. It was a tradition, even though Daken and Claudine had a home with their family, not too far away, and Laura had an apartment closer to her job in the city with her husband-to-be. Vincent and Tayla still lived at home, Tayla only being twelve and Vincent trying to take off his music career from the garage...needless to say, it was starting to go well.  
Vincent and Tayla sat at the table, eager to see the rest of the family.  
"So, I think we've finally found a serious drummer" Vincent said, grinning, "It's not like Adam didn't really see it coming eventually, but Tarin has wicked skills on the drums."  
"So, that means you're moving to Hollywood and leaving us alone, right?" Tayla asked, making them laugh.  
"Nope, that means Hollywood can come to me" Vincent said, stretching out in his chair.  
"Mom? Dad? We're here!" Laura shouted from the living room with Anita running in ahead of her. Logan lifted her up and hugged her, letting her sit on his lap while Laura walked in. She smiled and hugged both of them, grinning.  
"You two have to promise not to freak out when you meet him" Laura said.  
"We won't" Nikki said.  
"I mean it" Laura said, glancing at Logan.  
"From what you've told us there's no reason to over-react with the boy" Logan said, "Is there?"  
"Hey sis, just met your boyfriend!" Daken shouted, "You gonna tell them?"  
Claudine walked in with Daken, smiling knowingly.  
"I'll let them meet him, thank you very much" she said, scowling at him.  
There was a soft knock at the kitchen door, "Can I come in, or am I banned or something?"  
Nikki's jaw dropped, mirrored by Logan, "ELIXER?!"  
Josh stood akwardly in the doorway, "Yeah, I guessed you wouldn't tell them."  
Tayla busted up laughing, "You're in love with the dork?!"  
Laura glared at her, blushing, and Josh laughed, "No problem pipsqueak, I know you'll learn to love me."  
Tayla growled, "Dad-?"  
"No killing your sister's...?" Logan began.  
"Fiancee" Laura said.  
"Right" Logan said, looking with pure shock down at the plate.  
Daken was holding back laughter, "Well somehow I knew this would happen one day. You always were the less daring one."  
"Well at least I didn't marry a stripper" Laura whispered to him.  
Claudine looked at Laura in confusion.  
"No offence, just trying to annoy him" Laura said.  
Claudine laughed, "None taken."  
"So..." Josh began, "It's beautiful weather up here."  
Nikki looked back to Logan, that look of 'oh, I know it's not over yet. Sadly, it's just beginning' to him. He nodded, and leaned back. He'd have to endure this....until later.  
The End

**Elie The Goblin Queen**

Chapter 1  
"It looks more beautiful on you than on Sarah" Nikki said, grinning.  
"Really?" Elie asked, unsure of how she looked. The dress was beautiful, and she loved it, but how was it going to work when just this morning, ring in hand, had Jareth asked her to marry him. She'd accepted quickly, but when he said he'd take care of everything...she'd been a little surprised.  
"Really. You look beautiful" Nikki grinned, hugging her sister from behind.  
"I can't believe it. He just proposed to me today....and he wants to get married tomorrow" Elie said.  
Logan walked in, "Can I have a moment with Elie?"  
Nikki grinned, walked down in her bridesmaid dress, and kissed him before grinning at Elie and leaving.  
"What? You don't like the dress?" Elie asked.  
"No, the dress is good. It suits you. I mean...are you sure about all this?" he asked, "Are you sure about this guy?"  
"Of course" Elie said, "I love Jareth more than anything. It's like you and Nikki. We belong together."  
"And...what you're naming your kids?" Logan asked.  
"Yeah! They need to be as strange as me and Jareth, because that's the best kind of person" Elie said, rubbing her stomach. "Right?"  
"Yeah. You are a good sister Elie, even though you are a little insane" Logan said, giving her a gentle hug.  
She grinned, giving him a real hug, "You're such a sap Logan."  
"I am not!" he said, messing up her hair a little.  
She gave a little growl and fixed her hair, before messing up his.  
He laughed, "I guess I deserved that. You'll do great, but one thing: Don't Faint."  
"Oh great, I hadn't even thought of that until you told me!" Elie gasped, and stared at her reflection.  
"Did you scare my sister?" Nikki asked, standing outside the door.  
"Nope. But I have a feeling she will be" Logan said.  
Nikki rolled her eyes and went inside.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Elie beamed as Nikki helped her down from where she stood, finally getting the dress perfect.  
"Ready?" Nikki asked, grinning.  
Elie grinned and squeezed her sister in a hug, "As always."  
She took the boquet in her hands and began to walk, eager to be at Jareth's side. Nikki was grinning in both amusement and joy at her sister's still usual antics. Elie was someone you never got tired of.  
Elie took a deep, calm breath as she looked over to Jareth, waiting for her, and she strode forward, confident, and went to his side.  
The ceremony was usual, and straight to the point, but when it came time for vows, Elie was taken breathless.  
"Elinoria, I will love you forever. There is nothing in the world that could tear us apart. You are my life, my world, and all I desire is your love. You will always be my love, my queen" Jareth said, his eyes shining.  
Elie almost cried, unable to say much but, "I love you."  
By that time the goblins, who had acted as flower-critters, were getting restless. They started by throwing flower petals at each other a distance away.  
When the last words were spoken, Jareth kissed Elie passionately, holding her against him. The crowd erupted in cheers, especially Nikki and Victoria, when the goblins started entertaining themselves by throwing flower petals at everyone else.  
Nikki giggled as Logan and Daken looked like they wanted to murder the harmless little creatures, even when one climbed up on her chair to offer her a little flower.  
She smiled and accepted the flower, letting it scurry off, blushing.  
"Damn, these things are hitting on you now?" Logan asked.  
"Baby, they're just goblins. They're harmless" Nikki reassured him, "and it seems like Elie's enjoying herself today too."  
Elie was busy playing catch with the goblins and some flower petals. Jareth stared on in amusement. The party seemed to be in full swing...until the ground shook a little.  
"What was that?" Laura asked.  
"I don't know. Probably a quarry blast" James said.  
"James, there aren't any quarrys for miles" Nikki said.  
The ground shook more violently, and as if on que thunder struck, a storm cloud heading over them.  
"Mizumi" Jareth said in a tone of hatred.  
"Who's Mizumi?" Elie asked, letting him pull her close.  
"My ex" Jareth said.  
"Ex-girlfriend?" Elie asked.  
Jareth nodded.  
"Well...then I have a feeling she didn't take this news too well" Elie said.  
"Oh please Elinoria, I never told her" he said softly.  
"Really? So I have a feeling that explains the stormcloud of evil?" Elie asked.  
"Please, let me handle her" Jareth said.  
"You are not getting yourself hurt" Elie said.  
"Go. Stay with Logan. I'll be fine" he said, pushing her behind him.  
Logan pulled her back, ready to defend her.  
Nikki stepped to Jareth's side, ready to take out Mizumi at a moment's notice.  
"JARETH!" Mizumi called from the clouds, and then they saw her. She had white hair that in the light almost looked tinged with blue. White and blue adorned her clothes, and her pale skin made her look inhuman. "I'VE COME TO TAKE WHAT'S RIGHTFULLY MINE!"  
"I have a feeling I just married him" Elie said in a small voice.  
Mizumi looked at Jareth in shock, "She took my throne?"  
"Oh crap" Elie whimpered.  
"Elinoria has nothing to do with this Mizumi, leave her alone" Jareth said.  
"Oh, I will, but you, Jareth. You WILL ANSWER TO ME!" Mizumi shouted, thunder roaring overhead.  
"I can almost hear her talking in all caps" Nikki said, rolling her eyes.  
"You expected this?" Jareth asked.  
"Well it wouldn't be a wedding day if someone didn't try to crash it" Nikki said.  
Mizumi made thunder roar, and suddenly, the magic war had begun.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Logan pulled Elie back, and growled, "What I wouldn't give to get in there right now..."  
Elie sighed, "Me either."  
Mizumi was conjuring up all means of things to unleash on Nikki and Jareth, and the two were doing the same.  
"Jareth, can you handle her from the ground?" Nikki asked.  
"You have a plan, I assume?" he asked.  
"Oh yeah" Nikki grinned wickedly and her eyes flashed golden, glazing over as she rose on the winds, a loud crack of thunder just for her.  
"I'd like to see how you handle this princess!" she shouted, unleashing a full hurricane fury on Mizumi, the black roaring clouds with dark red lightning...it was positively inhuman.  
"Oh my god" Elie whispered, "Has she ever done that before?"  
"Not that I've seen" Logan said softly, watching in a mix of awe and terror.  
The lightning changed color as it crackled from her fingertips, an inhuman cry of fury coming from her as the multicolored lightning struck near Mizumi, and Nikki focused, aiming for her...  
"Wait!" Elie shouted, "Don't! Don't kill her!"  
Nikki turned, her eyes blazing black and gold with fury, "Why not?"  
"Because it wasn't her fault!" Elie shouted.  
Mizumi looked chastized, but nothing more. No shock, no fear, just...dissapointment.  
Jareth gazed in wonder as Nikki landed, her storm cloud still blazing overhead, as she strode up to Mizumi, "The only reason you are not a charred speck on the ground is because my sister requested I not kill you. Now, you can leave as long as you never go near the lands where my sister, or my brother reside. Understood?"  
Mizumi smiled, "I can't see why Jareth wouldn't have choosen you. You have a firey spirit. You'd make a good queen."  
Nikki grinned, "I already am queen of what I need to be."  
Mizumi kept her smile, "I shan't tread on their land then, if only for my life. Though I hope one day, we could be...alies."  
Nikki chuckled, "Not for a long time."  
But with the two smiling, they shook hands and Mizumi departed.  
"What the hell just happened?" Logan asked.  
"I have a feeling we don't want to know" Jareth answered, looking at a still-grinning Nikki as if she had the plague.  
"Don't worry your pretty blond head Jareth, I'm not going to plot against you anytime soon. And whatever-her-name-is was one crazy fruitloop" Nikki said.  
"Oh, you just figured that out?" Elie said, "I knew she was a fruitloop when she showed up in a cloud! A freakin cloud!"  
The two women walked inside, chatting and Logan looked at Jareth, "Well...welcome to the family."  
For the first time, Jareth actually looked a little scared.  
The End  
**The Club (OS)**

Places in San Fransisco embraced everything. Vampires, Mutants, everyone, even the creatures of the night. This club was supposed to embrace vampires, but Nikki was starting to have her doubts. This was run by real vampires, and it was a sure possibility that this place was a feeding ground. Vampires lured foolish mortals to their deaths in places like this.  
"What are we doing here?" Elie asked over the pulsing music.  
"Watching to see if anyone's hunting" Nikki said.  
Victoria had been more than happy to come out with them, like a Charlie X's Angels reunion. That's what Elie ended up calling them after a while. The three sat at a table, all of their eyes had turned red before they entered, marking them as the real vampires vs the posers.  
"Hey, you ladies want to dance?" some guy asked.  
He smelled human, he wasn't the threat, "We're waiting for someone!" Elie shouted over the music.  
"Suit yourself" the guy said.  
"Hey, over there" Victoria said, touching Nikki's arm.  
There was a guy with red eyes and spiked white blond hair going through the crowd, a skull ear ring gleaming in the red and black lights.  
"Jagger" Elie said softly.  
"What?" Nikki asked.  
"His name is Jagger. He's the real deal. I was pretty sure he owned the club, and I guess I was right" Elie said.  
"You know him?" Victoria asked.  
"He's the one who told me what I really was" Elie said.  
"Who is he?" Victoria asked.  
"Our guy. Let's go" Nikki said, getting up.  
Elie followed and Victoria was left to trail, "Am I the only one who thinks this is interesting?"  
They made their way through the crowd like it was nothing, to see Jagger leaning against the bar with a drink in his hand, "Well, I almost expected you ladies. Elinoria. And who would your two friends be?"  
"Listen, we know you created a feeding ground" Nikki said.  
"Oh, so you are one of us" Jagger grinned, revealing two pointed fangs, "Then I suppose I should welcome you miss....?"  
"Nikki. I'm her sister" Nikki said.  
"Oh! So you did find your family newborn! I'm surprised it took so much to keep your mutant healing factor running...I mean when I turned you, you were so close to dying..." Jagger said.  
"Wait, you know Elie from before then?" Victoria asked.  
"Of course, but the questions is, does she still know who she used to be?" Jagger asked.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Elie asked, glaring at him.  
"It's a shame you don't remember. I would love to tell you but..." Jagger's eyes focused on a girl in the crowd with multicolored hair, "I have to grab a bite."  
He laughed as he moved past them, into the crowd with the air of deception that almost all vampires carried.  
"What did he mean by that?" Victoria asked.  
"I don't know" Elie said, "I can't remember."  
"We'll figure it out eventually. If we need to, we'll come back here" Nikki said.  
"No. I'm not coming back" Elie said, moving past them to walk out.  
"Elie!" Nikki shouted, and ran after her.  
Victoria followed, and when the three were out on the street Elie turned back, "I don't want to see him again." "I know, but why?" Nikki asked.  
"I don't know" Elie said, "Haven't we been through this? I DON'T FREAKIN KNOW?!"  
Nikki pulled her aside and hugged her, "It's okay. Listen sis, we'll figure it out together."  
"I just hope that when I find out there will be something I actually want to know" Elie said, and let her sister hug her.  
The End  
**Vampyre: Origins (OS)**

Elinoria had been seperated from her family at a young age, never really remembering them. She'd grown up with her adoptive grandmother after her adopted mother had died in childbirth, with her unborn child following. Her adoptive father had been a drunk, and had walked out into traffic one night. Then, she'd stayed with her grandmother. She'd been a typical teenager, rebellious, until she ran away. She knew she was more than human, especally when she healed. She'd made her way to a cat house in New York, where her job was less than savory...  
2000-  
"Elinoria" Jagger, her usual customer said.  
"Jagger" she beamed, sitting across the bed, "Miss me?"  
"As always" he grinned, revealing his razor sharp fangs.  
Two nights later-  
She stumbled out of the bar, drunk, and stumbled down the streets. She'd finally been able to knock out her healing factor. She'd sprinted down the streets, and run away from the people who were chasing her, the alcohol clouding her judgement.  
The owl swooped low overhead, following her, and knowing he'd have to save her. She stumbled, they clawed at her, and she hit her head. He sighed, knowing he'd have to go save her...again.  
"I'd suggest, you leave her alone" he landed in his human form and looked at them.  
"Who're you?" the men slurred.  
"None of your concern. But leave the girl alone" he spoke with an ancient, fluid grace.  
They saw the way his eyes glowed in the darkness, as if he weren't human, and they backed away. He couldn't help smiling as they ran in fear. He lifted her off the traintracks and carried her back to her apartment.  
The Next Morning-  
Elinoria looked over to the nightstand and saw the note, reading it through twice, before tucking it away. Maybe it was time to end this...  
She strode down to the cat house for her last night, things packed, ready to leave town. She didn't really need all the money, but it would last.  
"Elinoria" Jagger grinned, waiting for her outside.  
"Jagger. Listen, I'm coming to quit" she said, trying to find the confidence in her voice.  
"What?" he growled, "You can't!"  
"I have to" she said, "I just can't do this anymore..."  
He pulled her by the arm, shoving her against the wall, "No, because I won't let you."  
He moved her throat aside and bit down deeply, making her scream. Others ran outside, met with a quick death. He left Elie, mauled and bleeding, to die, before he went back, making sure his venom had taken out her healing factor before he bit down, drinking her blood and making her begin to turn.  
He did take her back to her apartment, hoping he could use her for his own advantage. She woke, and growled, lunging at him, "Who are you? Where am I?"  
"You're Elinoria. You used to be a stripper, for lack of a better term, and you're home. This was your home, until you decided you were going to leave. I found you half-dead, and made you who you are. You're a mutant, and I saved your life" he said.  
She turned away, "Then I know where I have to go, because I do remember some."  
"Really?" he asked, hoping she didn't remember what he thought she did.  
"Yes. I'm gonna go kill the lowlifes that try to kill other people" she snarled, storming off.  
"Elinoria, where will you go? Who will take you in like this?" he asked.  
She turned, her eyes blazing, "I'll go where I please. I don't need people to take me in. I can take care of myself."  
She ran away, using her vampire speed as Jagger shouted her name behind her.  
Over months Elie had killed countless would-be murderers, following a trail. She heard the sounds of others and slowed down. Two women were ahead of her.  
"Who are you?"  
The Beginning.  
**Too Long (OS)**

The setting sun glittered on the water of the small lake, her eyes drifting across it as lazily as she would've run her fingers through the water, had she been on a boat. She was honestly tired, wishing she could just curl up in the grass and take a good, long catnap.  
"Hey darlin" Logan said from the door, walking out and sitting next to her.  
"Hey" Nikki replied, "What're you doing out here?"  
He opened his arms for her and she scooted over, resting her head against his chest while he wrapped his arms around her, "It's been way too long since I just got to hold you."  
She smiled as he whispered in her ear, kissing her cheek and encouraging her to rest against him. She nuzzled his neck, her eyes starting to droop closed, "Stop that."  
"What?" he asked.  
"You're trying to make me fall asleep" she said, giggling.  
He chuckled, "That obvious, huh?"  
She laughed and pulled herself away. He jumped up after her and caught her in his arms, making her shriek with laughter as they fell back on the ground. He kissed up her neck, holding her tightly, and whispered, "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"  
She laughed and snuggled into his arms, content, "No, not at all."  
He let go of her for a moment before lifting her up, making her giggle and hold onto him, as he carried her inside.  
"Where are we going?" she asked.  
He set her down on the couch, sitting down beside her on the floor. She sat up, propping herself up on an elbow, "Logan, come on. Come sit up here."  
He turned, taking her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. She grinned as he pulled away and let him cradle her face in his hands for a moment before he did sit on the couch, resting her head against his leg, "You could take a nap."  
She sighed and let her eyes flutter closed, "Sure."  
Laura walked in with Cessily, coming from the movies. Logan was asleep on the couch, the volume on the TV turned down low enough to let him sleep. Laura clicked off the TV and smiled as she put the blanket over them both, where Nikki was curled up against Logan's chest, fast asleep.  
"Do they do this a lot?" Cessily asked, fighting back her urge to go 'aww'.  
"Not really" Laura said. Before she walked upstairs she clicked off the light. It was really better to let them sleep, anyway.  
The End  
**Green And Gold (Exiles OS)**

James Howlett glanced over from Lady Hydra, Sue Storm, to see her. She was perched on a branch, her fingers clawed with talons. She was beautiful, much more beautiful than Sue. He abandoned the fight and followed her.  
"Hello?" he called, looking for her.  
"Looking for me?" she purred, hanging upside down from a tree. He looked her over, grinning, and pulled her down. She laughed, "Straight to the point, aren't you?"  
He grinned and kissed her, their lips molding together passionately. She gasped, her fingers twisting in his hair. He backed her up against a tree, his tongue caressing her lower lip. She gave a small moan and clutched him tighter, molding themselves together.  
They gasped as they broke apart, panting. Her eyes were darker than they had been. He touched her face, gently stroking from temple to chin. She closed her eyes and leaned her face into his gloved hand. He leaned close to her and kissed down her cheek softly, tasting her soft skin. She sighed, her eyes opening to meet his gaze. He was captured by her eyes, as if he'd never need to breath again...her lips were slowly moving to his neck, and he held her against him, craving the kiss he knew was to come. A sharp pain went into his neck, but he felt her lips on his throat. She bit him. He groaned and twisted his fingers in her hair. His head was spinning from the shallow panting he could get out.  
"James?" he heard Sue call, and the beautiful woman turned back.  
"Let's go, I don't need her" he said softly.  
She looked at him, her strange eyes glinting, "She'll track you down."  
"Not if I get far enough away. Come with me" he whispered, still staring into her eyes. She nodded, and he pulled her along with him. He finally noticed what she was wearing. A black leather catsuit with a long black overcoat over it. He pulled her aside and ducked behind rocks in a ravine. She was pressed against his green-and-gold clad chest. Their faces almost touched, her legs on either side of his waist to keep them close, away from any hunters, and he was very, very aware of her every move.  
"Who are you?" he finally whispered, looking at her.  
"Nikki" she whispered, "Sh, they're coming."  
She tucked her face in his neck, hiding, and he put his face in her hair. He needed an excuse to take in her intoxicating scent. He heard them pass, with the Exiles not far behind, and he pulled her up, shocking her out of her thoughts.  
"Let's go" he said, starting off.  
"James" she said softly, her voice soft and beautiful.  
He turned and stared at her, having some very dirty, very private thoughts about her at the moment, "Yeah?"  
"Come with me" she said softly.  
He followed her, watching her dissapear into a hideout. He followed her through the ornate carved tunnels in the rocks, and stared in marvel as they came to the underground door of the Dracula palace.  
"We shouldn't be here" he said softly.  
She grinned, her fangs gleaming, "I live here. And now so do you."  
He stared at her. It explained it all so well. He didn't mind, he wanted to be with her.  
"Okay. Then let's go" he said, expecting it.  
She grinned, and pulled him inside the palace.  
The End (may continue in a later story if this is well recieved)


	20. Part 20

**Madripoor Noon**

Chapter 1  
The three women stepped out of the tinted black car, gathering their bags, and looking at the Princess bar. Nikki smiled inwardly, Logan was going to love this when he met up with them from his current two-day recon mission in Siberia.  
"Logan owns this place?" Elie asked.  
Nikki beamed, "Yeah. Come on, we've gotta start getting ready."  
Victoria followed them inside. The place was practically empty as the three entered, only a few patrons at the bar at noon. Nikki led them into the underground rooms, where her team mates froze.  
"Woah" Elie whispered.  
"Damn!" Victoria said, "You've got connections."  
The rooms were lined with incredible tech, weapons and all means of other things. Nikki opened the two opposite bedrooms and gestured for the two to go in. Nikki went into a room and set her duffle in a dresser drawer and walked back out.  
"This place is incredible!" Victoria beamed, "I haven't seen a place like this since that rich guy James killed and filled the pool with his blood on my birthday. That was the year before we met the Cullens."  
Elie looked at her strangely, "That explains so much."  
Nikki rolled her eyes and pulled up some files from a laptop that was connected to the flatscreen. pulling up a file on Jagger.  
"What are we doing investigating this guy?" Victoria asked.  
"He used to run a cat house, and some drug cartel" Nikki said.  
"Cat house?" Victoria asked.  
"Where prostitutes work out of" Nikki said.  
"He ran three. He had a whole city under his control" Elie said.  
"How do you know this?" Victoria asked.  
"I used to work in one" Elie said, "Jagger was...a regular."  
Nikki's jaw dropped, "You?"  
Elie nodded.  
"A prostitute?" Nikki asked.  
Elie nodded again.  
"You? Really?" Nikki asked.  
Elie sighed, "Yes me really! I changed a lot since then."  
"Well damn!" Victoria said, "You're awsome."  
"Victoria!" Nikki shouted, "Why didn't you ever tell us?"  
"Because I just remembered, okay? He's the guy that turned me. He attacked me, made it seem like I would die before...listen, I didn't have half as strong of a healing factor as you. I was shocked I could live with the others, but I did my work, I made my living, and I got drunk. It was a lot of mistakes, okay? But I barely ever remembered my real family, only my adopted one. I want to take this guy out for killing me. He made me a monster, I deserve some revenge" Elie said, curling up and looking over the top of her knees.  
"Elie...we'll help" Nikki said.  
"He's a vampire, it's not like it's easy to kill him" Victoria said, "And a hybrid vamp at that."  
"There's one common component between all vampires. You can burn them and kill them" Nikki said.  
"We're going to burn him?" Victoria asked.  
"We need to have a plan. We're going to lure him in, back him into a corner, and burn him" Nikki said, assuming position as ringleader.  
"Why are we in Madripoor then? He used to operate out of Texas" Elie said.  
"Because. He's moved to Madripoor territory. He's trying to take over Lowtown. We're going to stop him before this place gets any worse, understand?"  
Victoria beamed, "Does this mean we get to kill a lot of people?"  
"As long as they're murderers, rapists, or something of that sort, I don't really care who you kill Vicky. Just remember, we're here for a reason" Nikki said, and turned to look at the screen, "We're taking this guy out."  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Nikki pulled up outside the wearhouse where Jagger was stationed.  
"Okay, let's do this" Victoria said, cracking her knuckles.  
"Vicky, let's bargain first, and kill people later" Nikki said.  
The three walked in, and Jagger was waiting with a small team of armed men.  
"Jagger, we don't have to do it like this" Nikki said.  
"Yes, we do" he said, and the men fired. Nikki threw up a shield around Elie and lunged, her claws easily slicing through the guns as she sent a round house kick to knock down the two men.  
Victoria was attacking, ripping the heads off anyone she wanted. She was already covered in blood, and clearly enjoying herself. Elie turned and fought, covering her stomach with a hand while she fought off the other men.  
Nikki took out a few with her claws before she and Victoria were back-to-back, guns pointed at them. Elie snarled, her claws and fangs growing, and she attacked, killing the other men around her sister and best friend. Victoria and Nikki joined in, until the three women were the only ones standing...aside from Jagger. He applauded softly, "Wonderful. You ladies do such a brilliant job...too bad you didn't get a chance to say goodbye to your lovers before you showed up."  
He whipped out an old .45 Magnum and shot Nikki point blank in the head. Victoria snarled and lunged, the bullets bouncing off her skin as she lunged and slashed him open. Elie went up behind him, and wrapped her hands around his throat.  
"You hurt my sister" she whispered, in an eerily calm voice, "Now you die."  
She snapped his neck easily in her hands, and then Victoria lit his body on fire. They stepped back and Elie laughed softly, feeling a small bout of insanity pass.  
They both ran over to Nikki and knelt down by her, "Nikki?"  
"Oh man, what's this made of?" Victoria asked.  
They heard the door start to pull open, and Victoria growled, crouching in front of Nikki.  
"Hey, it's me" Logan said, holding up his hands.  
"Logan!" Elie gasped, "Get over here, Nikki's hurt."  
Logan went over and knelt by her side, slowly stroking her face, "Baby, come on, wake up."  
She stirred, moving a little, and Logan leaned down, pressing his lips to hers gently. She leapt up and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. Elie rolled her eyes, "That's what it took to wake her up?"  
Logan stroked the healing wound on her head, "Come on. I'm taking you home."  
"We're leaving already?" Victoria asked.  
"No. You're going to the Princess bar with us" Logan said.  
Logan lifted her up in his arms, cradling her to his chest, and left with them.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Logan leaned back, taking in the story, "Damn."  
Elie beamed, "You don't mind?"  
"You're still my annoying sister-in-law, don't worry about it" Logan said.  
Victoria stood up and walked into the kitchen of the lower level where Nikki was, "That's cute, huh?"  
"My sister and my husband, finally getting along" Nikki beamed, "That's great!"  
Logan grinned and turned to beckon Nikki over to him. She grinned, squeaking and ran over, hopping onto his lap. He laughed and kissed her tenderly.  
Elie squeaked, grinning brightly, and watched them. Nikki was grinning as she cuddled into Logan's arms.  
"So why'd you come?" she asked.  
"Because I wanted to spend some time with you" he said, brushing his fingers through her hair.  
Elie gave a soft 'meep' as Logan lowered his lips to Nikki's, kissing her gently and slowly. She sighed, molding to him.  
Victoria groaned, lifted up a pillow and threw it, "Get a room!"  
Nikki threw the pillow back, not breaking her kiss with Logan, as he tugged her out.  
She giggled as he broke the kiss, tugging her down the hall and out the back door. "Logan, where are we going?"  
"It's Patch in this town baby" he grinned, "And I'm going to show you something."  
She grinned, "Okay, 'Patch'."  
"You got an alias yet?" he asked.  
She blushed, "Angel."  
"Hm, Patch and Angel. Well, you are an Angel, so it fits you" he grinned.  
Her blush grew until her pale cheeks looked almost human. He laughed, her flushed cheeks growing brighter. "Stop that" she whispered.  
He tugged her into his arms, "You're beautiful anyway darlin."  
Her blush faded, and he covered her eyes, "Come on. It's just over there."  
She laughed as he led her, and then sighed as he let go. She opened her eyes and gasped, staring out over the sunset on the cliff.  
"Oh wow" she whispered.  
The water was glowing bright orange under the sunset, and Nikki smiled. Logan held her in his arms, resting her head against his chest, "The sunset is almost as beautiful as you."  
She sighed, snuggling him, "You're making me blush."  
He chuckled, "The blush on your cheeks is lovely."  
She giggled, "Quoting Edward much?"  
He kissed softly down her neck, "Want to go home?"  
"This isn't our home. But I do like it here" she said.  
"I know. But we should have a little time to make it home" he said, kissing her neck.  
She beamed, "Then let's go."  
The End  
**Meeting Mom (OS)**

Elie and Nikki pulled up outside the house in Chicago.  
"You think they'll like me?" Elie asked.  
"They'll love you" Nikki said, hugging her sister, "After all, it's been 109 years."  
Tayna walked out the door, going to hug both of the girls, "Elinoria?"  
"Yeah. It's me mom" Elie said, and hugged her back.  
"Nikki, Elie" Carlisle said, going over to the two and hugging them.  
"Hey Carlisle" Nikki said, grinning.  
"Come inside, we have to catch up" Carlisle said, gesturing them in.  
Emmett ran over and lifted both of them up in a bear hug, "Nikki! Little sis I don't know!"  
Elie hugged the photo album to her chest, glancing nervously to Nikki.  
"Emmett Dale McCarty Cullen freakin' PUT US DOWN!" Nikki snarled.  
Emmett laughed in his deep bass, setting them on the floor. Elie looked at Nikki awkwardly and sat down. She had a lot to catch up on.  
An hour later-  
"You were at Woodstock?" Nikki asked.  
"Yeah. Here I am" Elie said, pointing to a picture.  
"Hey, there's Nikki!" Emmett shouted, pointing next to her.  
"I'm just shocked you were at the Jimi Hendrix concert" Nikki said.  
"Who's this?" Edward asked.  
"My husband, Jareth" Elie smiled, touching the picture fondly.  
"And people say I'm ^%&" Edward said.  
Nikki looked up, "You really shouldn't have said that."  
"What?" Elie snarled.  
"I'm just saying, how do you know he's not in the closet?" Edward asked.  
"Because I'm pregnant!" Elie shouted at him.  
Edward was backing away, probably sure he was outgunned, and Nikki was grinning, "Go ahead, he's one less moron in our family."  
Elie lunged at him and Edward ran outside, and they heard a crash, and a loud bang, and Nikki ran to the window. The neighbor's shead had gotten smashed open, and there stood Elie, holding a large board, having hit Edward so hard he was flying away.  
Renesmee laughed, "I knew he'd end up like that one day."  
Nikki was giggling uncontrollably as Elie walked forward and started hitting Edward repeatedly with the board. The giggles became full blown laughter until she was holding onto the side of the window, laughing hard, with tears streaming down her face and her sides aching.  
Elie walked inside, seeing Nikki and Emmett laughing uncontrollably on the floor.  
"Elie" Nikki gasped, "Oh. My. God!!!" Nikki laughed and hugged her leg, laughing hard.  
"Wow. This is what beating up Edward inspires" Jasper said softly.  
Alice giggled, "This won't be the last time."  
That caused the laughter to pick up again, even with Elie grinning.  
The End  
**The Stone (NPOV)**

Chapter 1  
It was a beautiful Japanese palace, painted red and gold in an earlier century. The grey stone benieth sparkled benieth the initial walls, leading down the palace into the water below. The view was beautiful as I sat looking out the window. I'd pushed up my kinmono's sleeve on one arm so I could brush back my hair without the fabric getting in my face, something I'd laughed at each time I'd attempted it before. The rooms weren't too elaborately styled, light purple floors, green walls, and a panneled celing. It was a nice place, and I'd started to wonder why we'd been invited here. An old friend of Logan's owned the place, and asked us if we'd liked to stay for a while. Though I had a feeling this wasn't going to be a vacation. I heard the screen door open and turned.  
Logan stood, his sleeves torn and blood on his hand.  
"Logan!" I gasped, sitting up.  
He looked like he was in pain, "It's nothing. Just a flesh wound."  
I went over to him, but before I could touch his face he caught my hand in his bloodied one, "Don't cry." I hadn't even realized tears were streaming down my face.  
"Let me take care of that" I whispered, taking his hand in my own. He winced, and I led him off to bandage it.  
"How did you manage to get in a fight out here?" I asked.  
"Well you can ask whoever just attacked me that" he said, "Though I have a feeling we won't be hearing from him for a while."  
I wiped my eyes with my hand and looked at him, "Do I want to know?"  
"Threw him off the cliff" Logan said.  
I couldn't supress a chuckle at that, "And you wonder why I'm quick on the kill?"  
He smiled as I took his hand in my own, gently washing the wound and stroking it as it healed. I was used to it, but it still secretly made me happy that I didn't have to bandage him up every time he'd get in a fight.  
"How'd you manage this anyway?" I asked.  
"Guy moved fast. I hit the rock instead" Logan said.  
"Where'd he come from? I didn't even smell him" I said.  
"I don't know. Neither did I. But the guy reeked of brimstone when I did catch him" he said.  
"Brimstone?" I asked, and mentally groaned, "Well, at least I called that this wasn't a vacation."  
"What?" Logan asked.  
"Brimstone. Demon. Who else would ask a superhero guy and his freak, better-than-an-occult-specialist wife out here and just leave like that?" I asked.  
"You're not a freak" he said, stroking my face.  
I laughed and kissed his palm, "Was that all you picked up on what I said?"  
"Nope. But we've got our work cut out for us then, don't we?" he asked.  
"Partly. Because we could possibly still manage to get a vacation out of this. How long did he say he'd be gone?" I thought, and looked for it, but couldn't remember.  
"Two weeks" Logan said.  
I grinned, "Perfect. That gives us plenty of time for a plan."  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
I paced back and forth as the phone rang.  
"Hello?" Laura finally asked.  
"Hey, how is everybody?" I asked.  
"Hey Mom, we're good. It's kinda weird, everyone's just acting like you never left" she said, and laughed.  
I smiled, "Good. Listen, this might take a little longer than two weeks."  
"That isn't a vacation, is it?" she asked.  
"Never is" I said.  
"Okay, we'll be here when you get back" she said, not even an ounce of disappointement in her voice.  
"Okay. Remember, and remind your brother since I know he forgot already, I'm counting on you two to hold down the fort" I said.  
"Yeah, he did forget, but nothing's been lit on fire, or completely destroyed, so I'm assuming things are going well" she said.  
"Try to keep it that way. I'll call back again later" I said.  
"Okay. Have fun with your mission!" Laura called, clearly enjoying this.  
"Do I ever?" I asked, met with only her laugh as she hung up.  
"Things good at home?" Logan asked.  
"Yeah. What's going on out here?" I asked, sighing as I sat down.  
He walked in, sitting down on the window seat with me and tugging me against his chest, "Well, you and I are going to hunt some demons and try to get home within two weeks. That sounds about right to me."  
I laughed, my head resting against the base of his neck. I rested my hand over his heart, feeling the steady thrumming of his heartbeat, and closed my eyes, "How did we get into this?"  
"Kenshiro asked us to" Logan said, "You an' me both got surprised here."  
I kissed his neck gently, "How's your hand?"  
"Healed. Damn I never thought rock could hurt" he said, rubbing my back as he glanced at his hand, almost surprised it had healed.  
I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye and sat straight up.  
"Did you see that?" I asked.  
"Yeah. Stay here" he said.  
"Not happening. I'm going with you" I said.  
"Right. Sorry, force of habit" he said, "But stay behind me."  
I rolled my eyes and followed. It was so cute when he was protective of me. We walked down the hallway, and I saw a little girl sitting on the floor, playing with a rocking horse. I stepped into the doorway, looking at her. Had she been here before? I almost recognized her from somewhere...  
Flashes of memory struck me, but not mine, someone else's. A war, a fight, blood, death, an ambush on this palace, a curse, and this little girl, being ran through with a sword in her own bed. I choked back a cry, my hand covering my mouth as the little girl turned, a welcoming smile on her face, and a gaping hole where her heart should be. She started fading, with only the still moving rocking horse in the room, and my head was spinning.  
"Hey" Logan said, making me jump.  
He looked at me and walked forward, "You saw something, didn't you?"  
"Oh my god" I gasped, looking back in the room and back at him, "There was a girl here. She showed me what happened. There was some sort of territory war out here. I think it was her brother that got killed in a fight. The leader attacked here, and killed her and her family. Her mother put a curse on this place while her own daughter died."  
Logan reached out, pulling me into his arms, "It's okay. We'll peice it all together." I didn't realize I was shaking until he was rubbing my arms, and I saw my hands tremble in his. "They killed a little girl" I whispered.  
He kissed my forehead, "Not everyone has the same good soul as you."  
He rested my head against his neck, and I kept staring into the room. The image of the man in the armor, the red trimmed black armor, with the almost V for Vedetta like mask, killing that poor, defenceless little girl, was going to haunt me forever.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
'In Japan, centuries ago, there was a man named Jung Li. Jung Li had a small family with a previous wife, a woman named Kiko. He had a son, Hiro, and a sweet young daughter Taki.  
Jung Li married an English woman named Lucy Shaw when she came to Japan. Lucy had ties to the Hellfire Club in London. She knew black magic, and had summoned demons before for her father Jonas. Jung Li and Lucy lived in peace until another clan moved closer. The father of two boys and the head of the clan was a man named Xan Xi Oyama, with his two sons Zuko and Ti Lung. The boys were known to be violent like their father, though their mother was a quiet, fearful and mouse like woman named Azula. She went to the family as her family grew more violent. Xan murdered Azula in a terrible rage, in front of the two boys, who then embraced their violent nature and frequently beat Hiro at their school. Jung Li, though he was a pacifist, wanted the violence to end by any means necessary. Lucy took matters into her own hands and summoned demons to aid them. The dark spirits killed Ti Lung and Xan knew it was Lucy's summoning that had brought the darkness upon them. He waged a territory war with Jung Li's family, forcing the two men into the fight. Hiro ambushed Zuko in the rice garden, and was impaled on Zuko's spear with Taki watching from the window upstairs.  
Xan Xi went into the house, ignoring Jung Li's pleas for an end to the violence, and went into the room during the summoning. He killed Lucy, but before she died, she summoned a curse to keep their spirits trapped in the house until someone else interfered in their age old battle. Jung Li tried to kill Xan Xi, but was killed in battle with him. Xan Xi went to Taki's room where she sat with her rocking horse. She was afraid. For a moment Xan Xi considered sparing the girl's life. She asked in her sweet, innocent voice in pure, clear Japanese if he was going to kill her. He drew out his sword, murmured an apology to her, saying how he could not spare her life, and killed her. The little rocking horse still moved as he dropped her to the floor. The dark spirits rose and killed Xan Xi, before returning to which they came.'  
Nikki looked up from the book, "That was long."  
"Kenshiro came along and bought this place, and knew all this?" Logan asked.  
"Probably not. Wait, you keep saying Kenshiro, do you mean Kenshiro Harada? The Silver Samurai? Why couldn't he handle this himself?" Nikki asked.  
"He probably doesn't know how. That, or he was too scared to even try" Logan said.  
Nikki saw the flash on her vision again, and stood.  
"What?" Logan asked, not having noticed it.  
"Come on" she said, and walked out. She walked back toward the room where the little girl had been. She was sitting there again, the rocking horse in front of her.  
"Taki?" Nikki asked softly.  
The girl turned and beamed. Her eyes weren't black like a demons, they looked as if they were alive still. Her dark brown eyes went from Nikki to the floor beside her.  
Nikki walked in and sat down, "Is that story what really happened here?"  
Taki nodded, resting her head on her legs. She stared at Nikki a moment before saying softly in Japanese, "Why are you helping us? The warrior ran away from us."  
"Because we are warriors too, but we are more strong, more brave, than the Silver Samurai" Nikki said.  
"He is called the Silver Samurai? He is strange. Will you help me and my family get away? Please?" Taki asked, her small, innocent face making her look as if she would cry if she had tears.  
"We will" Nikki said, and opened her arms for the little girl.  
A boy, probably close to his twenties, stood in the corner, "Then you know many have tried, all knowing the stories, and Xan Xi's men have run them through."  
"Hiro, stop it! They'll win this time!" Taki shouted at him.  
"We will" Nikki said, "I will not let Xan Xi stay on this earth any longer, spirit or living."  
"How can you promise us this?" Hiro asked.  
Nikki summoned a dazzling light show of magic in her hand, "Because, I have gifts. Like your step mother, but through my blood. I can save you, and I can send Zuko and Xan Xi to where they belong."  
Hiro smiled, his eyes coming alive, as if he were being seen for the first time in centuries, "I will hold you to that, mystic woman."  
He disappeared, but Taki remained tucked under Nikki's arm, "You...you won't abandon us, will you?"  
"Never" Nikki said softly.  
The little girl hugged Nikki's side, "Can I stay with you? Hiro will go get father."  
"Yes, I suppose. Just...try not to scare my husband too much" Nikki said laughing, and looked up from where she and the girl sat.  
Logan was in the doorway, staring at her, "What the hell?"  
"You see her?" Nikki asked.  
"Yeah" Logan said.  
"And you speak Japanese, so I know you know what we're saying, so I'm sure you have the whole story" Nikki said and rose, holding her hand out to Taki, "Come on now, I'll read you a story to pass the time."  
Taki beamed, taking Nikki's hand, and started tugging her toward the library.  
TBC  
(The conversations between the family and Nikki were translated from Japanese)

Chapter 4  
Logan stood in the corner, watching me read to the little girl.  
"They are here?" Hiro asked, appearing at Logan's side.  
"Where is your father?" Logan asked.  
"He will be here shortly" Hiro said, and glanced at him, "Do you have a son?"  
"Yes. Two." Logan said.  
"Do you love them?" Hiro asked.  
"Of course" Logan said, "Why? Do you believe your father doesn't care for you?"  
"He cares more for Taki than for me" Hiro said.  
"He does not. Coming from a man with two daughters as well, I love all of them with all of my heart" Logan said.  
"You are not my father. You are a strong, brave, and good man. My father is weak and cowardly. He hides behind his pacifism. You are not afraid to fight. You are not afraid to be hurt. My father is" there was such resentment in Hiro's voice that Logan must've remembered when Daken spoke the same way.  
"Your father does what he does for a reason. He is not afraid. From what I hear, he was keeping you safe" Logan said.  
"But that is untrue! If he were keeping me safe he would've taught me how to fight! I could've defended myself and my sister! He is the reason we all died! Because of his cowardace!" Hiro cried, "I could've saved my baby sister!"  
Taki curled into my side, "I hate it when he does this."  
"It's okay" I murmured, stroking her hair.  
"No. He always does this. I've been listening to this for 457 years, and he never stops this!" Taki wailed, small tears dripping down her face, "I just want this to be over already!"  
Hiro was shocked by his sister's outburst, and Logan moved to go comfort the little girl with me.  
"You both care about us more than our father" Hiro said, "He would live his afterlife in cowardace than help us cross over. Our mother never would've done such a thing, but she passed long before she knew we would die, and be stuck here! At least our step mother tried to help us..."  
"I do not live in cowardace" their father spoke, "I am not afraid of anything."  
"Then why haven't you helped your children?" I asked.  
Their father looked at me with resentment, "No one orders me to do anything, especaily not a woman."  
Logan stood, "She has more courage than you, because clearly she is standing up to you."  
"I do not ask for your oppinions gaijin. Nor do I need your help" their father said.  
"Fine, be that way father, we will stand and fight with them!" Hiro shouted, "And I would like to see you try to stop us!"  
Taki hid in my side, crying, "Even I would stand and fight, I just want to see my mother!"  
I stroked her hair gently, "It's okay. You'll see her again. You'll be reunited."  
"Do not tell my daughter such lies! I will not let them go!" their father thundered.  
I stood and went over to him, still holding Taki to my side, "I'm not afraid of you. They will do what they please. You have nothing to fear, do you? Because you are all already dead. If you really loved them, if you really cared for them, you'd help them go. They want to be with their mother, and only someone as cruel and heartless as you could keep them here. They deserve peace, and you could not let them have it. I may be a woman, but I am surely stronger and more brave than you."  
He stared at me in shock, and I looked back to Hiro, "You do not have to stand and fight to cross over. I'll help you do that, and we'll take care of the others on our own."  
"Thank you" he said.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
I sat in the room with things set up around me. Hiro held Taki to his side, and a woman appeared at my side.  
"You know what you're doing" she said, "I'm Lucy."  
"Nikki" I said, speaking to her in her native English.  
"Where is-?" she began.  
"Coming" Hiro said.  
I glanced to him.  
"I speak some English" he said, shrugging.  
I smiled, "Alright then."  
Their father glided into the room, and although he didn't seem too happy to be accepting our help, he knew he'd have no other option.  
"We will be crossing over now?" he asked.  
"Yes" I said.  
"No!" Hiro shouted, "I gave you my word I would fight with you, why do you banish us?"  
I reached out, in his anger he became tangible, and touched his cheek, "I'm not banishing you. You wanted to be with your mother. You wanted to life in peace, that's what I'm giving you."  
Taki ran to me and threw her arms around my neck, "Thank you. I'll miss you."  
I smiled and gently brushed back her hair, "You will see me eventually little one."  
She smiled and pecked my cheek, "Not too soon."  
They stood together, and I focused my magic on them. I willed them to cross over, to be able to rest in peace. Lucy and their father faded fast, but the two of them lingered, half transparent. They both smiled at us before disappearing. Not a trace of their presence was left, and I knew they were at peace.  
"What's the next move?" Logan asked.  
"We got them out. They're free, they're at peace. Now it's time to get rid of the others" I said.  
There were the sounds of clanging metal, and I knew without a doubt this was what it came down to. I focused my magic, and pushed. I felt several demon presences leave. There was a small army with Xan Xi and Zuko. I shoved harder, my magic taking a stronger form, and several more disappeared. I pushed them all back to where they came from, deep in the underworld, until I felt two dark presences. By far the most powerful.  
"Get ready" I said softly, and my voice was shaky. I hadn't realized Logan was holding me up, or that there was blood dripping down my face. I wiped off the blood on the back of my hand, and turned to the door. I could see them. The boy in the black and red at his father's side, and the strange mask that had haunted my mind was there. Xan Xi.  
Zuko blasted me back, and I shielded myself as I hit the wall, blocking another, just as quick, attack.  
"Logan!" I shouted, but he'd run at Xan Xi. He wasn't using his rage, he was thinking ahead. I extended my shield around him, so no dark magic could touch him.  
"Get up and fight me!" Zuko shouted.  
I looked at him. He was small, young, and his small fists were trembling with rage.  
"Stop. This isn't you. You aren't like him" I said.  
"I am! I have to be or I will die like my brother! We both had to be, or we would get weak and die!" he shouted.  
"That isn't true. Kindness is not weakness Zuko. We would know" I said.  
"It's a lie!" he shouted, and the blasts hit me harder.  
I gasped as a sharp pain filled my skull, but I forced the shield around Logan and I to stay strong, to keep most of the attack out for me, and all of it for him. If one of us had to win something, Logan had to win the battle with Xan Xi.  
"I'm sorry" I whispered, and unleashed as much power as possible to push Zuko with the demons. He dissapeared, and I knew that was one of them down. The only way Xan Xi would be defeated would be with magic, and I had to do that. I stood and watched for a moment.  
"Logan, get down!" I shouted. He ducked aside and I unleashed my full power on Xan Xi. I couldn't tell if that was my inhuman scream, or his.  
Xan Xi turned into ash, before even the ash fully disappeared. My vision went blurry.  
"Nikki" Logan said softly, touching my face. I opened my eyes, the floor suddenly under me. I was dizzy. I could feel warm, fresh blood on my face.  
"We won?" I asked.  
"We won" he said, and held my face in his hands, "We need to get you to a doctor."  
"Why?" I asked.  
He lifted me up slightly, and I saw how the whole front of my kimono was bathed in blood. My head spun and I clung to him.  
"I'll heal, give me a minute" I said.  
He lifted me in his arms, and carried me back upstairs.  
"Wait" I said, making him pause. I made him set me down. The bleeding had already stopped, and I washed the blood off my face and neck.  
"I've never seen you bleed like that" he said, worry in his tone.  
"I've never used my magic like that" I said.  
I went into our bedroom and changed, before laying down. The moment my head hit the pillow I felt better.  
He sat down beside me, "I still think you should see a doctor."  
"Okay. We'll stop by Hank before we go home" I said.  
"No. I mean soon" he said.  
"I'll be fine" I said, and kissed his knuckles, holding his hand in mine.  
"I'm going to ask if he can come out here" Logan said.  
I sighed, "I'll be fine."  
"I want to be sure" he said.  
I smiled, "Okay, fine. Just...stay. I still don't trust this."  
He nodded and held my cheek in his hand, "Where else am I gonna go?"  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
Hank smiled, "There's nothing physically wrong with her Logan."  
I smiled, turning to him, "See? I'm fine." I kissed his cheek softly and let him wrap his arms around me, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. I was incredibly content to just sit there and hold myself to his side like that all day.  
"Well, I'm guessing this would mean you two are going to be heading home?" Hank asked.  
"Yeah. Kenshiro comes back today anyway" Logan said.  
I sighed and stood with him, giving Hank a grateful hug. We exchanged thanks and he left, leaving us to finish packing up.  
"You liked it here?" he asked.  
"It's beautiful" I said, "I can see how you love it here."  
He tugged me into his arms, his lips finding mine, and for a moment, I forgot to breath. He drew back gently, holding my face, "Sorry about that. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."  
I kissed him gently, "I know. Even though it's unnecessary, I still love how protective you are of me."  
"You do?" he asked.  
"It's the fact that you care enough to protect me that seperates you from a lot of people in my life" I said.  
He gave me a gentle squeeze, "I will always love you. No matter what."  
I rested my head on his shoulder, "I love you too. Always and forever. Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered."  
"Always quotig Labyrinth" he said under his breath, making me playfully whack his arm. He mock-winced, earning a kiss. He lifted me up in his arms and spun me, despite my protests. We laughed and pressed our faces close together. His eyes danced, their beautiful blue shining like he was gazing at the most wonderful thing in the world, and what warmed my heart was that he was looking at me.  
"Logan?" a voice asked.  
"Hey Kenshiro" Logan said, setting me down on the floor. I laughed and smoothed out my hair.  
"Is everything-?" he asked.  
"Yeah, great. Don't worry, the place is peaceful now" Logan said.  
"Thank you" Kenshiro said sincerely.  
"No problem" Logan said, lifting my bag over one shoulder, his over the other, and sweeping me into his arms again.  
I laughed as he carried me outside, my arms still wrapped tightly around his neck. He kissed me passionately, his lips fully on mine, and I smiled, holding his face in my hands. He drew back, resting his cheek against mine, "I love you."  
"I love you too" he whispered, stroking my face.  
He set me down, holding me against his side, and walking me toward the jet. An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. I didn't want to go. I didn't want this quiet peace to end.  
"Baby?" he asked.  
"I don't want to go" I said, "I'm afraid that when we go home...things won't be as good as they were here."  
He wrapped his arms around my waist, "For every moment I spend with you, I will always love you. Don't worry about anything, because it doesn't matter here or anywhere else, I will always be with you."  
I kissed him lovingly, "Promise?"  
He laughed and hugged me to his side, "I promise."  
For some reason, the dark, uneasy feeling didn't leave me. His lips found mine again, and it was forgotten. The X-Com beeped and I groaned.  
"Now?" I asked.  
Logan laughed, "We'll be home by tomorrow."  
I smiled, "Okay, fine."  
He tugged me toward the jet and I laughed, running along at his side.  
The End  
**Wandering Lost**

Preface  
There were four people in the room.  
Ashley Blake was fourteen, small and slight, light blond hair with pink streaks in it, and relitively pale. Her dark indigo eyes had seen too much that no child should see. When she spoke, she only spoke in short sentences. Or in Latin. She did that a lot. And all she could do was draw the things she'd seen, trying to show others without reliving it.  
Mason Gray was an ex-convict. He had a polluted mind, and as it was, only the fact that they were all getting paid a million dollars each stopped him from killing the other people in the room. He might later, after they all had their money. Just because the money would've been an added bonus. He was tall, hard muscled, and powerful. No one had wanted to cross paths with him.  
Elane Holden was a quiet, reclusive mother of two. She'd been beaten by her previous husband, driving her into a dark, lonely mental state. Her sister took care of her two children. She frequently hid out for days on end, her mind making her relive her torture over and over again. She had a small figure and light brown hair with glowing blue eyes that were always wide and doe like.  
Jason Young was nineteen, an ex-junkie, and desperately wanted to rejoin the world. He'd been locked up in rehab for two years before he'd ended up in the mental hospital where he'd attempted suicide...seventeen times. He had short, spiky red hair, and wary eyes. He didn't trust Mason. At all. But the women, they were okay to him.  
The last man watching over the four was Doctor Nathan Barr, a powerful telepath, who had a plan for these four.  
"Ladies, gentlemen" he said, walking in. The four were sitting down in identical chairs in his office. Ashley was curled up, her fingers opening and closing spurraticly, needing a pen to wrap her fingers around.  
"Ashley, you will be switching with Megan Gwynn, Pixie of the X-Men. Just try to stay quiet.  
Jason, you will be switching with Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler, also X-Men. But your body will be inhabited by Scott Summers.  
Elane, you'll be switching with Scott Summers. But you'll be inhabited by the last of them.  
Mason, you're going to be inhabited by Scott Summers. And you're switching with Wolverine.  
Do you all understand your assignments?"  
They all nodded, and Doctor Barr gave Ashley a pen, as she quickly drew the Wiccan symbol of protection in her palm.  
"We all understand? Good, let's move out."  
The four moved toward the door, and Doctor Barr smiled. This would go perfectly.  
TBC  
Chapter 1  
Cyclops was gathering Nightcrawler, Pixie, and Logan to go on the mission with him. Logan cradled Nikki's face in his hands, stroking gently under her eyes, "I love you. I'll be back soon."  
She smiled and kissed him gently, their kiss slowly growing more passionate. He drew back, "Be careful."  
"You're the one going out. Be careful for me. I love you" she said, and kissed him gently again. He cradled her face, "Okay. Be home soon."  
She nodded, and smiled, "See you soon."  
She couldn't help but worry about him now.  
Later-  
The sound of the jet approaching made Emma and Nikki smile as they went down to meet the others.  
"Logan!" Nikki shouted, running over and throwing her arms around him.  
He shoved her off and walked away, a low growl coming out of his throat. Scott shied away from Emma, though Kurt gave them both a quick hug before walking off. Megan walked by, her arms wrapped around her like she'd seen something terrible.  
"Megan, what's wrong, what happened?" Nikki asked, "What's wrong with Logan? And Scott? Megan, what happened?"  
She turned and looked at her with haunted eyes, before whispering something in Latin.  
"What?" Emma asked.  
"She said 'the change has happened, be afraid'" Nikki said.  
"The change? What's 'the change'?" Emma asked.  
"I don't know, but I hope we find out soon" Nikki said, glancing to Emma and following Logan.  
"Logan!" she called, running down the hall after him.  
He turned, growling, "What?!"  
Nikki shied back, "What's wrong? You seem...different."  
He sighed, running his fingers through his hair, "It's been a long day, okay? I just...I need to go lay down."  
She nodded, "Okay. Want me to come with you?"  
"Sure" he said, "I don't care."  
Something was wrong. She felt it. It was very, very wrong.

Logan groaned, turning over, "What the hell just happened to us?"  
Scott turned, acidentally hitting Megan, "Ow!"  
"Sorry" he said, and sat up straight, "Logan? Why do you sound like a woman?"  
"&^%* you Summers" Logan said, and his eyes flew open, "WHAT THE HELL?!"  
He looked down and gasped at his...well, now her, body, "What the hell kind of sick joke is this?!"  
"Wow Mr. Logan, you're a pretty girl" Megan said, grinning.  
"Shut up Megan" Logan snarled.  
Kurt rolled over, "Oh my god, I'm huge!"  
Logan looked at Kurt, "Sonofa...damn."  
He kicked the wall, successfully hurting himself, "Let us out of here ya sick bastard!"  
"Logan, calm down" Kurt said.  
"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! I'M A FUCKING WOMAN AND YOU'RE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN?!" Logan shouted, kicking the wall repeatedly.  
"It won't help" Megan said.  
"It better!" Logan shouted, and then he hit the wall, "Do you realize that I am in a woman's body?! This isn't freakin right! I'm a married man, and...I'm stuck a woman! Oh jezus, what's Nikki gonna say?"  
"No idea" Megan said, "But I have a feeling we can get out of here."  
She took out a barrette and slipped it through the lock. The four walked into the hallway, and looked around.  
"What the hell is this place?" Logan asked quietly.  
"You're in Ridgeview Medical Center. I'm Doctor Nathan Barr. The X-Men, I assume?" the man behind them asked.  
"Listen bub, if you don't put us back the way we were, claws or no claws I'm gonna make you wish you never existed" Logan snarled.  
"I'm afraid that's not possible at the moment. You see, your replacements have specific instructions for what they are to do in your place" Doctor Barr said.  
"Replacements? You put a crazy person in my body?!" Megan shrieked.  
"Ashley is really one of the more tame ones. Wolverine should be the one who's worried" Doctor Barr said.  
"Why?" Logan snarled.  
"Because. The man who your friend is inhabiting" he gestured to Kurt in Mason's body, "Is an ex-convict. He's...well, a bit...over the top."  
Logan growled as loudly and as menicingly as he could in this new body and stalked forward, "Do you know anything about us?"  
"No, but I intend to find out" Doctor Barr said.  
Logan growled, and punched him in the face, hard. His hand throbbed, but Doctor Barr went down without a sound.  
"Wrap him up in duct tape or something. We have to get to the mansion" Logan said.  
"Logan, do you think anything has happened in our absence?" Kurt asked, worried.  
"It better not have Elf, because convict or not I'll kick the bastard's ass" Logan growled.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Nikki sat on the bed in Logan's old room, watching him lay there.  
"What're you thinking about?" she asked.  
"Nothing. Just relaxing" he said.  
She sighed, "What happened out there today? I mean...that's not you Logan. You're..."  
"What?" he asked, glaring at her. It sent fear through her whole body.  
"You're different. Before you left...I don't know. You just seem completely different now" she said, "and Megan spoke Latin. She doesn't even speak Spanish. How did she learn that?"  
"I don't know. What do I look like, the kid's keeper?" he snarled, "Now either you want something or you're just sitting here to annoy me."  
She looked at him and stood up, "This isn't you Logan. Before you left, you kept saying you loved me. I'd like to know where that went."  
He growled and sat up, "Did you ever get the fact that maybe I don't?"  
She looked at him, her temper flaring with hurt, "Fine. Why don't you come find me when you figure out for yourself."  
He grabbed her arm, "I never said you were leaving."  
She growled and shoved him back, "You know what, I've put up with abusive b$%^ds before, and I'm not taking it from you."  
Mason grinned, "Well, I may not be who you think I am sweetheart."  
She glared at him, "You know what, take a nap or something. You're acting like a psyche case."  
He grabbed her arm again and shoved her against the wall, "Did you just call me crazy?"  
"Maybe I did" she snarled, "What're you going to do about it?"  
Mason grinned sadistically, "Oh pretty girl, you shouldn't have asked that."

Logan hauled the unconcious doctor onto the boxcar on the train with Kurt's help. Logan let him drop in a pile of loose hay and sat down.  
"I freakin' hate this guy" he snarled.  
"Um, hello! We're escaped mental patients now! We're running to our home! Things have gone beyond hating this guy to possibly killing him to get ourselves back to who we were!" Megan shouted.  
"Be quiet" Logan said, "We have to get there, so you have to deal with it."  
Megan sighed and sat down next to him, "I don't know what to do Mr. Logan. I mean...I spent all this time wondering what they're doing with us...and I worry about everyone else."  
"So do I" he admitted.  
Megan rested her head against Logan's shoulder, "I just want to be okay. I want to go home and find out that I'm not dead or anything."  
Logan put his arm around her comfortingly, "Darlin, I just want to be a guy again. This thing hurts something fierce."  
She laughed, "Why are you wearing a corset anyway?"  
"That's what this thing's called?" he asked, "How should I know, it ain't my body."  
Megan giggled and lay back, "I just wanna go home."  
"We all do" he said, and after a short pause he said, "Megan?"  
"Yeah?" she asked.  
"Just call me Logan" he said.  
She curled up to his side. Kurt sat beside Megan, rubbing her back. Megan turned to Kurt and hugged him. Logan leaned back, closing his eyes, "Nikki, please be okay baby."

"Scott! Come out, please!" Emma shouted.  
"Um, Ms. Frost?" Sammy asked.  
"Yes?" Emma asked.  
"Mr. Wagner's just sitting on the roof, and Megan's...acting really weird" Sammy said.  
"I don't know, something went on with that mission..." Emma said, rubbing her aching head.  
Nikki walked down the hall, "This isn't good."  
"Nikki, what did you find out?" Emma asked.  
"Logan's not the same either" Nikki said.  
"What changed?" Emma asked.  
Nikki looked away, "He can't be Logan. He's just..not."  
Emma looked at Nikki and gasped, "Did...did he do that?"  
She tugged Nikki's opposite arm to see the healing wounds, "We got in a fight. We've never fought before. Read their minds Emma. Find out something."  
Emma scanned Scott's mind, and looked at them, "Scott isn't Scott. He's...well, a woman."  
Nikki snickered, "Well, that explains so much."  
"Megan's not Megan either. She's another little girl. And Kurt...isn't Kurt. He's someone else" Emma said.  
"Metamorphs?" Nikki asked.  
"They'd have been ametures" Emma said, "They've been...body swapped."  
"What? Really?" Sammy asked.  
"What about Logan?" Nikki asked.  
"He's...oh my god" Emma gasped.  
"Sammy, get out of here. Now" Nikki said.  
Sammy ran down the hall and away, just as Nikki saw Logan turn the corner.

Logan sighed and counted out the seconds to 120 before he looked out the open door again. He grinned.  
"Here's our stop boys and girl" Logan said.  
"Girls" Megan corrected, making Kurt and Scott laugh. Logan flipped the two of them off before grabbing the duct taped doctor, pulling Megan under his arm, and jumping. Kurt and Scott followed.  
Megan cried out, clutching her leg tightly.  
"Oh god" she gasped, biting her lip to keep a scream in.  
Logan touched her lower leg gently, bracing it with his hands, "Damn. She broke her ankle."  
"There!" Kurt shouted.  
"Here, Elf, Skippy, you two take the psych job, I got Megan" Logan said and held her up on his arm.  
Megan winced as she stood, being supported by Logan.  
"Let's go" Logan said.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
The four made their way across the bridge up to Greymalkin Industries.  
"Can we slow down?" Scott asked, panting, "This guy is heavy."  
"Get over it" Logan said, and huffed as he shifted Megan on his side.  
"There, Mr. Logan, go look in the window, I'll be here" she said, and sat down where she stood, happy to be off her aching ankle.  
Logan nodded and went over.  
"Emma, go" Nikki said softly.  
"No" Emma replied, though she was actually a little scared herself.  
"Go get in there with Scott. Just give me a minute with him" Nikki whispered.  
"Okay" Emma said, and went into the room.  
"Where ya been Red?" Mason asked, leering at her.  
"I was talking to Emma. She and Scott are having some...trouble" she said, giving him a half truth.  
"That ain't all, is it?" he asked, his expression shifting from dark to downright violent.  
"She started to figure out what's wrong with Kurt and Megan" Nikki said.  
"and?" he asked.  
"You" she said softly.  
"Something wrong with me? Baby I got all the power I ever wanted, there's nothing wrong with me" he said, and moved like lightning, slapping her across the face hard.  
Logan growled, seeing Mason hit her. His vision started going red, if he touched her again...  
She fell, holding her cheek, "Logan, please. If you're in there, it's me. Please, stop."  
"Logan ain't here right now baby, I'd take a message, but I really don't care" he said, and kicked her hard in the side. She gasped, doubling over and holding her side.  
He hit her again, and pushed her back against the wall, "Now. Like earlier, get out of my sight until I yell for you. Got it?"  
She could only nod weakly with his strong grip on her throat.  
He let go, and she stood. He grinned sadistically as she limped slightly, still healing from their last fight. She walked out the side door, and found herself in the corridor to the garden. She went out and sat down on the stone wall, tears streaming down her face.  
"Where is he?" she asked herself, "Why can't he fight back? This isn't fair, why him?!"  
Logan left the others behind him and walked over to her. She didn't notice him.  
"Nikki, baby, I'm right here" he whispered, prying her fingers out of where she'd clutched the rock. She turned to him, her tear streaked face shocked, "Logan?"  
"It's me baby. I'm here" he said. He held her face in his hands like he had before he left, "I love you."  
She laughed, "Oh god, that sounds so strange now."  
He chuckled, "But I still mean it." He tugged her into his arms, "I missed you."  
She felt some small tears run down her face, "How are you going to get back to who you were?"  
"I think it's only fair that we find out. The guy should be coming around" he said.  
"Guy? What guy?" Nikki asked.  
He stood and helped her up, putting her arm around his shoulders, "Come on. You can...meet everybody again."  
Megan grinned, "Nikki!"  
Kurt smiled, and in the convict's body it seemed off, and Scott brushed his hair out of his face, "He's coming to."  
Nikki knelt down and looked the man directly in his eyes as they opened, "How do you turn them back?"  
"I-I don't know, I swear" he said, struggling in the bonds.  
"Well, that's too bad for you, now isn't it?" she asked, her claws coming down on either side of his throat, "One more chance, or I find out if killing you will do the trick."  
"Killing me will return them to their previous forms. But...I won't tell you anything. This is my project, you won't mess it up!"  
"Too bad, you already told me what I want to know" she said, and her third claw peirced his throat.  
Megan shuddered, "That's just messed up."  
Suddenly, their eyes went blank, and Ashley curled up, whimpering.  
"Come here honey" Elane said, cradling the little girl.  
"What happened?" Jason asked.  
"You're okay. You're safe now" Nikki said.  
Mason grinned, cracking his knuckles, "Too bad for you, you're not baby."  
She heard a 'snikt' and Mason gasped, a choking sound coming from him.  
"No, you are bub" Logan growled.  
Nikki beamed, seeing him back to who he used to be, "Thanks honey."  
He went over to her, kneeling at her side and taking her face in his hands, "I love you. I mean that with all of my heart. You're my life. You always have been baby."  
She smiled and bit her lip to keep from crying, "I love you too. I missed you."  
He pulled her into his arms, holding her against his chest, "I missed you too."  
He leaned down, pressing his lips to hers in a gentle kiss, and stroked her cheek as he cradled her face once again. She leaned into his palm, her lips trembling against his as small tears of joy slipped from her eyes.  
"A-are we staying?" Ashley asked softly.  
They all turned, and Nikki looked at the little girl, "Maybe you should for a while. I think you and Megan might get along."  
Elane looked at her, shying away from Logan.  
"Don't worry. Okay? Mason's gone, and no one here would hurt you" Nikki said, reaching out and touching Elane's hand, "I know someone who can help you get free."  
She nodded, choked up, "Thank you."  
Jason looked at her, "When I was your friend, I did a lot of thinking. I want to stay here too. Being with mutants...seems like the only place where I belong."  
Nikki reached out, "It's the only place a lot of people belong. We'd be happy to have you stay."  
Megan looked at Ashley, "It was kind of fun being you."  
Ashley smiled shyly, "It was fun being you."  
Logan held Nikki against his chest, "Nothing was fun until I got to see you again."  
She laughed and kissed him lovingly, "I love you."  
"Love you too" he said softly, resting against her.  
When Emma walked outside, she saw them bonding with their counterparts, aside from Logan who just sat there, holding Nikki in his arms, with Mason's body over by the gate, the Doctor's on top of it.  
Emma just shook her head and was thankful Logan had cleaned up after himself for once.  
The End  
**Love and Best Friend (OS)**

Logan held Nikki in his arms, cradling her close to his chest. He kissed her head softly, "You know, when I wasn't sure if that was you...I had no idea if you loved me anymore."  
He moved her face gently to face him, "You should never be unsure of anything. I love you more than anything. Baby, you never should doubt how much I love you."  
He kissed her gently, softly stroking her face.  
She rested her face in his hands, "If you were able to have anyone back. Mariko. Silver Fox. Jean. But you had to trade me for them, would you?"  
He laughed, "So that's what this is about."  
"What?" she asked, confused.  
"I would let them all be. Because the one woman that I love is right here, in my arms right now" he said softly, and kissed her gently.  
She pulled back, "I want full honesty Logan. Any woman you've ever loved for me. Wouldn't you want any of them?"  
He sighed, "I would. I do still miss them, but while part of me still loves them, even that part of me knows that I can't live without you. You're my love. None of them were really meant to be anyway. Even if they hadn't died, we would've broken it off sooner or later."  
She looked at him and sighed, "You mean that."  
He pulled her into his arms, laying back on the grass with her, "There is nothing else I want in life then to keep things the way they are. You and I, our family, and our friends. That's all we need."  
She smiled, "I knew it wasn't you. I knew it from the moment you walked off the jet. If it had been you, whatever anger or stress you were under would've been gone at that moment. But...you pushed me away. And I knew it wasn't you."  
He kissed her head and rubbed her back, "You noticed all that, huh?"  
She smiled, "Did you notice how you always make me relax? How easily it is for me just to be me with you?"  
He smiled, "Yeah. I've noticed. It feels good, knowing you're my love and my best friend."  
"I'm your best friend?" she asked.  
"Well, my best friend who's a girl" he said, grinning at her.  
She rolled her eyes, "Of course. Because Kurt's your best friend."  
He laughed, "Yeah. Sorry baby."  
She grinned, "Aw, don't apologize. I like seeing you guys just be guys. It's nice to see you relax."  
Then the fuzzy elf in question teleported into view, "Nikki, Logan, would the two of you be interested in a pool game? Peter and I against you two?"  
"What're the stakes elf?" Logan asked.  
Peter rounded the corner, "Strip pool."  
Kurt looked shocked for a moment, "You never said that."  
Nikki grinned, "You're on boys. I hope you didn't choose today to wear those Transformers undies Pete."  
Logan laughed at Peter's shocked expression and ran his fingers through his hair, "Well, we're going to win either way. Especially if we loose."  
"Oh cripes" Kurt said.  
"Don't worry Elf, I'll keep her from staring" Logan said.  
"I'm more worried about you Logan, how much can your healing factor go?" Kurt said jokingly.  
"Trust me Elf, it hasn't let me down yet" he grinned.  
Peter laughed, "I suppose we should just let this be a game between the two of you?"  
"First round. Second round, you get your game" Logan said.  
"Until then, we shall turn on a movie and hope we don't catch any..action" Peter said.  
Kurt nearly slapped his forehead, and looked at Logan, "Call us when you're done."  
"'Kay Elf. and you might wanna keep the volume up" he grinned, and went after her.  
The End  
**Trapped In The Hellfire Club**

Chapter 1  
"I don't like this" Claudine said, rubbing her arms. The cold London air wasn't the only thing giving her chills, but the old gothic place before them. The Hellfire Club's tunnels.  
"I know" Daken said, shutting the door to the tinted car behind them and going over to her, wrapping his arms around her, "What other choice do we have? We have to know what they're doing here."  
She nuzzled against him, "I know."  
"Sure you don't want to stay here?" he asked.  
She locked their hands together, "I'm coming with you."  
He chuckled, rolling his eyes. He knew how stubborn she could be when she wanted.  
The moment they stepped inside he knew something was wrong. The electric lights weren't working, but rather had been replaced with gothic torches that sent small glows of light along the gray stone. He tugged her against his back, "Stay close and be careful."  
She nodded, her fingers locking in the fabric of his shirt.  
He saw dark cloaked figures ahead in the shadows and pulled her into a corner with him. They stayed quiet until they passed. The figures almost had a smoky mist trailing behind them.  
"Were those dead people?" Claudine asked softly.  
"Probably not. They smelled like Hellfire guards" Daken said, and stepped out. He pulled her along down the hall.  
"Why are we going back?" she asked softly.  
"Because. I don't want you in danger. We were supposed to be expected, but someone sold us out to them" Daken said, and pushed on the door. It didn't budge.  
"What the hell?" he asked, and pushed again, harder. He growled softly and looked at the lock, "It's locked from the inside. The definitely expected us."  
"Of course we did dear boy" Shaw said, stepping out.  
Daken snarled, his claws coming down on one hand, "What do you want with us?"  
"Simple really. I want at least a little challenge, and to finish our ceremony of course" Shaw said.  
"What the hell do you mean?" Daken asked.  
"Well, who better than a traitor to be our sacrifice?" Shaw asked, his smile bordering insanity.  
"What?" Daken snarled, "If you think we're going out, we're going out fighting."  
"Actually, I count on that" Shaw said. His guards moved forward. "When you're done, bring her."  
Daken growled, pressing her against his back.  
"Daken-" she whispered.  
"When I get the door open, run and don't look back, I'll follow you" he said.  
"No-" she began.  
"Please" he whispered, "Do this for me."  
She nodded, pressing her head to the back of his shoulder for a moment, "Okay. For you."  
He felt her tremble and took her hand in his opposite, squeezing gently, "I love you."  
She nodded, "Love you too."  
"Don't cry" he whispered, "We're getting out of here."  
She nodded and lifted her head, and sent a mental shockwave at the guards. Daken growled and leapt at them, taking them out while they were incapacitated. Few had mental shields, but that didn't stop Daken from taking them out. Her mental shockwaves got more intense with each blast, virtually sending men to their knees as she targeted them. She felt something in her mind, and she was suddenly dizzy, dropping to her knees.  
"Daken" she gasped, "They have a telepath..."  
He looked back at her, their eyes meeting briefly. She saw concern in his eyes.  
He went back into the fray, killing anyone his claws touched. She felt the increasing fear in her heart, and hoped Daken could hold them off until the telepath revealed herself. She glanced to him, silently apologizing before dropping to the floor.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Daken took the shot and fell, his body aching. He'd been going for about twenty minutes now, taking every hit and slashing open the throat's of each one. He reached out, slashing the head off the one about to deliver the killing blow. He turned to look for Claudine, and saw her collapsed on the floor. He cursed and crawled over to her.  
"Claudine" he said softly, nudging her. He felt unbelievably sick. He knew it was from blood loss. "Claudine, get up. Come on, we gotta go." He forced his eyes to stay open, brushing her hair off her face. He let his fingers linger on her lips, before leaning down and kissing her gently, and resting her head on her chest. He felt his anger flaring. He hated himself. He knew he couldn't go on. He couldn't defend her if he wasn't healed. He listened to the steady beat of her heart, and felt his eyes droop.  
'No, stay awake' he mentally commanded himself.  
'No. Go to sleep. I'll take care of the both of you' a mental voice whispered.  
'Rachel?' he thought, sitting up.  
'Yes Daken, it's me. Go to sleep, I'll take care of you' she thought to him.  
'No. What about Claudine?' he thought.  
'I don't have anything against her. I'll defend her too if I need to' she said.  
'You need to' Daken thought, before he finally fell under from the need to heal.  
Rachel grinned, "Too bad I lied."  
Shaw stepped around the corner, "You can go now Miss Summers."  
Rachel strode forward and kicked Daken hard in the side, "I don't care what I felt for you once. You ended that. I hope you and your little plaything are happy in here."  
Shaw gestured his men forward, and they went to pick them up.  
Claudine blinked awake. Her head was throbbing, and she curled against the wall, holding her head in pain.  
"You look beautiful Claudine" Shaw said.  
She noticed her clothes had been changed, instead of what she'd been wearing, she was in a pale gray dress. She stood shakily, "Where's Daken?"  
"He'll be taken care of. Come, trust me dear girl" Shaw said, reaching out to her.  
She moved away, feeling her head ache in protest, "I need to find him."  
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that" Shaw said. She tried to reach out with her mind, and felt a shock run through her body.  
"See? I warned you" he said, and lifted her to put her on a table.  
"What...are you doing to us?" she asked, trying futilely to move.  
"Only what's necessary" he said, and brushed the back of his hand along her neck, "Such a shame...you were so beautiful."  
Daken groaned as light flooded his vision.  
"Come on boy, Shaw requests your presence at the ceremony" a guard said, lifting him. He came back to his senses, remembering what had happened. Where the hell was-? Rachel. The traitor. She had done this to Claudine out of spite or jealously, he couldn't decide which, but he felt absolute hate for ever loving her. For ever taking care of her. Claudine seemed so strong, but he knew how fragile she really was. She was so beautiful...he growled, he couldn't let them touch her.  
He saw the people gathered around her. She was held down, and red clouded his vision.  
"Daken!" she shouted. Someone rose a knife...and he lunged. He felt the chains snap open as he lunged, his claws coming out faster than they ever had. He felt like a real killer, feeling blood drip down his body. He saw the real color return to his vision as he killed the last one.  
She stared at him, "Daken."  
He moved to cut open the bonds and pulled her into his arms. He undid the power collar around her neck. He held her in his arms, supporting her against him.  
"Come on baby, it's okay. I got you" he murmured, kissing her cheek. She smiled, "Thanks."  
"Any time" he said, and carried her outside.  
The End  
**Catching Up (OS)**

The taxi pulled up to Greymalkin Industries, and the girl stepped out. She was beaming, even though she'd never been here, it still felt like home. She saw her favorite person leaning over the hood of his vintage Masarati, working on it as usual, and sprinted down the driveway.  
"WOLVIE!!" she yelled, throwing her arms around him.  
Logan jumped slightly and hugged her back, "Jubilee."  
He wasn't surprised, Cyclops had given them all fair warning that she was coming to visit today. Nikki laughed, perched on the closed hood of the car. Logan glanced at her questioningly, and she looked at the girl clinging to his side as if they hadn't been together in years, which honestly, they hadn't.  
"So what'cha been doing? Oh boy have I got stuff to tell you" Jubilee said, beaming.  
Logan laughed, "Where were ya all this time kid?" he asked.  
"Here, there, everywhere and nowhere" she said, a phrase she'd learned from Logan.  
He rolled his eyes, "Well a lot happened since then kid, but I should introduce you to the best thing that ever happened to me."  
Jubilee looked at him in confusion and Nikki rolled her eyes, "Smooth."  
Logan went over to her, wrapping his arms around her, "You know I love you."  
She grinned and kissed him gently, trying not to embaress him in front of Jubilee.  
"Who's she?" Jubilee asked, confused.  
"Well if you'd been anywhere but everywhere you might've come...but this is Nikki, my wife" Logan said.  
Jubilee's jaw dropped, "You married Wolvie? Wow. You must've housebroken him too, right?"  
Nikki laughed and Logan gave Jubilee a look.  
"Well, as much as he can be" Nikki said, ruffling his hair softly.  
"What do you do?" Jubilee asked.  
"Same as Logan" Nikki said, "And more."  
"Define 'more'?" Jubilee asked.  
Nikki shrugged, "Supernatural stuff. You probably don't want to know."  
"So you got married" Jubilee said, grinning, "Is that all that happened?"  
"Nope" Logan said.  
"Kids?" Jubilee asked eagerly.  
"Yep" Logan said.  
Jubilee cheered, hugging him tightly, "Oh awsome! Who are they? What are their names?"  
"I think you already met Laura, my...daughter, of sorts. Thank Weapon X for never being able to figure that out. There's my son Daken, who hated me at one point, but joined up with the lot of us when Nikki showed up. There's Vincent, he's eleven, he's a video game addict. And Tayla who's almost two. She's the princess of the family" Logan explained.  
"Oh wow" Jubilee said, "How long have you been together? And why did Daken hate you?"  
Nikki laughed, "She catches on fast."  
"Almost nine years" Logan said, "And he had his reasons."  
"Am I ever going to find out?" Jubilee asked, crossing her arms over her chest.  
"Probably not" Logan said.  
"Well...still working on cars?" she asked, at a loss of anything else to say.  
Logan laughed and gave her a one-armed hug, "Missed ya too kid."  
Jubilee smiled and hugged him.  
Nikki smiled from the hood of the car at their sweet moment. She liked Jubilee.  
The End  
**The X-Men And The Exiles, Together Again!**

Chapter 1  
The new Exiles team consisted of Sabretooth, Morph, Blink, Nocturne, Mimic and Mistiq.  
"This universe again?" Morph asked, "They have some serious issues out here."  
"What does the tallus say Vic?" Mimic asked.  
"Help the Queen Of Diamonds with the revolt" Sabretooth read, and looked around, "Anyone want to explain that?"  
"Emma Frost turns into diamonds!" Morph said, "But I really don't want to help her."  
"We have to do what the tallus says, even if we don't like it" Victor said.  
"What if it's not Emma though? Remember, with the riddle before? 'Leave your possessions and earn your wings'?" Blink asked.  
"Thanks for reminding me when I got ditched here" Nocturne said.  
"Let's just find out where we are, where we need to go, and what we need to do, okay?" Victor said, assuming role as leader.  
"Hey look, it's the Xavier place!" Morph said, "Oh the times we've had here!"  
"Be quiet Morph" Mimic said, and walked down the incline to the Xavier school.  
Nightcrawler looked up and smiled, "TJ!"  
"Dad" she beamed, and bounded forward to hug him.  
Kurt smiled at the other Exiles, "What is it this time, old friends?"  
"We're not sure..." Blink said softly, "We need to find out."  
"Is Emma Frost around?" Mimic asked.  
Victor rolled his eyes, his team speaking for themselves.  
"Who are they?" Nikki asked Logan.  
"The Exiles. Interdementional travelers. They save all of the worlds" Logan replied.  
Nikki nodded, "So what're they doing here?"  
"Let's find out" he said.  
"Logan!" TJ shouted, running over and hugging him.  
Nikki laughed, "She really is Kurt's daughter."  
Kurt laughed and looked to the confused Exiles.  
"The ranks have grown since the last time we were here" Mimic said.  
"Exiles, this is Nikki Howlett. Wolverina. Logan's wife" Kurt said.  
Blink's jaw dropped, "Logan's married?"  
TJ grinned, "Aunt Nikki." She hugged her tightly.  
"Am I the only one who wants to figure out who the damn Queen Of Diamonds is?" Victor asked.  
Nikki laughed, "Even in any universe you're still the tempermental pain you are here."  
Victor raised an eyebrow and she grinned, making him laugh.  
"Well then Vic, let's go find her" Morph said, beaming.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
The group went inside the X-Mansion, and Emma came out, Gambit and Rogue behind her.  
"Nikki" Remy grinned, "It's been a long time."  
"Too long" she agreed, and went to him, hugging him tightly.  
Nikki smiled at Rogue, and Logan glared at Remy, mentally willing him to step away from his wife.  
Remy chuckled and whispered to Nikki, "Logan really is the jealous type, non?"  
She giggled and turned to Logan, blowing him a kiss, "It's sweet."  
She went back over to Logan, climbing onto his lap on the couch. He wrapped his arms tightly around her. She rested her head against his shoulder.  
"So, why would our friends need to see me?" Emma asked.  
"The Queen Of Diamonds, who else would that be?" Nikki asked.  
Emma rolled her eyes, "Gambit?"  
Logan laughed outright, "Emma, Remy ain't a woman...yet."  
"She reffers to de card" Remy said, flipping it up between his fingers, "Give me one more reason Logan..."  
"Okay, break it up you two" Nikki said, "We don't need another fight on our hands here."  
"Another?" Emma asked.  
"There's going to be a revolt" Victor said, "But we don't know who, when or where."  
He looked at the tallus, "Well we do have more clues."  
"What?" Blink asked.  
"'The color red, the number two, the opposite of white'" he read.  
"Okay, red, two, and the opposite of white is black. So red, two and black" Mimic said, thinking aloud.  
"Madlyn Pryor" Nikki said, with little thought, "Red hair, clone, Black Queen of the Hellfire Club."  
"But what about diamonds?" Blink asked.  
"The Hellfire Club was all rich people. There's the diamonds" she said.  
"But Madlyn Pryor is dead" Emma said.  
"Who ever stays dead Emma?" Nikki asked, "Can you see if she is or not right now?"  
Emma nodded and walked off.  
Victor looked down at the tallus again, "There's something more."  
"What?" Mimic asked.  
"The Last King" Victor said.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
"What exactly does all of this mean?" Blink asked.  
Nikki sighed and rolled her eyes, "It means that there's going to be a revolt. On who, we don't know yet, but someone's going down. We can rule out Romulus, since well, he's the only exeption to anyone who's going to stay dead. Okay? You don't get much more dead that having your head chopped off with a magical blade by your ex-prodegy. You just have to figure out who the Queen Of Diamonds is and you can help her lead the damn revolt, on whoever."  
"Well, red, black, and two, a king, and...you know, I'm just going to stop there, my head hurts" Mimic said.  
"Am I the only one who's starting to figure some of this out?" Nikki asked.  
They all looked at her, with the exeption of Logan.  
"I think I am too. Kings and Queens are chess pieces, and there are black and red as positions in the Hellfire Club, so that's probably tied to this. A two could be the second, right?" Logan elaborated, "So the second red or black queen in the hellfire club. The king's probably dead since it said 'the last king', or maybe she overthrew him. We don't know yet."  
They all looked at him like they were shocked he was so smart, but Nikki leaned in and kissed his cheek, "I always knew you were a genius baby."  
Victor looked at the tallus, "He has part of that right. The king is dead, but it says 'once a princess now a queen'. And 'Snow White'. Okay, am I the only one who thinks this thing is now officially pointless?"  
"Keep going" Nikki said, starting to catch on.  
"The man of metal will fall, his colors hypocritical" he read, "What the hell?"  
"Norman Osborn's going down. I hoped so" Nikki beamed, "And I think I'm starting to catch on to all this. It's not a metaphor or anything. The queen of diamonds. The Black Queen has a diamond. She's in love, so there's the new king. The last king is dead, like Logan said, and she was his daughter, that's how she's queen now. And Snow White, how obvious is that, she looks like her."  
"How would you look like a fairy tale princess?" Blink asked.  
"Because. The description of her. Have you ever actually read the story?" Nikki asked, "Especailly the Grimm Fairy Tales version, that's always the best."  
"So what does red have to do with anything?" Mimic asked.  
"We'll figure that out as we go along, okay?" Nikki said, before the metaphorical lightbulb over her head flicked on, "I know who our Queen is."  
"Who?" the Exiles asked in unison.  
Nikki and Logan beamed at each other and turned around, glancing to the stairs.  
Claudine walked around the corner with Laura and stopped, seeing them all looking at her, "What?"  
"Holy crap" Victor said, thinking out loud, "She was right. The tallus was right."  
"What? Why is everyone staring at me like that?" Claudine asked, not even wanting to go in their minds.  
"Because Claudine, you're the mastermind behind our plan to overthrow Norman Osborn, or so this thing tells us" Nikki said, tapping the tallus.  
"Are you in?" Logan asked.  
"Norman Osborn? The guy who used to have Daken on his team?" Claudine asked.  
Logan nodded.  
"Then hell yes" Claudine beamed.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Claudine and the others worked on their plan against Osborn, and actually, things were going pretty well. So far.  
"What's going on in here?" Daken asked, walking in.  
Claudine beamed and hugged him, "We're going to overthrow Norman Osborn, wanna help?"  
"Sure" he said, "But I get to slice open that tin can armor of his."  
Claudine grinned, "I just love it when you threaten to kill people."  
Daken smiled at her, pressing his lips to hers briefly.  
Morph whistled, making Mimic laugh.  
Daken sent up his middle claw, successfully shutting up Mimic.  
Nikki smiled at the two of them, "I think your plan just might work Claudine."  
"I hope so" she said, glancing nervously to the piece of paper.  
Rockslide had been listening in on the conversation so far and relayed it back to the others, "Ozzy's going down!"  
There were cheers in the other room, loud ones at that, and Pixie flew out in a blaze of glitter, "Can we help you?!"  
"That depends" Nikki said, "How opposed are you to grand theft auto?"  
"You quoted Alice!" she gasped, her hands covering her mouth.  
"Well, then I must be confident in this plan" she said, beaming, "So, are we going, or are we staying?"  
"We are so bringing down the tower!" Rockslide shouted, dancing around like a moron.  
Nikki laughed, "Try not to get yourselves killed, Summers would already have my head if he knew I was letting you two in on it."  
"Just the two of us?" Pixie's lip quivered, "But...but...I wanted to be on a team with Cessily."  
"There are no teams" Nikki said, laughing, "But you can be with the Exiles, if you want."  
"Are you fun?" Pixie asked Blink.  
"Um...I think so" she said.  
Pixie grinned, "Okay!"  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
They'd done this the traditional way. More like Magneto than the good guys. Nikki was beaming at Claudine's side, knowing that sooner or later, Osborn would give up, and when he did, they would win.  
"Stop this now. I don't understand, what's wrong with you people?" Norman said, flying over them and came to land before them. He slapped his forehead, "Daken. I should've seen this coming."  
"Hey Ozzy" Daken said, relaxed, his arm slung around Claudine. He seemed happier than ever knowing that sooner or later Norman was going down.  
"Call off the mob, whatever it is, we can discuss this civilly" Norman said.  
Daken grinned, "It's not my mob. And we're overthrowing you, that can't be done like people."  
"Then so be it" Norman said, raising his gauntlet. He aimed at Pixie.  
Rockslide slammed into him from the side, throwing him back, "Take that ya ^%%$ $^&%$!"  
"Damn Santo!" Nikki shouted, laughing, "Finally! Someone just had to say that!"  
Norman got up and blasted Rockslide, throwing him back. The others prepared for attack.  
"His helmet has mental shields" Claudine said softly, "I can't get through."  
"You'll have plenty of work with the others babe, just pray you don't end up with Sentry" Daken said.  
"Who's Sentry?" Claudine asked.  
"A lapdog psychopath who's probably Ozzy's lover" Daken said.  
Claudine giggled, "That explains so much."  
Norman looked at them, "Daken is right. You'll never beat my Avengers. Or my X-Men."  
"They're not the Avengers and they're not the X-Men. My husband is one of both of the real teams, and these people, they're not them. They're just your thugs" Nikki snarled.  
A massive blast hit the air, going up against Nikki's shield as Sentry appeared.  
"Son of a-" Rockslide began, only to earn a flying smack upside the head from Pixie, "We have to fight, not banter!"  
She flew forward and punched Moonstone, then held her throbbing hand.  
Moonstone slapped Pixie away like a bug, sending her flying back into Santo, which, in retrospect, probably hurt more than the hit itself.  
Nikki growled, her magic sending a liquid like gold shield across herself, making her look like Colossus, and snarled, "Take whoever you want, Moonstone's mine."  
She leapt at Moonstone while the others went at whoever they wanted, and delivered blow by blow to the other woman.  
"You can't win!" Moonstone taunted, grabbing her wrist and trying to force her back, "This isn't even Adamantium! I can bend you, I can break you!"  
Nikki wrenched out of her grip and delivered a hard kick to her face, smashing her jaw, "It's Magic little girl, it can't be broken."  
Daken and Claudine were teaming up on Cloak and Dagger. Daken had heard about the games of tag his father and Nightcrawler had played earlier in their days at the mansion, and used the same aspect, minus the playing aspect of the fight, to follow Cloak while Claudine took on Dagger.  
"We got Venom!" Nikki heard Multiple Man shout, with Morph grinning widely.  
Everyone started calling out if they were winning, and basically making their opponents downfall happen.  
Daken and Claudine took care of Cloak and Dagger and yelled, "Got it!"  
Nikki punched Moonstone in the face, hard, and let the woman fall, "I got her too."  
Everyone was hit back by Sentry's blast, "ENOUGH!"  
Nikki fell back, the liquid gold not holding up enough. She tumbed and looked around, seeing Pixie, with one wing crumpled, crying at the side. Daken looked over to her, covering Claudine, who had only a small cut running up her arm. They shared a glance, which Nikki was sure meant they were screwed for sure.  
"Everybody, fall back!" Nikki shouted, "Let us handle this!"  
Rockslide lifted up Pixie, being gentle with her crumpled wing, and he looked at her, "What if you need help?"  
"Go back to the X-Mansion, tell the others, and if we need help, we'll get it" Nikki said.  
Sentry sent another blast at them, and Nikki fell back, groaning. She looked up, "Well go!"  
They left, running away, as Nikki caught Sentry's foot before it came down over her throat. Her hands became liquid gold again. She felt the anger, the rage, burning in her. Suddenly, the gold fully enveloped her, and she shoved him back. Her wings burst out and she took a flying shot at him, nearly knocking him back. It was between Osborn, and him now. The others had run away, egos bruised, leaving the three of them to handle Sentry and Ozzy.  
"You're done Osborn" Nikki snarled, hitting Sentry hard enough to send him flying back into the side of a building.  
Norman smiled inside the suit, and turned his gauntlet on Daken and Claudine, "Well, if I am, I'm bringing them with me."  
Nikki turned, throwing herself in front of them, and took the blast herself.  
"Nikki!" Daken shouted, watching her fall.  
Claudine glanced at Daken, "Get off his helmet. Get off his mental block and I'll handle him."  
Daken nodded, leaving Claudine to stay at Nikki's side. He slashed open some of the helmet, and then ripped it open from the opposite side.  
Norman took ahold of his opposite arm, twisting him back and throwing him into a wall, hard.  
"Daken" Claudine gasped.  
He looked at her. He couldn't move yet. Norman broke his neck.  
"It's over" Norman said.  
"No. It's between you and me now" Claudine said, standing.  
"Not just you two" Rockslide lumbered forward, standing behind her, "The X-Men too."  
The Exiles and the X-Men all stepped out, flanking her.  
"Now Osborn, you're done for" she said.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
Norman looked around and saw the battlefield disappear. He was trapped in an all white box.  
"Get out of my head" he said, starting to panic.  
"This isn't your head, this is your mind" Claudine said, and showed him his deepest fears. Everything he'd built, falling around him, as it had. The Green Goblin, coming back. He was insane, and she knew it, but he wasn't stupid.  
"Do you see what you've done to yourself here Ozzy? You've created so much, and all you wanted was to watch it grow, even though you were all too afraid of watching it fall down around your feet. It has, you know. You've seen that? Now all you're left with is your sanity, and how many people would honestly believe you have that anymore?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. He looked behind him to see her, as if she was standing on glass, hovering in the air. The walls slowly turned black, becoming sticky, like Venom's symbiote.  
"You're trapped inside your own mind, do you know that?" she said, beaming, "That means we won."  
"What?" he shouted, panicing, "You can't leave me here!"  
"Yes, I can, and yes, I will" she said, and pulled out of his mind.  
She beamed as he dropped, the hollow, lifeless gaze seemed just fine with her.  
They all looked at her as she grinned, laughed, and spun around. Thunder cracked overhead and rain started pouring down, but she kept her smile alive as she ran over to Daken. He moved slowly, testing to make sure he hadn't broken anything else. She touched his face, beaming, "We won."  
He smiled back at her, "With you, I knew we would."  
He leaned over to her and kissed her lovingly.  
Logan moved to Nikki's side, helping her up. She held onto him, leaning against his shoulder. The rain beat against her wings, washing off blood and dirt from the ground, and she stretched, "That's better."  
She retracted her wings, still leaning on him. He rested his hand on her back, holding her securely against him. She looked into his eyes, hers were alive with both joy and surprise. She didn't think they would've won.  
He took her face in his opposite hand, guiding her face up, "We did win."  
She smiled, and sarcastically said, "Hurray."  
She leaned in, pressing their lips together, and she sighed, her arms wrapping around his neck, and clutching him tightly.  
Claudine cheered and leapt up, cheering, with Daken, "We won!"  
The words alone inspired everyone else to go around cheering, and hugging and all manner of celebrating.  
Logan held Nikki tight against his chest, the rainwater cementing them together even more, and she grinned, looking up to meet his eyes, "I love you."  
He grinned back, "Love you too. Always."  
Their lips met, and the Dark Reign was over.  
The End  
Next- The Return Of The Mutants!  
**The Return Of The Mutants**

Chapter 1  
The people that woke up that morning realized the truth. Wanda's spell had worn off. They were mutants again. It did nothing to help the already dead, but those of who that had regained their powers, came flocking back to the Institute, desipte it's new location.  
Jubilee hopped out of the taxi once again and ran over to Logan, who was staying out of the way of the throngs of people.  
"WOLVIE!!" she shouted, leaping into his arms and hugging him as tightly as she possible could, "I'm A MUTANT AGAIN WOLVIE!"  
"Great kid, it seems like everyone and their brother is again today" Logan said, "Now will ya let go? You're starting to strangle me."  
She laughed and hopped down, grinning at him, "Do you know what this means?"  
"You're gonna be my partner again?" Logan asked.  
"I thought I was the sidekick, but partner's okay too!" Jubilee said, and hugged him tightly.  
Nikki laughed as she rounded the corner, "Let's not get her and Pixie together, or else we're both asking for it."  
Jubilee hugged Nikki tightly, "Can I work with Logan again? Please?"  
Nikki laughed, "Why ask me? As long as you understand he's mine, you can do whatever you want."  
Jubilee giggled, "Territorial. Is Wolvie like that about you?"  
Logan slapped his forehead, "Jubilee!"  
Nikki laughed openly, "Yeah."  
Logan glanced at her questioningly.  
"Oh please, don't act like you don't know you do it" Nikki said.  
Logan rolled his eyes, and some teenage boys walking by glanced at Nikki and Jubilee. Logan growled low in his throat, giving them a death glare, and they walked by.  
Nikki shifted, crossing her arms over her chest, "And you think you're not?"  
He looked at her, giving her a sweet smile, "You know it's because I love you."  
She smiled warmly at him, walking forward and putting her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek gently, "I love you too."  
"Eww, the mushiness!" Jubilee said, shying away.  
Logan laughed, "Well I know of someone who never grew up."  
"Hey, just because you got married doesn't mean you have to do that in front of me, all I'm saying."  
"Yeah, I mean how many people really want to see that Logan?" Maverick asked.  
Nikki smiled, "Hey."  
"Hey yourself" he grinned at her, "How're you two doing?"  
"What're you doing here?" Logan asked, laughing.  
"Came with everyone else. Might as well stay here, at least for a while. Things aren't getting good anymore...those antimutant bigots are back more than ever" Maverick explained.  
"Well, looks like we're going to have some stuff to do in the future" Logan said.  
Storm came down on a wind, and stood by them, "Nikki, Jubilee, may I borrow the two of you for a moment?"  
Nikki smiled, "Sure 'Roro." She pecked Logan's cheek and walked with Storm. Jubilee waved and jogged to catch up with them.  
"So what's going on?" Jubilee asked, grinning madly.  
Storm beamed, "T'challa and I...we're going to have a baby."  
Jubilee covered her mouth, muffling a shriek, "Oh my god! This is the coolest day to come back!" She reached out, intent on hugging Ororo, but hesitated, being more gentle.  
Ororo laughed, and reached out to hug Nikki too, "You both are the first people to recieve the news. When do you think I should tell the rest of the team?"  
"Tonight. At the meeting. What better way to announce it rather than around everyone?" Jubilee said, beaming, "Oh I can't believe it! Can I watch her or him when she or he is born?"  
Storm laughed, "Still as exhubrant as you used to be. Of course."  
Jubilee cheered and danced around, "This is gonna be so cool!"  
Nikki laughed, unable to do much else with Jubilee's antics making her unable to take her seriously at this point. She'd have to try really talking to her later, after the childish randomness was over.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Elie showed up at the mansion with Jareth, grinning joyfully as she usually did.  
"Hey sis!" she said, waving.  
Nikki giggled. Elie looked so ridiculous...  
"What are you wearing?" she asked, jogging over to her sister.  
Elie was wearing a kimono and striped socks. She would've looked Japanese themed...if the kimono hadn't had the word 'Labyrinth' on the back, with the maze in detail.  
"Cool huh? Jareth was with me when I bought it" she said.  
Jareth gave Nikki a glance as if to say, 'I'm protecting her from herself usually...'  
Nikki laughed, "Isn't he always?"  
Elie rubbed her growing stomach, "Not much longer."  
Nikki smiled, "You're only so insanely happy, I can tell you have something to tell me...?"  
"Yep. Guess what I planned for you?" Elie said, beaming.  
"Oh great moon, what now?" Nikki asked.  
"Oh c'mon, don't be a killjoy, we're going to have a party!" Elie said.  
"For what?" Nikki asked.  
"For you!" Elie beamed.  
"Why?" Nikki asked.  
"Because...of what Alice told me that hasn't happened yet" Elie said.  
"What? What's going to happen?" Nikki asked, "Elie, tell me!"  
Elie was standing there, grinning slyly, and then glanced to her and grinned, "You really wanna know?"  
Nikki nodded eagerly.  
Elie leaned in and whispered it to her, "But tell no one it will happen."  
Nikki nodded and grinned, "Sweet."  
Jubilee ran up, "Hi! You're Elie, right?"  
"You're Jubilee, right?" Elie asked.  
They both grinned and half hugged each other. Nikki rolled her eyes, "Do I see best friends in the making?"  
"Aw, Nix, you know I love you. You're my sis! You're always my best friend" Elie said, hugging Nikki around the shoulders.  
"You are so rediculous Elinoria" Nikki said, rolling her eyes, "but for some reason, you're still my best friend too."  
She squeezed Nikki around the shoulders, "I know."  
Elie walked ahead, singing Dance Magic.  
Nikki looked at Jareth, "I love her, but sometimes I feel so bad for you."  
Jareth sighed, "Well, as crazy as she is, it's worth it." Tiredly, he trudged after her.  
Nikki chuckled under her breath, "Such a short leash...he must really love her."  
Logan tugged her into the shadows, making her squeak, "Logan, what're you-?"  
He silenced her with a kiss, pressing her back against the wall. His tongue traced her lower lip, and she sighed. It was physically impossible to resist him when she was in a position like that.  
He drew back, and grinned wickedly, "Want to ditch Cyke's meeting?"  
"For...?" she questioned.  
He kissed her again, more passionately, and she beamed, "Oh hell yeah."  
He made sure the coast was clear, before the two escaped down the opposite hallway.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Nikki and Jubilee sat around Logan's old room with some things they were looking through. So far, Nikki had found a lot of her old stuff to throw out. Nolstalgia was fine, but being a pack rat was a little much.  
"Who's this guy?" Jubilee asked, holding a photo in front of Nikki's face.  
Nikki took it from dangling in front of her eyes and laughed out loud, "We have a picture of him? Since when?"  
"Who? Who is he? You know, he's kinda hot. He looks a little like Wolvie though. But the eyes are cool. And the muscles. And his hair's kinda cool two-toned like that..." Jubilee said, zoning out.  
"That's Romulus" Nikki said.  
"WHAT?!" Jubilee asked, "As in that freaky weird evil guy that's been manipulating Wolvie? No! It can't be!"  
"He is" Nikki said.  
"Let me guess, you didn't see him outside of the shadows before" Jubilee said, crossing her arms.  
"Oh no, I did...once. But, well..." Nikki said, "That was kind of the day he died."  
"Oh wow. You enjoyed it though, didn't you? I mean, I don't think I would've fought him" Jubilee said.  
"Why? Because you would've been too scared with his claws coming down an inch from your face, or because you happen to be attracted to the bad guy" Nikki said.  
"Well I don't get it. Why are all feral guys, at least to some degree, hot?" Jubilee asked.  
Nikki turned around and gave her a questioning look, "You've stared at my husband working out before, haven't you?"  
Jubilee blushed.  
Nikki's jaw dropped, "Wait, you said all...do you even mean...Victor Creed?" The laughter starting to come from her made Jubilee blush brighter.  
"Wild Child?" Nikki asked.  
Another shade brighter.  
"Daken?" Nikki asked.  
Jubilee sighed, "Never met him."  
Nikki grinned wickedly, "Then meet him you must."  
She tugged Jubilee up from the bed and grinned as she led her along down the hall.  
They showed up at the gym, seeing Logan and Daken duked out in a macho contest again. Seeing who could bench press more.  
Jubilee's jaw dropped fully open, staying like that, as she just stared.  
"I really hope you're not looking at Logan" Nikki said.  
"I'm not" she said, regaining her mind a bit, "Who is that guy?"  
Nikki held back giggles, "That is Daken. Logan's son."  
"Oh my god" Jubilee whispered, "He's so...oh wow."  
Jubilee was gawking as he set aside the weights and stood, streching out his muscles.  
"Alright, fine. You win this time. But I'm still younger, stronger, faster-" Daken began.  
Logan laughed, "I think I just proved I'm stronger than you. So you got age on your side, so what? Age is mind over matter, if you don't mind, it don't matter. And as for speed, let's test that, shall we?" Then he asked loudly, "Wanna watch ladies?"  
Jubilee's jaw snapped shut, her face turning bright red as Daken turned to look at her questioningly.  
Nikki walked in and kissed Logan lovingly on the cheek, "I'll come watch you baby. Jubilee's here for Daken though."  
Jubilee's cheeks flamed, and Daken looked at her with even more confusion, "Why'd you come to see me?"  
"Because I wanted to meet you" she said honestly.  
Daken laughed, "Well then, I'm Daken, and I guess you're Jubilee...?"  
"Yeah" she said, "I'm Jubilee."  
His hand extended and she took it. She felt a jolt run through her blood. His skin was warm, where hers was still cold from the hall.  
"You alright?" he asked.  
"Yeah" she blushed again, "Sorry. I zone out a lot."  
He laughed, "I can tell."  
She saw the back of one hand and mentally cursed, he was married.  
"Jubilee, you know I don't expect such language from you" Emma said, announcing herself.  
"Then get outta my head" Jubilee said.  
"And why ever would you be thinking about-" Emma began, and Jubilee gave her a death glare.  
Nikki glanced to Logan, stifling laughter. He was grinning back at her. Daken was laughing under his breath.  
"Well, never mind. If I could borrow Nikki and Daken a moment?" Emma asked, giving Nikki a 'we-have-to-go-like-NOW' look.  
Nikki nodded, and kissed Logan's cheek, "I'll be back soon."  
The two walked out with Emma, and she paused in the hallway, "Something's happened. It's not good at all."  
"What?" Nikki asked.  
"Someone made a move against the X-Men" Emma said.  
"How?" Nikki asked.  
"Scott's in ICU. He's...not doing well" Emma said.  
"Someone took out Skippy and didn't let us help?" Nikki asked.  
Emma looked at them, "Please tell me you're kidding."  
"I am. Emma, is it that bad?" Nikki asked.  
"Yeah" she said. She glanced back to them, "I'm actually afraid this time Nikki."  
Nikki reached out, hesitantly putting her hand on the other woman's shoulder, "As much as anyone wants to, Scott's harder to take out than they expect. He'll pull through."  
"As much as some people just want him not to" Daken said.  
Emma laughed, even though she knew they weren't joking, but it still rose her spirit a little.  
"Thanks" she said.  
"What did you want us to do?" Daken asked.  
"Well, the two of you used to work together occasionally, right?" she asked.  
"Yeah" Nikki said, "You're giving us a job?"  
"Yes. I want the two of you to go undercover. Together" Emma said.  
"As long as we don't have to act like we're married or anything" Nikki said.  
"Then you two can leave the rings at home" Emma said.  
They both glanced at their hands and glanced at each other, "Just once" Nikki said.  
"Barely" Daken said.  
"So you accept?" Emma asked.  
They both shrugged, "Why not? The only thing we have to loose is our dignity, and by now that's pretty shot anyway..." Daken said.  
Emma smiled, "Thanks. You two won't regret it."  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Nikki glared at her reflection, "Damn her."  
Daken laughed, "What's wrong 'honey'? Don't like the dress? I'm sure dad would..."  
She turned and glared at him, the restricting red statin like fabric making her feel beyond stupid. She gave him a look of murder and went over to see what else Emma hadn't let her pack for.  
"This is it? This is all she gives me to work with?" she said, "Sweet moon the woman knows I'm not prissy!"  
Daken laughed out loud, "C'mon, you have to like this."  
"No, I don't. Look at this" she said, dangling sparkling red stiletto heels off her finger, "This is an abomination! Alice would've done this to me!"  
Daken laughed, watching her put on her shoes, and stand in front of the mirror. They only added an inch to her slight height. She mentally growled at her reflection. Daken took the necklace Emma left for her and went over to her, locking it around her neck. She noticed how his fingers lingered at her collarbone, shocking her out of her anger.  
"Look" he whispered, forcing her to see her reflection, "If I really were in love with you, I would be telling you how utterly, heartbreakingly beautiful you are right now."  
She gulped, "Oh."  
He laughed, "We do have to get into the role, you know."  
His arms wrapped around her waist, and slowly eased her back against him. She burst out laughing, and moved away, "I can't pretend I love you."  
He laughed, "I know. It's rediculous. Man, she should've sent dad with you. This is just disturbing."  
"You enjoyed it" she said.  
"I'd enjoy it if you were Claudine, no offence. You're pretty and all, but you have always been just my friend. Nothing more" he said, tugging on a shoe, "Shall we go?"  
She sighed, "Might as well."

The party reminded her of the masquerade ball from Labyrinth, minus the masks. People in outlandish outfits, entertaining themselves and being the most obnoxious possible.  
"There's our man's daughter" Daken said, looking at a woman in the corner. She had middle length, curly blonde hair, and she was incredibly distraught looking. She was wearing a golden yellow version of the black dress her stepmother was wearing, flirting shamelessly across the room. Nikki mentally glared at the woman, knowing full well if this girl was as upset as she looked, she needed comfort, not a flirt.  
"Go talk to her" Nikki said, "Please. Let her have someone to talk to."  
Daken went over, "I'm Daken. I couldn't help but notice how upset you looked, is everything okay?"  
She nodded, "Yeah. Fine."  
"You sure?" he asked.  
She glanced at him, and she must've seen genuine concern, because she let small tears drip down her face, "No. It never is."  
He looked around, "Come on. Let me take you for a walk."  
She nodded, wiping her eyes and leading her down the hall, outside.  
He led her out to the garden and had her sit down, "What's wrong?"  
She shook her head, "I hate things like this. My father dresses me up and tries to pass me off to any man he sees fit...I don't want that."  
Daken pulled her into his arms, "It'll be okay."  
"My name's Kim" she said softly, "Kim Briggs."  
"Daken Howlett" he said.  
She held onto him, "Do you mind i-if I just...?"  
He squeezed her gently, "Go ahead."  
She rested her head against his shoulder and cried.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Nikki went up the stairs to the room where she caught Kim's father's scent. He was counting money, as he usually did.  
Nikki pushed open the door, shocking him out of his little bubble.  
"W-Who are you?" he asked, but then looked her over and relaxed slightly.  
"I suppose you can know...I'm the woman who's been sent to take you out. Supposedly, you've been an anti-mutant for a long, long time, and you're going to use all this money to fund a new program against us. Nod if I hit the target" she said, striding over to where he sat and gracefully sitting across the end of the bed.  
He nodded. She smelled fear. "Only in X-Force" she muttered, and stood.  
"Y-you can't. I have a bomb hooked up to this whole place..." he said, "If I die, it goes off."  
"So you planned to blow everything sky high when you died. In-flamin'-credible" Nikki rolled her eyes.  
"You can't kill me" he said.  
She grinned and leaned over, "I doubt that."

Daken rubbed Kim's bare back, "Shh, it's okay. You don't have to take this. Come back with us, I'll take care of you."  
"But...your married" she said.  
"I can be married and still take care of you" he said, brushing back her soft blonde hair, "I don't love you like that, not like I love my wife, but you're still present in my thoughts."  
She rested against his shoulder, "It's my choice?"  
"Purely" he said.  
She remained in his arms, "I want to stay with you."  
"Good, then come on. You'll need your things if we're to go" Daken said.  
She nodded, "Okay."  
Nikki ran downstairs as Daken and Kim walked to the stairs, "Get out of here."  
"Nikki, what's-?" Daken began, as she shoved him back.  
Daken pulled Kim down and covered her as they dropped, and Nikki threw up a shield around them.  
The whole building rocked in an explosion, the walls and all crumbling to the ground in fire.  
"Oh my god..." Kim whispered, seeing it all through the gold haze.  
"Yeah, she's going to be coming back with us..." Daken said softly.  
"Ok, fine" Nikki said.  
Kim looked at them, "You...two...aren't married, are you?"  
"No. Not to each other. But to other people, yeah" Nikki said, and pushed aside the sheild. They looked around, "Hell, it got totaled."  
"Great, then we get to go home" Nikki said, and went over to the jet, taking it off stelth mode, "And Daken? It's your job to tell Claudine about your sister."

They arrived back at the mansion in about an hour.  
"Mansion sweet mansion" Daken said sarcastically, looking around for the other X-Men. Without warning, a goblin flew out a window and smacked into the side of the jet face first.  
"You know what...I don't want to know" Nikki said, picking up the goblin, one she recognized as Cob, by his shirt collar.  
"What are you doing?" she asked.  
"Cob go fly-fly like Kingy..." he said. She saw the mental birds flying around his head.  
"Wonderful" she muttered, and dropped him on the ground.  
"Elie! Your goblin's down here!" Nikki shouted.  
"Take care of him yourself" Elie said.  
Nikki lifted Cob up by the collar again, "The things I do for my sister..." She debated throwing him in a garbage can, and realized she really didn't want to unleash this on the world.  
"Wait...did she kick him out the window?" Daken asked.  
"I hope so" Nikki said, walking toward the mansion.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
Nikki strode into the X-Mansion, still holding Cob by the collar, "We're back!"  
Emma came into view, glancing at the goblin in Nikki's grasp before glancing back to where Daken had his arm around Kim, rubbing her arm.  
"Well. I didn't think you'd be bringing your work home with you" Emma said.  
"Come on Emma, she's a sweet kid" Nikki said, looking to her, "By the way, why did my sister kick a goblin out the window?"  
Maybe it was hearing it in that context, or how the subject had changed from serious to lighthearted in that moment, but Daken busted up laughing.  
Nikki even giggled, taking the goblin upstairs past Emma.  
"Oh, Daken?" she called down. He looked up. "Helping Kim settle in is your job." He nodded.  
Nikki took Cob upstairs, and by that time the goblin was just swinging from her hand, using his shirt as a swing. He was grinning an odd, strangely cheerful smile, and swinging himself back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.  
Nikki rolled her eyes and carried the goblin into the room.  
"Hey" Nikki said.  
"Why is that thing back?" Elie asked.  
"What'd he do to you?" Nikki asked.  
"Climbed under my dress" Elie said.  
"Cripes Elie, he doesn't understand people anyway" Nikki said, setting him down on the windowsill.  
The goblin proceeded to scurry away, probably to reak havoc elsewhere. Nikki turned back to Elie, "Really sis, what's wrong? The goblin can't be the whole thing."  
"I don't think I can be royalty" Elie said.  
"Oh for the love of...Elie, you're being royalty over GOBLINS, they wouldn't know the flamin' difference anyway. They think I'M royalty. ME. El, Jareth married you because he loves you. The whole royalty thing...honey, don't worry about that, the goblins will never be able to tell anyway. It's not like they're actually that smart" Nikki said, laughing.  
Elie grinned, "Yeah. That's true. I just hope these two decide to behave with them...if they end up goblin hunters, it's not my fault."  
Nikki laughed, "I have a bad feeling, they'll end up like the goblins."  
"Oh god no" Elie said, laughing.  
"Well it's either you, Jareth, or the goblins...and oh lord do I hope they take after the two of you" Nikki said.  
Elie laughed and hugged her sister, "Oh fun."  
"No, not really. Here's one way of saying it, I kinda hope they take after Jareth. He's...the least crazy of the three options" Nikki said.  
The End (for now)  
**Goblin Babes**

Chapter 1  
Emma was supporting Scott, as he still still suffered from his wounds. Nikki had to feel a slight inclination of sympathy to him, but not much. With that thought, her phone went off, loudly, in her pocket. She grinned, knowing it was Elie's ringtone, and flipped it open, "Hey sis."  
"NIKKI, NIKKI ELIE'S HAVING HER BABIES!" Megan screamed in her ear.  
Nikki held the phone away, wincing, and moved it back, "Megan, the only way I can hear you is if I have the ear drums to do so. So stop screaming, and tell me if Jareth's there?"  
Megan calmed herself down, breathing deeply, "Yeah, he's here."  
"Okay, well, let him handle it, okay? He's much more calm then you right now Megan" Nikki said.  
"What's going on?" Cyclops asked.  
"My sister's having kids" Nikki said.  
Megan's loud scream of joy made Nikki hold the phone away, and even made Logan wince at her side, and Nikki shouted into the reciever, "I THINK I LOST MY HEARING MEGAN!"  
Megan laughed as Nikki tugged on her ear, shaking her head, trying to clear her head of the pollution in her mind.  
Logan laughed, kissing her cheek. Nikki heard sudden crying, and either it was Elie, or Megan, or a kid.  
"Who's that?" Nikki asked.  
"That, would be Jareth Jr. He's so cute! Yes he is, yes he is!" Megan said, tweaking the baby's nose eagerly.  
"Megan? You're kind of creeping me out" Nikki said, "What about Freddie?"  
"She's...staring at me. I think she hates me" Megan said.  
Nikki laughed, "Oh my god...wow. What a kid. She must take after Jareth."  
"And this one, Jr, is crying all the time...he takes after Elie, who by the way, is crying too" Megan said.  
"Oh my god..." Nikki muttered, slapping her forehead, "She's such a dork."  
"Love you" she heard Elie say.  
"Who is she talking to?" Nikki asked.  
"The babies" Megan said.  
"Oh lord..." Nikki said, rolling her eyes.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Nikki went over to Elie's later in the day, hearing the crying.  
"Oh lord, poor Jareth must be going insane..." Nikki said softly.  
Jareth was walking around the room, holding sweet, quiet Freddie, while Elie held Jareth jr tightly in her arms, wailing like a child. The baby was laughing at her.  
"What the hell? I thought that was the kid crying" Nikki said.  
Elie sniffed and looked at Nikki, "Oh sis! They're so perfect!"  
She ran over and threw her arms around Nikki, crying hysterically. Jareth took the two laughing babies in his arms, making Nikki glance over to him. It seemed like the years of the goblins capturing children had given him a love for kids. Cob was sitting on the back of the couch with two other goblins, staring at the two babies.  
"What babes are those?" Cob asked, in a rare moment of inteligence.  
"The prince and princess" Jareth said, showing the children to them, "They're my children."  
The three goblins gasped and stared. Freddie looked at them with her own strange multicolored eyes, and reached out, touching one.  
Cob gasped, touching her little hand, "She smart."  
"She's my daughter" Jareth boasted.  
Nikki laughed, "Big ego much King?"  
Jareth stuck his tongue out at her, and Elie laughed, "Jareth. Honey, be nice."  
"Well Logan's never nice to me" Jareth said, "He should be kinder to royalty."  
"Oh well screw it" Elie said, and hugged Jareth, "Sorry sis, gonna have to go with my hubby here."  
"Great. Everyone gangs up on the clawed chick. You guys are terrible" Nikki said sarcastically.  
Elie wrapped one arm around Nikki, one around Jareth who held the children, and sobbed softly, "Oh you guys! I love you so much!"  
"Over-emotional?" Nikki asked.  
Jareth nodded. And Nikki patted her sister's back.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Nikki and Elie sat together on the couch later in the night. Nikki had gone home, made dinner and spent time with her family, leaving Jareth and Elie with the kids and the goblins, and had come back after she put Vincent and Tayla to bed. Jareth had fallen asleep in the chair much earlier, after they'd put the twins to bed, and Nikki had actually walked in to see Elie sleeping on the couch, with her husband in the chair, the TV playing as if they were awake. She'd almost laughed, when she'd realized how cute it was. but they'd woken up since then, Jareth having given up and gone to bed, leaving the two to talk.  
"Did you eat today?" Nikki asked her sister.  
"Yeah. Jareth made food. I know, I'm shocked he knew how to cook for himself too" Elie said, beaming.  
"You seem...more sane" Nikki said honestly, grinning.  
"Thanks. I'm tired though. Why didn't you tell me kids cried so much?" Elie asked.  
"Freddie didn't cry at all" Nikki said, "She seems like Tayla. And Vincent never cried when he was a baby. I was shocked. Maybe they just took after me."  
"What about Logan? How's he with all this?" Elie asked.  
"He hopes you don't make him babysit, that's all" Nikki said, sighing, "He's wonderful, isn't he?"  
"God Nikki, you're unbelievable" Elie said.  
Jareth walked to the door, without his shirt, "Elinoria, you should be resting."  
Nikki facepalmed, hiding her face and her sanity from their little display.  
Elie flushed, "S-sure. Nikki, leave."  
"And you say I'm unbelievable" Nikki said, rolling her eyes and left.  
She ran, the trees blurring around her for a few moments before she slowed, standing in the trees. She hadn't realized how late it had become. She sighed, stretching her much abused muscles and feeling the cool breeze go over her skin. The air was starting to carry a wintry chill, which meant there was about two or so more months before winter. It made her smile, thinking of another snowball fight, another winter wonderland she'd never experianced as a child. Nothing had ever been this happy. She stretched her arms out and turned on her heel, grinning, only to jump back, a small yelp coming from her.  
"Damn it, don't scare me like that!" she shouted, laughing breathlessly.  
Logan reached out, tugging her into his arms, "You're blissfully unaware when you're staring at the sky, know that?"  
She was about to say something, but he crushed his lips to hers passionately. She laughed as he drew back, looking at her with such a warm, wonderful glow in his eyes.  
"Let's go home" she said softly, leaning down and resting her head against his.  
He smiled, "Love you."  
She grinned back, "Love you too."  
The End  
**What If ****Wolverina Was The Native?**

Chapter 1  
Sabretooth recognized the familiar scent, and followed it. He'd gone solo, opting to ditch the two humans they'd made him take with him miles back. She was good, he had to admit, but he was sure he was better. He heard a low snarl behind him, and he turned, seeing a flash behind the leaves.  
"Hey frail, long time no see" he said, acting as if he was in casual conversation with her.  
He heard her low snarl in reply, and saw another flash from the trees.  
"Don't make this too hard on yourself girl" he said, making a low, rumbling growl start low in his chest.  
He roared, feeling something go through his chest. She'd drawn back before he had time to register. He roared again, as the blade whipped around and cut his head off. Logan may not have remembered, but she was still with him, she was still one of the best.  
Logan looked around, knowing something was off. Then he remembered the date. Febuary twenty-second. The day after his birthday. And still no Creed. That was...impossible.  
"Mr. Logan?" Norkio asked.  
"Yeah?" he asked.  
"You seem...nervous" she said.  
Logan stood from where he'd been watching the students spar, "I gotta go. Keep working, I'll be back later."  
He changed and got onto his bike, not knowing exactly where he'd go, but he was going SOMEWHERE.  
He drove for miles and miles on end. He wasn't sure where he was going, but somehow the land seemed...familiar.  
He drove down a dirt path, up a steep hill. He saw a cabin up ahead, and pulled up outside of it. That scent...he knew that scent...where did he know that scent from?  
He walked in, letting his bag drop to the floor. He stood there, and closed his eyes, taking in scents that brought back memories.  
A beautiful woman with soft skin, wild hair and loving eyes. Nights in bed, mornings outside, seeing her dance in a field of flowers with only the music of the birds to guide her twirling movements.  
A kiss, leaning in and kissing her soft lips, the way she was warm and soft and perfect...a life he'd once had  
He realized her warm scent was recent. The bed, where he smelled their scents together, though faded, had recently been slept in. He set down his bag and jacket on a chair, and followed the scent. He scaled down the side of the cliff, and saw the beautiful woman in the cave, her sweet scent coming to him.  
"Darlin?" he asked.  
She turned to him, looking at him with shock.  
"L-Logan?" she asked, her beautiful, catlike green eyes and long, tangled red hair, soft pale skin, it was all so familiar, "Do you remember me?"  
He shook his head, "Sorry darlin."  
She ran to him, throwing her arms around him, "It's okay. I love you still Logan. I never stopped. I'm Nikki, you and I used to be together."  
He held her face in his hands, "I know. I remember that much."  
She bit her lip and looked at him, "I missed you so much..."  
He stroked her cheek, "I know. I'm starting to realize, I did too."  
She leaned up and pressed her lips to his softly, gently, and he deepened their kiss. She held onto him tightly, now that she had him back, she wasn't willing to let him go.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Logan awoke with the light shining in the window of the cabin, Nikki in his arms. Her head rested against his chest, a smile on her sleeping face. He smiled and gently kissed her hair, not to wake her. She shifted, snuggling closer to him. She really must've missed him. It was depressing for him to think he'd ever left her, even if he only had a few memories of their life together.  
"Hey" she said, looking up to see him.  
"Morning" he said softly, kissing her soft lips.  
She laughed, and stretched, "You kiss me like you never left."  
"I wish I hadn't. I'm sorry I don't remember" he said softly.  
"They did that to you. I don't care, as long as you're here now. We can pick up right where we left off" she said, her arms wrapping around his neck, pulling herself against him.  
He stroked her hair, "Where did we leave off?"  
She laughed, "We were happy, we lived on our own, just you and I. Weapon X came and took us away...you tried to fight for me. You set me free and I ran...then you went back. You wanted to kill them for hurting me. You told me to come back here and wait, and I did. That was almost twenty years ago."  
"Damn. I'm sorry" he said.  
She laughed, soft and musical, "Don't worry about it. I always knew you'd come home. A part of me would've died if you died, I would've known, so I stayed. I waited. Just like you told me. But I'm not staying and waiting anymore Logan. I want to come with you if you go this time."  
He nodded, "A lot's happened since then, hasn't it?"  
"I just lived out here. What did you do?" she asked.  
"I went to work for the Canadian government after Weapon X. Then Chuck recruited me...and here I am. A few years later" he said.  
She sighed and nodded, "Sounds fun. Compared to hunting deer."  
He laughed, giving her a gentle squeeze, "I want you to come with me."  
She smiled, nuzzling him, "I will. It's not like we have much here anyway. You always told me it's not the place that matters, but the person you're with that makes it worth while."  
He chuckled, "I was pretty deep, wasn't I?"  
She laughed, "Yeah. You still are, I guess." She drew back, looking into his eyes, "Can you promise me that twenty years hasn't changed anything?"  
He touched her face, watching her eyes close as she drew in a deep breath.  
"Just tell me that twenty years gone and you still love me. You still want me" she whispered, "Just tell me you'll let me stay with you. That's all I need."  
His lips brushed against her cheekbone, "Twenty years hasn't changed anything." His lips brushed her neck, "I love you." Her collarbone, "I want you." His lips lingered against hers, "I need you to be with me."  
He kissed her passionately, lovingly, their lips molding together. He drew back, and she looked at him, her eyes glowing with love and joy, "Good. Because you're not getting rid of me easily."  
He tugged her on top of him, making her giggle, as his lips met hers again. He drew back, listening. So was she.  
"Hear that?" she whispered.  
"Soldiers" Logan whispered.  
He tugged her up, "Get ready, we're going."  
She nodded.  
The men were making their way to the cabin.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Logan went around the side of the cabin, seeing the men with thier weapons. He listened to their conversation, and realized, Creed had been with these men. He was dead. Somehow, she'd killed him. And they wanted her back as their experement. He snarled quietly and his claws came down, silently for a change.  
"Wait" one of them said.  
"What?" the commander asked.  
"We shouldn't be doing this. If they're as dangerous as you say they are-" the one questioned.  
"Which, we are" Logan cut in, and leapt down. He slashed open the two in front, several men aiming but not having time to shoot before he'd gotten close enough to end their lives however he wanted to.  
"Nikki?" he called.  
She walked around the other side of the cabin, licking blood off her fingers, "Hm?"  
He glanced around the side of the house, seeing bodies strewn around like it was nothing at all. He laughed, "Were we always like this together?"  
She grinned, "Pretty much."  
Her arms wrapped around his neck, kissing him. Despite the taste of blood on her lips, he was sure he could get used to this.  
Two days later, New York-  
Kurt Wagner sat at the bar, waiting for Logan to return. Logan had told him three days...and it was close to becoming the fourth. If Kurt had said he wasn't worried, he would be lying.  
He heard the familiar rev of Logan's Harley and the door swung open. Despite how Logan's hair was slicked back from rain, he looked at his happiest, and Kurt knew it was because of the woman at his side. Her hair was equally wet, tied back, and she was laughing as she curled into his side, holding onto him.  
"Hey Elf" Logan called.  
"Logan. Who is this?" Kurt asked, smiling. Sometimes his friend's happiness was contagous.  
"This is Nikki. The love of my life. An' thanks to her, I'm starting to remember it all now" he said, lowering his face to meet hers, their noses touching. She beamed, whispering so only he could hear, "Love you."  
He kissed her tenderly, confirming what she knew. He still loved her too.  
"Think Chuck'll mind?" Logan asked.  
"Not at all my friend. If she puts you in a better mood, she's good for all of us" Kurt said, laughing.  
Logan fake glared at Kurt only to be distracted by Nikki placing a gentle kiss on his lips. He glanced back in her direction and smiled, giving her a gentle squeeze.  
Twenty years hadn't changed anything.  
The End  
**Moon (OS)**

The glowing white moon overhead made the world shine silver in the night. Nikki was grinning, her eyes glowing almost inhumanly. It was strange, how the light reflected off her eyes at night, making them glow. Logan strode up to her side, grinning, "Ready?"  
She beamed, "If you are."  
He laughed and lowered himself to the ground, ready to pounce. Nikki beamed and leapt forward, instantly keeping a step ahead of him. He loved this game, their hunting becoming a compition. He knew she'd take down the biggest buck, leave him for second best, but he wouldn't have it any other way. He wanted her to win.  
She laughed joyfully and tore through the trees. She had the scent. He grinned, and followed her.  
He jumped over her, landing in front of her. She smiled slyly and leapt up, climbing up the side of a tree and dropping down a few feet away, closer to the herd.  
He growled under his breath. She was good. But he was still the best. He overtook her in a few long strides, and was there, waiting at the edge of the embankment. The deer were drinking water in the stream. Then he saw the largest buck. He would've leapt, made the kill and turned back to claim his victory, but he saw it then. Some small fawns. Barely a month old by the look of them. Their weakened mothers keeping them close to their sides. Wolves looked on, hungry, but the large buck was defending his herd.  
Nikki was at his side, watching them with interest. She crept out, staying low. Logan wondered what she was doing. She extended a hand, and brushed her fingers against one of the mother's back.  
The deer turned slightly to see her, and she went still, establishing that she wasn't a threat. The deer resumed drinking while Nikki brushed her fingers through its soft fur. She turned and smiled to Logan.  
He noticed movement in the trees, unable to return the smile, and saw the glinting of moonlight on eyes. Wolves. He heard the low growl of the alpha male, and he moved, coming to stand between the deer and the wolf pack. He growled low in his chest, a warning growl.  
The wolf growled back. Defiant.  
Nikki went to Logan's side, her soft, feminine growl meeting his, the low timbre of a pack.  
The wolves backed off, running away, all but one. A small pup bounded out of the trees, leaping at Logan's feet. Nikki sat down and scratched the pup behind the ears, nudging it toward the trees. The pup's mother returned in time for him to bound over to her side.  
Nikki grinned and stayed in her place sitting on the grass. The deer were moving away. Logan sat down beside her, "It's nice, isn't it?"  
She laughed, "I think we belong out here. That's why it feels so...right."  
He wrapped his arms around her, letting her relax against his chest, "I know I belong where you are."  
She rested her head against his shoulder, "And I where you are. I love you."  
He kissed her hair gently, "Love you too."

The End

**The Angels**

Chapter 1  
Victoria covered her two friends as Nikki cracked the incription code and Elie incapasitated the other men. Victoria slashed the men open, grinning as blood dripped off her hands.  
"Vicky, you didn't have to kill all of them" Elie said, gesturing to the ones that were sensory deprived on the floor.  
Nikki walked back to them, "You know, while you two try to kill each other, I actually managed to bring these guys down."  
"Only their system. I didn't see you getting messy" Victoria said.  
"V, we don't have to kill everyone we see" Nikki said, rolling her eyes.  
Elie laughed sarcastically, "Oh, sure, because Victoria could just go a day without watching about a hundred people die!"  
"Watch the sarcasm little girl" Victoria said.  
"I'm older than both of you by two months" Elie said, "And Nikki's older than you by four days. We both get to rank over you."  
"Okay, if we're done with the whole competition, then let's go, because we're done here" Nikki said.  
Victoria stalked off and Nikki glanced to Elie, "I thought you were being nice."  
"I'm being honest, I can't help if she doesn't like it" Elie said.  
Nikki walked back to the jet, and let the two avoid each other.

Logan grinned as Nikki walked into the Rec Room of the X-Mansion. She was still wearing her red leather outfit, but she looked tired.  
"What's wrong?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her.  
She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder, "Elie and Victoria are fighting."  
"They're friends aren't they?" Logan asked.  
"Not really...Vicky's my friend and Elie's my sister. They just put up with each other for me" Nikki said.  
Logan laughed, "Yeah. You knew everybody loved you. So if she can ignore Victoria for you, she must love you."  
Nikki chuckled, "You put up with Victoria for me."  
"Exactly" Logan said, nudging her face up and kissing her gently.  
"Nikki!" Elie shouted.  
"Oh cripes, what now?" Nikki wondered out loud.  
Nikki walked into the kitchen to see Elie backed against the counter, Kim actually standing in front of her, with a very pissed off Victoria glaring at both of them.  
"What the hell just happened?" Nikki asked.  
"Victoria's being a stubborn jack$$ and was going to try to hurt Elie" Kim said.  
"I wasn't actually going to hurt her, just scare her" Victoria said.  
"Vicky" Nikki began.  
"For god sake Nikki, I wasn't threatening your sister!" Victoria said, "This is too freakin hard, okay? I can't pretend to be one of 'the good guys' when I love killing too much. If you want somebody to do the crap you need done, why don't you use her?"  
Victoria gestured to Kim and stalked out, "I'm running home. Wanna come find me later, fine."  
Nikki glared after her, "Tempermental pain in the $$."  
"We're one short" Elie said.  
"I'll do it" Kim said softly.  
"You will?" Elie asked, grinning.  
"Yeah" Kim said.  
Elie beamed and glanced to Nikki, "Fine. If she can handle herself, she can come with us."  
Elie squeaked and hugged her sister, then grabbed Kim's hand and started running, "To the training cave!"  
"It's the danger room ya dimwit" Nikki said, laughing, and walked after her.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Nikki stood back, letting Elie turn on the danger room. It was the first time Elie had done it on her own, and Nikki prayed to god it wasn't going to be unicorns.  
The droids popped up from the floor and Nikki watched as Kim used carefully skilled martial arts moves to handle one of the droids.  
"You know, either I need weapons, or I need help" Kim said.  
Nikki threw her two machetes. Kim whipped around and slashed open two droids. Another two came up from the floor, and Kim threw the machetes and whipped around to kick off a droid's head.  
Nikki applauded, "For being a spoiled little rich girl, you handle yourself well."  
Kim grinned, "I'm proud of that."  
Elie applauded from the control room, "So...is she in? Please?"  
Nikki grinned, "Welcome to the Angels."  
The alarm blared, successfully ending Kim's welcome, while Nikki turned and went to the war room. Elie dashed out of the control room and met Kim in the hallway.  
"What's going on?" Kim asked.  
"If the X-Men are gone, we got your first mission!" Elie said, grinning exitedly.  
Nikki walked back out, nearly colliding with them, "Nikki?" Elie asked.  
"I have to go" Nikki said hurriedly.  
"Nikki, wait, what's wrong?" Elie asked, running after her.  
"No time, stay here, I gotta go!" Nikki shouted.  
Elie chased after her, following her to the garage, "Nikki, you can't just go. What's going on? Why aren't you telling us?"  
"Because there's nothing for me to tell. I gotta go" she said, hopping in one of the large Jeeps, and driving away.  
"Nikki!" Elie shouted.  
"ELIE!" Kim screamed, and Elie turned to run down the hall.

While Elie had run after Nikki, Kim had gone back to the war room. The door was locked. Kim kicked the door hard, almost knocking it down. With another two tries, she'd managed to kick it open. The screen was purely blank, Poltergiest style static on the screen, and Nikki was laying on the floor, unconcious. She'd been sneak attacked.  
"ELIE!" Kim screamed, hoping that it both woke up Nikki and got Elie down to the war room.  
Kim leaned down, brushing Nikki's hair out of her face. Kim gasped, forcing herself not to scream, cry, and throw up at the same time. Nikki's throat had gotten slashed open, her face, neck and part of her upper chest was a bloody, gory mess. Kim choked back sobs, her face contorted in horror, her mouth agape. The rusty smell of blood reached her nose, and she backed away. There was still blood trickling from the deep gash that had been formed in Nikki's throat.  
"Kim?" Elie asked.  
Kim shrieked, jumping back and hit the wall, "Oh god Elie, you didn't let her go did you?"  
"Nikki?" Elie asked, "Kim, what-?"  
Elie noticed the blood on one of Kim's hands, and then glanced over, "Oh my god!"  
She ran over and looked at Kim, "Why didn't you tell me it was a shapeshifter?!"  
"I didn't-" Kim began, as Elie stood and sprinted out of the room.  
Kim whimpered and moved to sit by Nikki's side, "Oh god...Nikki? Wake up. Please, please wake up."  
Elie took off after the Jeep, launching herself through the air in an inhuman leap, her claws growing to latch onto the roof of the car. Elie smashed her hand through the skylight, and saw not pale skin, but pale red. Red? What the-?  
The car screetched, suddenly swerving. She was trying to be shaken loose. Elie reached in and gripped the pale red arm, just as she felt it dematerialize from her grasp. Elie gasped, the empty car was barreling down the road...toward the highway.  
Elie hopped in, swerving, and hit the breaks just as the side of the Jeep impacted with the side of a truck. Elie panted, gasping, and stared at the trees on the side of the road. She climbed out and looked at the damage. There was a deep scratch on the side of the car that tore off the black paint job, but Elie sighed with relief realizing it could've been much, much worse. She climbed back in and drove up to the mansion.

Kim sat on the floor of the war room, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her curly blonde hair was matted and wet on the edges from tears, her eyes red and puffy and still slightly wet. She leaned back, curled up, afraid. Nikki still hadn't woken up.  
Kim closed her eyes and began praying, saying all the prayers she knew, willing with all her heart she'd see Nikki wake up. Minutes passed. No change. The blood had stopped flowing. If Kim didn't think about it, she could ignore the fact that she was sitting in blood. The pool of blood had extended, finally enveloping her side and her feet. She was scared, shaking, and prayed this was going to change.  
"Kim? Kim where are you?" Elie called.  
"What's going on?" she heard Cyclops say.  
She wanted to scream to come, to go help her, to do something! But she was frozen. She was shaking, her lips trembling as they moved with the silent words of prayer.  
"Oh my-" Cyclops said softly.  
Daken moved past him and lifted her off the floor, tugging her to her feet. She leaned against him, trembling in complete terror.  
Logan shoved past Cyclops, practically throwing him aside as he went to her, "What the hell happened?!" He looked at Kim, "You tried to help her."  
Kim nodded. He glared at Elie, "Where the hell were you?"  
"I had to kick the b!%^h's $$ who attacked my sister! Where else would I have been?!" Elie shouted back at him.  
"Hank, get over here, do something!" Logan shouted.  
Hank moved past the both of them. Kim stood, panicking, and glanced over to Elie. They both stood frozen. What the hell had happened?  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Kim sat outside in the metal plated hallway, tears streaking down her face, still shaking. She'd never expected an attack like that.  
Daken walked over to her, "You okay?"  
She shook her head, "Is Nikki?"  
Daken sighed heavily, like the question had aged him, "They don't even know what the metamorph used on her, but Hank says it's going to be touch-and-go for a while."  
Kim looked over to him, and saw behind the affront, he was only scared and worried like she was. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him, "You should go home. I'll be okay here."  
"You live with us, remember?" he laughed, giving her a gentle squeeze around the shoulders, "Besides, I think Claudine's gotten used to treating you like her little sister."  
Kim couldn't smile, but rested against his shoulder, "I never had real family before."  
"I know you didn't. That's why you've got us now" Daken said softly.  
Hank walked out and saw them sitting on the floor, "Logan's in there with her."  
"How is she?" Kim asked, afraid.  
"She'll heal. I just need to know exactly what that shapeshifter used on her" Hank mused.  
"Why? What's wrong?" Daken asked.  
"She's healing slowly. It shouldn't work like that. I haven't even seen these effects with carbonadium" Hank said.  
Daken sighed, "Damn it."  
Kim stood and looked at Hank, "She is going to heal, isn't she?"  
He looked at her and sighed, "I don't honestly know."  
Elie stood down the side of the hall, glancing around. She hated this. Hated waiting. She went down, "She damn well better, or I'll make her."  
"It won't be that easy Elie. Believe me, I've tried" Hank said.  
Elie sighed and sunk into a chair, closing her eyes. She wasn't sad, she was beyond pissed off. She glanced into the room, and felt absolute pity. If this was this terrible for them, Logan had to be ten times as bad.

Logan held her hand in both of his, listening to her heartbeat, tuning out the noises of the machines. He pressed his lips gently to her knuckles, stroking her hand.  
"I love you" he whispered, hoping she could hear him, "I need you back. Wake up baby, as soon as you can."  
He felt her hand squeeze his gently. She shifted, stirring. He reached out and held her back gently, "Shh baby, stay still."  
She blinked her eyes rapidly and reached up to feel bandages around her neck, "What happened?"  
Her voice was soft, and he could tell she was still tired, but he was happy she was awake. He leaned in, gently kissing her on the lips very, very softly. She sighed, leaning back and glancing at him, "You still haven't answered me."  
"You got attacked" he whispered.  
She kissed him gently on the lips again, "And? I do at least twice a day."  
He pressed his forehead to hers gently, "Darlin, this is different. The shapeshifter did something...you're not healing as fast as you should."  
She laughed softly, making it become a cough as she layed back. She glanced to him, "Get over here."  
He came over, sitting on the side of the bed. She put her head on his arm and relaxed, "I don't think it was a shapeshifter."  
"Why?" he asked.  
"Because. Nobody is surprised to see a shapeshifter. But you heard how Elie said she'd dissappeared, I think..." she began, unsure of how to finish.  
"You don't think it was a mutant" Logan said.  
She nodded.  
"What then? Another demon?" he asked.  
She turned to him, "No. It might have been a mutant with supernatural help."  
"From a demon?" he said.  
"No. Demon's aren't that smart. It might've been a dybbuk" she said.  
"A what?" Logan asked.  
"A possessing spirit. Probably of someone we already killed seeking revenge. If it was, then it's already crossed over" she said, "Get Elie to get a discription of some sort, powers, things like that. Track down anyone fitting that description. Chances are if the dybbuk ain't done, it'll stay in the host body."  
"Elie, we got a job for ya!" Logan shouted, making Nikki giggle. She smiled and rested against his chest, "I love you sweetheart."  
He grinned, "Love you too darlin."  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Elie went solo. She didn't want to bring Jareth, she didn't want him seeing this side of her, and Kim was only human. This was a job she was doing alone.  
She knew the scent well, and stalked down the street of the neighborhood that looked like the one Jagger's cathouse had once been in. She scowled, frightening the interested gangbangers whose eyes had been following her down the street. She growled under her breath; Jagger's scent was on this place. No shock the creature would've come from there.  
Elie walked in like she owned the place, "Where the hell's the b!tch who attacked my sister?!"  
A woman with pale white hair walked out of the back room, the small red woman behind her. Elie snarled, readying herself to lunge, when she noticed something about her. She only looked about 14.  
Elie stopped, unable to hurt a child. Even with rage burning in her, she couldn't hurt the child.  
"I'm sorry Elinoria" the pale woman said softly, her voice soft, sweet and so musical it almost hurt Elie's ears, "I'm Luna Maxwell. Jagger's twin sister."  
Elie glared at her, "You're gonna apologize to me?"  
"Elie, I'm sorry" Luna said softly, "Really. Can you ever forgive me?"  
Elie sighed, "There's nothing to forgive you for Luna. Just...what the hell is this place?"  
"This is a halfway house of sorts. Mutants, vampires, anyone inhuman can come here when they have no where else to go. It's like the Xaiver place, but without the politics and bigotry that arise with going public" Luna said.  
"The professor isn't a bigot" Elie snarled.  
"I know he's not. Norman Osborn, was. That's why I'm glad you and your people handled it the way you did" Luna said. A boy, about eleven, who looked like a miniature version of Jagger walked into the room, drinking a glass of blood and reading a comic book. Elie smiled, recognizing it as one of the many fan tributes to her sister.  
"Forgive me, this is my little brother Valentine. He's eleven" Luna said and grinned.  
Valentine looked up, glanced down at the page, and looked up again, "Holy crow, you're Vampyre! I love you!"  
He put down his things and sprinted across the room to hug her waist. Elie smiled, "Thanks."  
Luna looked at Elie apolgetically, "I'm sorry about Marah. She's...struggling. She has multiple personality disorder."  
Elie nodded, "She's welcome at Xaivers. All of you are."  
"We are?" Luna asked, genuinely surprised.  
Elie nodded, "Yeah. Professor X doesn't turn anyone away."  
Luna smiled, "Thank you miss Elinoria."

Elie returned to Canada, exhausted. She hated that she'd actually made a truce with Jagger's sister. His twin sister!  
She swung open the door and stopped, looking confused.  
"Jareth...what are you doing?" she asked.  
Her husband held a machine gun to a goblin's head, her almost-toddler son gripping a plastic baseball and aiming at another goblin. Jareth attempted to hide the gun behind his back, "Elinoria. How was your day love?"  
"But what-?" she began, giving up on an answer.  
"But what?" he echoed, revealing his now empty hands.  
"You know what, screw it. I'll never know if I loose my mind with you" she said, and lay down across the couch. What a day.  
The End  
**Sweet Nothing (OS)**

10 Years Ago, St. Louis, Missouri  
Luna sat curled up in the middle of the dense forest. She was seventeen. The party had gone horribly, horribly wrong.  
Earlier  
Luna had been invited to her best friend's first ever halloween party. Tara was a shy, timid girl, who even as an overacheever, was a nice person to hang around. Luna preferred her over the others. Luna had gone dressed as an angel, leaving before her twin brother could wake from his slumber in his coffin in the basement. Luna had been driven there by her boyfriend Lucas, his best friend Matt, his brother Henry, sister Tabitha, Matt's girlfriend Sarah, and Tabitha's boyfriend Jameson. Henry was the quiet and geeky one of them. They'd dragged him to the party out of sheer necessity. The party had gone into full swing, beers being cracked open among the headstones in the cemetary. Blasting metal shook the trees. It was Luna's kind of party. Tabitha disappeared. Then Jameson. Then Sarah, Matt, Tara and Lucas. Henry and Luna were alone.  
"Where did they go?" Henry asked.  
"Tara, stop it! This isn't funny!" Luna shouted.  
Henry disappeared from Luna's side, and she backed away, hitting something hard. At first she thought she'd walked into a tombstone, but she turned and screamed at seeing her twin brother's red eyes.  
"You abandoned me, on my night, for them? For worthless, pathetic humans?!" Jagger growled.  
"Jagger" she said softly.  
He snarled, and Luna screamed, running away from her brother into the trees.  
That was how Luna had wound up out there, in the shrubs, her white dress torn and dirty, her palms and knees scraped from falling in her white heels. The silver halo headband she'd wrapped around the front of her head was covered with some of her pale blonde hair. She wept, holding her knees as she leaned against a tree. Her brother envied her, not hated her! She forced her crying to slow and quiet, as she looked around the base of the trunk. She saw Jagger, his eyes no longer red, but their mismatched blue and green, "Luna? Come out, I'm sorry."  
She stood and half-crawled closer. Jagger listened to her attempts at stealth, and smiled, "You always were bad at hide and seek."  
He turned, lifting her up. She whimpered and shied away.  
"I'm sorry" he said softly, brushing back her hair. His hands were clean.  
"Where are they?" she asked softly.  
"They're gone...I'm sorry" he said softly, "Luna, I'm sorry. I love you more than life my sister, you know that."  
He set her right on her feet, pulling her into his arms and hugging her tightly. She cried, "Jagger...let me go. I want to go home."  
"I'm sorry" Jagger repeated.  
She wept, "I forgive you."  
He lifted her up, taking her into his arms, and running. She seemed too fragile.  
"You're wrong" Luna said softly.  
"What?" he asked.  
"They're not worthless humans. I'm a worthless human. I always have been. I'm a freak" Luna said, crying harder.  
"You're not a freak" Jagger said softly, kissing her head, "You're going to become one of us soon. I'll take care of you baby sister, always."  
She sniffed, and let him set her down. She walked inside, seeing their mother sitting on the couch with their father in the easy chair across the room. Their baby brother Valentine was in her arms, drinking a bottle of blood.  
"Luna! Are you alright sweetheart?" Their mother said.  
"I'm fine. I'm just tired" she said, and walked across the room. She paused at the stairs, "Thanks Jagger. I guess...the transition will be easier now."  
She acended the stairs, and Jagger looked after her. The only thing he'd ever regret in his life, would be hurting his sister.  
The End  
**Nightmare (NPOV)**

I rubbed my eyes, stretching, as I looked around the room. I could see clearly it wasn't morning. Logan shifted, his muscles tense, and I realized why I'd woken. He was having a nightmare. I leaned over him, gently running my fingers through his hair. He calmed slightly, but his muscles remained tense.  
"Logan" I whispered, "Logan, wake up. It's only a dream."  
He growled softly, and I moved to see his face. I brushed back locks of his hair, gently stroking his face, "Shh, it's okay. I'm here."  
He turned back onto his back. I wondered what he was dreaming about. Placing my hands on either side of his face, I allowed my magic to open the connection between both of us. Making his emotions mine, his thoughts mine, and mine his. I saw the abandoned Weapon X facility. But that wasn't what was haunting him now. A see through figure, towering over him. He was beaten and bloody, and..crying? Then I saw my own bloody face, eyes wide open, mouth parted in a cry of terror. I almost laughed at the irony. This wasn't My Bloody Valentine or something like that. Then I knew why he was so afraid. He was still skeptical of us killing Romulus. That, or he believed his ghost would come after us. Which, either of the two, seemed pretty ridiculous. I saw him, about to leap at the shadow figure, his claws coming down, and I shouted, "Logan, you're not going to hit anything, it's only a dream!"  
I startled back, feeling him leap up, his claws coming out. I dodged either side of his claws, trapping myself against his chest. He sat there, panting, for a moment.  
"Feeling better?" I asked softly, gently rubbing his chest.  
"Did I hurt you?" he asked.  
"No" I replied, "And you'll never loose me."  
He kissed my cheek gently, his claws retracting, and his arms wrapping around me, clutching me to his chest.  
"You were in my head?" he asked.  
"Sorry" I said softly, "But Romulus is dead. Weapon X is no more. And you have me, you always will."  
He chuckled softly, "Oh if only I believed that."  
I drew back and held his face in my hands, "Almost nine years Logan. It has almost been nine years since we fell in love. Romulus couldn't change that, no one could. You and I were made for each other. Nobody can anticipate us when we work together. We're too strong for them Logan. They don't understand how easy it is for us. How strong love is."  
I leaned in, my lips meeting his. He quickly took over, the force of his kiss practically cementing us together. I kissed him back with the same intensity.  
After a long moment, he drew back. His lips pressed to mine gently. Once. Twice. A third. As if we never wanted the kiss to stop. Finally, he looked at me, "Nothing can tear us apart."  
I nodded, "Never."  
He held my face with one hand, the other resting on my back, "Thank you. I needed to wake up."  
I kissed him softly again, "As long as you remember exactly who and what you're waking up to, I'm fine."  
He laughed, "Baby, I don't care what you are. I love you."  
I grinned, "So if I had a third eye and webbed feet?"  
"You'd still look sexy" he said, kissing me gently.  
I laughed, "Liar."  
He gripped me gently, flipping me over and making me squeak with laughter. He pinned me down and kissed me gently, before drawing back. His eyes danced playfully, glittering with a joyful sparkle I knew he only had when we goofed off like this. He leaned down, "You would be, you know." His breath feathered against my cheek. I bit my lip, taking in his scent.  
"You are the single most beautiful woman I have ever seen" he said softly. I looked up, "I was kidding, you know. I know when you lie, which, you never do."  
"Not to you" he corrected.  
"Cyclops is a pain in the .$$ though, he doesn't count" I said.  
He chuckled, a strand of hair falling over his face. I reached up and brushed it back, his eyes focusing on me again. I ran my hand gently down his face, "I love you. Always and eternal."  
He smiled, his hand covering mine, "I love you too darlin."  
Our lips met once more. Yeah, tonight was turning out to be pretty flamin' great.  
The End  
**Feral Nature (NPOV, OS)**

I sat in the cover of the trees, just relaxing. The warm late summer air on my skin was starting to turn cooler, signaling the return of winter. I stood and stretched, looking out at the sunset and smiled.  
I caught a scent on the wind, and my smile grew, "Hey Vic."  
"Nikki" he said, before hopping down.  
"Spying on me?" I joked.  
He laughed, "Nah, just hanging around."  
I grinned at the irony. He gave me a once-over, "It's been too long."  
I nodded, "You seem less crazy then the last time we met."  
He grinned, showing his sharp canines, "Maybe it's an illusion."  
"Who're you, Harry Houdini? Give it a rest Vic" I said, laughing.  
He growled softly, playfully, the growl of a friend, and I took off running. It was games like these that I played in the pack, the kind of games that awoke the animal and let it embrace it's true feral nature. Jacob turned me to these games, the ones that kept the senses sharp, and the mind at it's peak. I heard the rustling of bushes as Victor circled to cut me off. I leapt up, scaling off a tree. I heard Victor climb up after me, and decided it was time for this little game to end before he got put out. I made my exit quickly, leaping into the next tree, to have his arm wrap around my waist and tug me back against the tree. He chuckled softly, "I win."  
"Ooh, scary" I said sarcastically, turning around.  
He grinned, a low, rumbling growl in his throat, "You were my prey. You should've been."  
"And now that I'm not...?" I asked, almost laughing at him.  
He quickly gripped me around the waist, crushing me to his chest. His claws grew down around my arms, becoming sharper, and he growled in my ear, "You're lucky I'm a good guy now. Otherwise, I'd show you why you're supposed to be."  
I laughed, hearing the double meaning, "Is that supposed to turn me on Victor? Because it's sadly not working."  
He drew back, looking at me, "Do I have claws in the wrong part of my hand or something? Runt could'a pulled that off."  
I laughed, "Unlike you Victor, that line isn't the only thing he gets to pull off."  
Victor laughed, "Alright, that was pretty good."  
I fake bowed, keeping my balance on the branch as easily as any decendent of Dracula, and he grinned, "Race back?"  
"Only if you don't mind being left behind" I said, grinning, and leapt down. He snarled, and I saw him land a few feet ahead. Grinning, I leapt forward with all of my speed, and he was quickly left behind. I laughed, exhilarated, and I ran into something, knocking me on my backside. I looked up, to see Logan standing there, amused, as if he'd caught me with my hand in the cookie jar.  
"What?" I asked.  
"Goofing off?" Logan asked.  
I laughed, "What else would I be doing on a day off?"  
He grinned, and leaned down, "I can think of a few things."  
I felt my grin turn sly, and I stood, "Then what're you waiting for? I won the race already, so let's go celebrate."  
"You better not be talking about ice cream" he said.  
"I'm not" I said, winking, and saw Victor at the treeline, "Go home to Kitten!" I called, "There's nothing you have to stick around for!"  
Victor laughed, and disappeared.  
Logan looked at me, eyes glowing, "Finally?"  
I grinned, "Of course."

The End


	21. Part 21

**Second Chance**

Chapter 1  
Nikki leaned over the cradle on one of the rare warm, sunny days. She looked at Akihiro, the little crossbreed her parents had adopted...and then pawned off on her. He was asleep, his soft, short black hair had grown. She reached out, and with the gentlest of touches brushed her finger against the back of his small cheek. She felt like a child again, gazing in at her little brother. Which, was actually what he was, even if he was living with her while her mother and Carlisle expanded on the house.  
"Hey" Logan said from the doorway.  
She smiled, "Hey."  
He looked at her, her beat up jeans and Dir En Grey shirt, a chain hanging off her pants, and she looked more like a teenage girl at the moment than she ever had. He laughed at the mental image.  
"What?" she asked, leaning back and glaring at him.  
He walked in, laughing, and held her face in his hands, "Just thinking of how young you look."  
"You mean immature I act?" she asked.  
He laughed, "That too."  
She grinned, "I guess it's a good thing, isn't it? That I'm not like the rest of them."  
He watched her lean back over the cradle and sighed, "I guess it's a bad time to tell you this, huh?"  
"What?" she asked, sitting up.  
"They finished working on the house. They're gonna take him back with them" he said.  
She shrugged, "Okay. We'll go see him though, won't we?"  
"Yeah" he said. "You got quite attached, didn't you?"  
She nodded, and gently stroked the back of Aki's face, "When're they coming?"  
"Later" he said.  
She chuckled softly, "They told you this morning?"  
He nodded.  
She lifted Aki up, "That is so like them."  
"You don't mean that" he said softly.  
"No, you're right. I love my family, but this is so like my mother. Sometimes I think she just needs to grow up and stop being such a scatterbrain" Nikki said, walking down the hall.  
"You can be sometimes too" he said jokingly.  
She turned to him, "But you always come first. You and this family come first. That's what my father always told me, 'they come first' and I know he didn't mean the Morori. He loved my mother and all, but I know he didn't care what happened to any else of them."  
She went into the kitchen, holding the sleeping almost-toddler in one arm while she fixed lunch for Tayla and Vincent. The TV was on in the other room, Laura stationed in front of it. Daken and Claudine were...somewhere.  
Nikki paused a moment, "What about Vikas? Is he coming back?"  
"She didn't say anything about him" Logan said.  
Nikki's cell rang, and she called the two younger kids in for lunch before answering it, just as the doorbell rang. Logan almost laughed at that.  
Nikki rolled her eyes just as Laura shouted, "I got it!"  
Laura grinned, bounding over to the door. It had been so long since they'd talked, and she'd wanted to pick up where it had left off after they'd gone their seperate ways after the near-disbanding of X-Force.  
"Hey" he said, beaming at her, showing his sharp canines.  
She grinned, blushing, "Hi."  
"You gonna invite me in?" he asked, "Or are we hanging out outside?"  
She laughed, grinning, "Yeah, come in."  
Kyle grinned walking in. He paused inside the door to shrug off his worn brown leather jacket, "Ya look beautiful."  
She blushed, "Thanks."  
He shrugged, his red t-shirt almost clinging to his muscles. She beamed under his intense, beautiful gaze. He leaned in, kissing her gently. She sighed, her arms wrapping around his neck. She felt his hand press to the small of her back, and she raised her foot like they did in the movies. Kyle seemed oblivious to that.  
"What the hell?!" Daken shouted, pausing at the top of the stairs.  
Laura and Kyle broke apart, both blushing.  
"What?" Logan asked, walking out, amused.  
He noticed Laura, clad in a miniskirt with tights and a tight-fitting tank top, showing all too much, and Kyle Gibney standing in his living room, both looking flustered.  
"What. The fuck. Just happened?" he asked.  
"I think my brain just melted" Daken said, and walked back upstairs.  
Logan glared at Kyle, and glanced at Laura in confusion, before looking to Kyle and growling, "Start running." TBC  
Chapter 2  
"Come on Logan, you and I both knew this was going to happen someday" Kyle said, holding his ground.  
"Are you suicidal?" Laura whispered.  
"I'm hoping he listens to me" Kyle whispered back.  
"You and I both?" Logan quoted.  
Kyle chuckled nervously, "Ok, maybe not both of us."  
"You gonna kill him or do I have to?" Daken asked, drawing their attention.  
"Nobody's killing anybody" Nikki shouted, "Now behave, both of you!"  
Logan sighed and Daken stuck his tongue out.  
"Immature child" Nikki said loud enough for him to hear.  
Logan and Kyle both grinned, laughing softly.  
Daken snarled under his breath, "Evil. Pure freakin evil."  
"Thank you" Nikki called.  
Kyle beamed, and busted up laughing.  
Logan looked at Kyle and nodded, "One thing, just don't do it in front of us."  
Kyle nodded, "Sure."  
"So you mean you don't mind?" Laura asked eagerly.  
Logan rolled his eyes, "Go ahead, it's not like you wouldn't go behind my back anyway."  
Laura cheered and hugged Logan before she hugged Kyle. Logan sighed and walked away.  
"Why aren't you doing something?" Daken asked from the stairs.  
"There's nothing we can do" Logan said, almost pained.  
Daken sighed, "Damn."  
"As I said, behave" Nikki said out to them again.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Tanya and Carlisle pulled up in the Mercedes. Nikki held Akihiro in her arms. The sweet almost-toddler touched her face. He gave her a little peck on the nose, almost saying he'd see her again.  
"Carlisle" Logan said, letting him in.  
"Logan" Carlisle said, and saw Nikki rocking the baby in her arms. She smiled, and kissed his forehead gently, "Bye baby boy."  
Carlisle took him and smiled to her, "Thank you for taking care of him."  
Nikki reached out and brushed her hand along his cheek softly, "Anytime."  
Carlisle saw how sweet it was between the two, and Tanya walked in, "Sorry, it was Gary. Thanks for taking care of him hun."  
Nikki hugged her mother, "Bring him back sometime."  
"Who's Gary?" Logan asked.  
"Mom's best friend" Nikki said.  
Carlisle sighed, "I wish we could've stayed longer, but I have work in the morning, and I left Bella in charge-"  
"Bella? What happened to Jazz? Or Edward? Or even Rosalie?" Nikki asked.  
"None of them wanted to do it. And Emmett's on a Superman rush..." Carlisle said.  
"Great moon" Nikki sighed, "Fine, go, I'll talk to you soon."  
They both nodded, giving her quick hugs and kisses goodbye, and left.  
Logan saw her watch them leave, and she sighed, slumping onto the couch.  
"You okay darlin?" he asked, walking around the couch to lift her up and tug her against his chest.  
"Yeah. I'll be fine" Nikki said.  
Logan sighed and rested back against the couch, both spread out over it. She lay on his chest, relaxing, "You know Laura turns eighteen in three weeks, don't you?"  
"And? Want to encourage her to date Kyle or something?" Logan asked.  
"Not really" Nikki said, laughing, "He's a nice kid though. If she likes him, to each their own."  
"Oh lord" Logan sighed.  
"Hey, you don't know what my family originally said about you. I'd give you three guesses as to what was in that wedding invite" Nikki said.  
"Something insulting me?" he asked.  
"Actually, three things insulting you and then them begging I didn't end up with you. Look what happened now" Nikki said, grinning, and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him lovingly. He ran his fingers through her hair as she rested against his shoulder, "Yeah. Look at us now."

Laura sighed as Kyle shifted from his arm around her, the credits to the movie rolling.  
"That was fun" he said.  
"You know what else would be more fun?" She asked.  
He wrapped their hands together, "I got a good idea."  
She leaned in and kissed him gently. He laughed and drew back. He wrestled her back on the floor of her bedroom, making her squeak while he growled like a wild animal. She laughed at his playful growls, and kissed him again, "Thanks. I needed that."  
He grinned, "Want to do this again? Tomorrow?"  
She looked at him, "Stay. For dinner, I mean."  
He grinned even wider, fully exposing his sharp canines, but it was sweet, genuine, "Okay."  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Elie went downstairs after putting Freddie and Jareth jr to bed, seeing Jareth in his study, writing in a leatherbound notebook.  
"More work for the goblin king?" she asked, grinning playfully.  
He smiled, "Come here."  
She went over to him, and sat down on his lap, hugging herself against him, "So what are you doing exactly?"  
"Just royal work. What do you think of ordering some dresses for yourself? You have unlimited money now, do with it what you will" he said.  
She looked at him, "You really trust me with that?"  
"Of course" he said.  
She leaned against his shoulder, "No one ever used to."  
"Well I do. I don't care what you spend it on" he said.  
"So...I don't need to buy so many dresses, do I?" she asked.  
"No. But as long as you buy those sexy white leather pants you were looking at in that store for me, then we're even" he said.  
She grinned, "Sure."

Laura bounded into the kitchen, grinning madly. She saw Nikki, and went up to her, "Nikki, can you do me a favor?"  
"Depends" Nikki said.  
"Can you keep dad calm tonight? I want Kyle to stay for dinner..." Laura said.  
Nikki turned, grinning, "You invited him?"  
"Yeah...was that okay?" Laura asked.  
"Of course" Nikki said, "Besides, I was planning on him staying anyway."  
Laura grinned, and leaned in and hugged her, "You're the best."

Logan exhaled sharply for the sixty-seventh time that night. Laura had been counting.  
Kyle glanced over to her for the thirty-fourth time that night. She'd been counting that too. It was the sixth time it had been nervous, but only because Logan seemed even more impatient.  
Nikki reached under the table and held his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. She flashed him a glance, warm, loving, in the best of nature. It was the third time all night she'd done that, and every time Logan relaxed. It worked again, and he leaned back, a small smile on his lips.  
Kyle relaxed too, the potential danger having passed for the moment.  
"So...what exactly have you been up to lately Kyle?" Nikki asked, treating him like an old friend. He sat up, straightening up, and smiled, happy to be addressed, "Nothing much. I'm about to start some collage classes at Xavier's, I think I'll be going for hockey. Even though chances are I won't get on a national league team, there are some minor leagues willing to let mutants in. There's actually one in Wisconsin I've been considering for a while, since they actually gained five mutant players last season."  
"Wisconsin?" Nikki asked, "Isn't that a little far?"  
He shrugged, "Very few other places actually are open to mutant players. I know the president passed that law against mutant discrimination, but people are still hesitant."  
"Can't you just give them your powers and try out?" Nikki asked, "You could go into the major leagues if you try."  
Kyle looked down, about to blush, "Well...I know, but I'm actually a little afraid to."  
"Start out in collage hockey. The Leafs are going to be getting a new mutant coach in two seasons, when the latest one retires" Logan said.  
Kyle's jaw half dropped, but he shook it off and replied to Logan's civil response, "I wouldn't know where to start though. It's not like every place in the world is open to mutants. Even with laws in place, it's like after the civil rights movement, you know? It's hard to actually embrace everything at first."  
Logan nodded, "Yeah, I know. I was alive for it." He chuckled, "But if ya got real talent, that's what should count, not if you're a mutant or not."  
Kyle nodded, "Yeah, I guess so. I'm not sure if people would think I was cheating or not though, you know?"  
"The way I see it, you don't have superspeed, you don't have telekenesis, you're fair game. If anything, you're better at it then them 'cause when you get bodychecked you'll heal faster" Logan said.  
Kyle laughed, "Remember when 36 got slammed into the glass last game? Oh that was priceless. They say he lost a back tooth."  
"There was enough blood for it" Logan laughed.  
Both of the men laughed, and Nikki and Laura looked to each other. Success.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Nikki grinned, sitting on the couch with Laura while Daken challenged Kyle to an air hockey game in the rec room. Despite their past as enemies, they'd begun to get along like brothers.  
"This seems to have turned out pretty well" Laura said, grinning.  
"Yeah. It has, hasn't it?" Nikki asked, kicking her feet up on the edge of the coffee table.  
"Shouldn't you be telling us to keep our feet off there?" Laura asked.  
"Oh please, it's not like it's not going to get cleaned" Nikki said, "Live before ya die."  
Laura laughed and kicked up her feet too. Logan walked in and handed Laura a soda and lifted Nikki onto his lap.  
"Hey" she said, playfully annoyed.  
He held out his beer, letting her take a drink. She grinned and kissed him gently, "Encouraging me much?"  
He grinned, "Well that's always fun."  
She took another drink of his, before he gently tugged it away. She giggled playfully, leaning their faces together.  
Kyle trudged up the stairs, disapointed, before Laura grabbed his hand and tugged him upstairs. Claudine passed by the two couples going down to the rec room.  
Daken put everything back and sat down, his clear, crystaline blue eyes as serious as death.  
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
He sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Nothing. I'm just...tired."  
She lifted his head, sitting down, and gently running her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes, and she watched him relax.  
"There is something wrong. I don't have to be a telepath to know that with you" she said.  
He looked up at her, "Did I ever tell you about my past? All of it? Everything?"  
"The summarized version" she said.  
He looked at her, his eyes slightly pained, "Then come on. Let me tell you everything."  
The End

**Slasher: Killing Made Simple**

Chapter 1  
Nikki grinned at the blood dripping off her claws. Several lifeless corpses, once people and now barely resembling that, were strewn about the vast clearing. It looked like quite the animal attack.  
Victor chuckled across the field, dropping what was once a head on the ground, and walking back toward her, "Gotta say it, you kill good for a girl."  
She grinned wickedly, "I kill better than most men too. And you might want to work on your grammer Creed. This isn't a truckstop."  
"Yeah, because Hannibal Lecter got so far" Victor said sarcastically.  
Victor grimanced as he heard a low chuckle, but Nikki grinned, "You wanna help? Or are you going to stand there all day?"  
Daken strode forward, "I would, but it seems like you're finishing up just fine."  
She threw a mangled corpse into the center of the clearing, making the job resemble an animal gone wild, and grinned at him, "Well, it's not the cleanest fun, but it is fun."  
Victor looked at Daken, "An' where were you all damn day?"  
"He's here now Vic, so get over it. We're supposed to try not to kill each other, remember?" she said.  
"Hmf" Victor huffed under his breath, "You two won't have a problem getting along. I know about the graveyard."  
"So you know to back the hell off then?" Nikki snarled, "Or else I really will deal with you Creed. Permanantly."  
"I'm so scared" Victor said, standing over her and looking down.  
"You should be" Nikki said, violence promised in her voice, her eyes cold and hard like emeralds.  
Daken tugged her arm, backing her away from Creed before she could do something irrational.  
"Come on" he coaxed, his smooth, soft voice in her ear, "Ignore him. We can go on without him."  
"Sure ya can" Victor said, "But I'm makin sure you two actually do the job, not sit on yer lazy $^es."  
Nikki turned, intent on snarling out a reply at Victor, when Daken caught her arm, turning her to face him, "Let it go."  
She growled under her breath and let Daken tug her along by her arm. Victor chuckled and followed them.  
"I don't see why we had to bring him. He's nothing but more work" Nikki said.  
Daken grinned, and chuckled, "Maybe they want us to take him out too."  
Nikki smiled, "I'd do it with one hand tied behind my back."  
Daken laughed, and they headed off to the hotel.

Victor kicked back, putting his feet up in his chair, Daken lay across one of the beds, and Nikki polished a knife while sitting on her bed.  
"What would you do if you had a million dollars Victor?" Daken asked, playing the game he loved to play with Nikki.  
"I'd go buy an h-bomb and take out whatever country we're at war with, just so I could get close to taking out the President" Victor said.  
"Ooh, so fun" Nikki said sarcastically.  
"You kid?" Victor asked Daken.  
Daken grinned, "Two chicks at the same time."  
Nikki rolled her eyes at the much-said between them answer, "Pig."  
Daken grinned, "Oink oink."  
Nikki flipped him off, and he laughed. He turned, propping himself up on an elbow, "What about you? What would you do if you had a million dollars?"  
She laughed softly, "You don't want to know."  
"Go on, tell me. You never answer this" he said.  
Victor listened intently.  
"I'd go kill my exes first off" she said.  
"Then?" Daken asked.  
"Take out Victor" Nikki said.  
"And then?" Daken asked.  
Victor brushed that one off, more intrested in what her answer would be.  
"I'm not telling you" she said.  
"C'mon Nikki!" Daken said, exasperated, "Don't make me guess."  
"You have to promise not to let these words leave this room" she said.  
They both nodded.  
"I'd go do Wolverine" she said.  
Victor groaned, "Jezus Nikki!"  
Daken made a disgusted sound, "My dad? Seriously? Oh lord...dinner's coming back."  
Nikki kicked him, and he actually flinched. He reached down and rubbed his leg.  
"What? Did I actually hurt you?" she asked, half playing, half actually concerned.  
"A little" he said, "You don't even notice your own strength."  
Victor laughed, "Talk about a wuss! At least your pop can handle getting kicked by a girl."  
"^$# you Creed" Daken snarled.  
"You offerin?" Victor asked.  
"Victor!" Nikki shouted, "Disgusting!"  
"What?" Victor asked.  
"Like he'd want you in the first place ya giant furball" Nikki muttered.  
"As compared to...?" Victor asked.  
Daken stood and tugged Nikki to her feet, spinning her around by the hand, "Notice one thing; attractive female. You, Creed, are a giant hacked-up cat's hairball."  
Nikki busted up laughing and fell on the bed, Daken sitting down beside her, moving the knife to the side table so she wouldn't hurt herself.  
Victor looked deep in thought, and Nikki grinned, "Don't have a brain hemmorage Victor."  
It was Daken's turn to laugh, falling back on the bed and laughing with her.  
Victor got up and switched off the light, "You two are bunkin' together. Unless, you wanna stay with me..?"  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "Only in your dreams Victor."  
She leaned over, clicked off her lamp, and put her knife back in her combat boot at the side of the bed.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Nikki shifted the pillow over her head for the tenth time that night.  
Across the invisible line of personal space, Daken groaned and looked at her, "Does that moron ever stop snoring?"  
"I don't know" Nikki said, "Our tents are on opposite sides of camp. It's night like I'm the idiot putting up with the furball all night."  
Daken reached over her and grabbed the knife out of Nikki's boot, "I'll be right back."  
"Don't go emo" Nikki said, and tugged her pillow down around her ears. The snoring abruptly stopped, and Nikki smiled to herself. She heard the water running, washing off the blood, and shifted her head onto her pillow. She was asleep before Daken was.

Warm morning light touched her feet, and she opened her eyes to see the light from the slanting window directed across the lower part of the bed, illuminating her boots at the side, and her bag of civilan clothes hanging off the bedpost. Daken was still asleep, and Victor was still healing slowly, and she thanked idiot psychos for making Carbonadium knives.  
She took her oppertunity to get ready and returned back to the main room. She smiled to herself, seeing Daken look like a teenage boy, the way that since she'd been gone, his half of the bed seemed to get messier.  
He stirred, and she grinned, "Up and at em Wolvie junior, we gotta ditch this guy and go to work."  
Daken groaned, "Ten more minutes?"  
"Five" she said.  
He sighed, "Not like I'm actually gonna get more sleep..."  
He got up, and she sat down across the bed, flipping on the TV, "Don't take too long, we're due up there in an hour."

Apparently, rich people wanted other rich people taken out very often. The first half of the job was taking out the guy's three siblings, back at the camping trip, and the second half of the job, was getting into the guy's mansion to take him out.  
Nikki perched on the stone fence, seeing an armed guard posted outside of the door.  
"They give us a number?" Daken asked.  
"67 armed guards, and automated defense systems outside this guy's bedroom and office. He knew he was going to get taken out" Nikki said.  
"What about on the outside?" Daken asked.  
"Just the armed guards" she said.  
"Then let's take the roof" he suggested.  
"His room's by the center courtyard. There's overall 15 armored guards in that courtyard, we'd have to get them distracted in order to get in his window" she said.  
"Leave that to me" Daken said, and the two leapt down, climbing up the side of the mansion with their claws.  
Nikki watched Daken take a grenade out, and realize he'd stolen it from Victor. Grinning to himself, he threw it, and it exploded on the other side of the mansion.  
"Nice throwing arm" she said softly.  
He chuckled, "I try."  
Nikki leapt down first, landing on the small ledge outside the window, and pushing on it to land inside.  
The man was young, no more than thirty, ash blonde, clean cut.  
"W-who are you?" he asked the two of them.  
"We've been hired to take you out" Daken snarled, and took hold of the guy's shirt, shoving him back.  
"Wait" he said, putting up his hands, "J-just listen to me, please, just two minutes!"  
Nikki looked at Daken, "Two minutes and counting."  
"Look, I know you killed the rest of them, you did the world a favor by doing that. Do you know who I am? What I do?" he asked.  
"No, and I don't care" Daken said.  
"Who are you then? Gerard Way?" Nikki asked.  
"No. I'm Jason Von Strucker" he said. Daken growled. Jason held up his hands, "I-I'm not like them! I'm human. I help people, with my money. I'll bribe you to leave, if that's all you need is money."  
"What do you do for people, exactly?" Nikki asked, "Invest in small companies? Buy out mall-chain legends?"  
"I donate to all causes. Cancer, the homeless, abuse, unemployment, things like that" he said.  
"And do you ever get off your lazy $^ and actually help these people instead of hiding behind your money?" Nikki asked.  
"Yes" he said, "I work at a shelter for formerly abused and neglected animals."  
She glanced up, "A working rich boy? There's a change."  
"No, I don't work, I volunteer" he said.  
"There's a bigger change" she said, "A rich boy not craving money."  
Jason walked over to the door and opened it, letting in a small orange and dark orange kitten. The small thing went over to Nikki, and clawed gently at her boots. She lifted it, and looked at it. It meowed, and purred, rubbing its small head against her hand.  
She blinked, and rubbed the spot behind the small cat's ears.  
Daken rolled his eyes and Jason smiled, "Do you see part of her ear?"  
Nikki noticed part of it was missing. The part at the top instead, looked like the side of a three-leaf clover.  
"What happened to her?" Nikki asked.  
"She was neglected and abandoned. I found her myself in an old house. Her ear got stuck in a door hinge."  
Nikki winced, and let the small kitten curl up in the crook of her arm.  
"Please, just let me go" Jason said softly, sitting beside her, "No one else thought this kitten was worth it. I did. Just...show me a little mercy."  
Nikki glanced at him, and saw how truely average he looked, and sighed, "Fine."  
"What?" Daken asked, "What about-?"  
"Let's not and say we did" Nikki said, "We can always go back and take the other guy out later."  
Jason rose, "How much do I need to pay you?"  
Daken glanced at her. This was her plan, let her ringlead it.  
"Nothing" she said, and pressed a gentle kiss to the now sleeping kitten's head, "Just take care of her."  
Daken rolled his eyes, "You're such a sap."  
"You're such a pain" Nikki shot back.  
Jason smiled, holding the kitten, "Thank you."  
Daken went to leave, but Nikki lingered a moment, "What's her name?"  
"Mercy" Jason said.  
Nikki laughed at the ironic nature that usually seemed to come with things like this, and followed Daken back out the window.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Two Months Later  
Nikki curled up on her cot in her tent, sighing. She toyed with her dogtags, wishing she wasn't alone.  
"Hey chere" Remy said, walking in and grinning at her, "Ya got a visitor."  
"Who?" she asked, intrigued.  
"What? You get memory wiped again?" Daken asked.  
She beamed, "Missed you too."  
He walked in, grinning, and tugged her up in a bear hug. She hugged onto him tightly.  
Remy smiled, seeing the two embrace each other.  
Daken gently touched her face, guiding her up, "You miss me that much?"  
She nodded, "More and more every day."  
He sighed, "I really shouldn't have been gone that long then."  
He walked over to sit down on her bed with her, and let her curl up in his arms. They were closer than Remy thought, and as slightly jealous as it made him feel, he was happy she had him. Daken ran his fingers through her hair, feeling her nuzzle against his neck. She trusted him, and she proved that to him as often as they worked together.  
Remy left them alone, walking away.  
"I really did miss you" she whispered, his hand gently touching her cheek, her forehead and her hair on the side that didn't touch his neck and shoulder.  
"I know" he said softly, "Love you."  
She nodded, holding onto him, "Love you too."  
Remy wished he hadn't seen how close they were. He wished she didn't need him the way she did.  
"Where's Nikki?" Victor asked.  
"With her best friend, who else?" Remy asked.  
Victor looked at him as he walked past, sensing the jealousy. He laughed, and continued on. He considered crashing their little reunion, and walked over. He looked inside, and saw the way Daken held her, the way she let him touch her...he snarled and stalked away.  
Daken was jealous of them. He hated that they saw her more than he did. He did love her, but as a best friend. He knew how lonely she was without a kindred spirit to share life with.  
"Come on" he said softly, tugging her up with him.  
"What? Where are we going?" she asked.  
"Oh, nowhere, just going to go change things up a little" he said.  
She grinned, "You know what? I just might like that."  
Remy saw the two look around like a pair of teenagers before running off into the trees, leaving without a word.  
"Kills ya doesn't it cajun?" Victor asked.  
Remy looked up at Victor, and saw the same jealousy etched on his face like his, "It don, but we gonna go do sometin' about it anyway."  
Victor grinned a toothy smile, "Cause she's our girl?"  
"Creed, there isn't a competition, but if dere were, I'd win" Remy said, grinning, and went off after them.  
"I'd like to see you win when I gut ya cajun" Victor snarled, and stalked after him.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Daken brought Nikki into the heart of the city. He grinned as he held her hand, taking her down the street and into one of the many metal clubs.  
The song turned down, to Tulips Are Better by Atreyu, and as the other couples started slow dancing, Daken wrapped his arms around Nikki, swaying her gently. He twirled her, lightly, spinning her as slow and sweet as if they were dancing to David Bowie.  
"Hey" he said softly, gently guiding her face up to his, "What's wrong?"  
She bit her lip, "I just..."  
He tugged her closer, hugging her tightly, "Don't be afraid."  
"How can you tell?" she asked.  
He chuckled, "I do have pheremone manipulation and heightened senses you know."  
She hugged onto him, "Can you-?"  
He calmed her down before she could ask, rubbing her back gently.  
Victor walked into the club, following her scent, unable to find his, and snarled, seeing them swaying together gently as if they were ballroom dancing.  
The song changed and Victor stormed in, Remy behind him. Remy charged a card, Victor's claws extending, snarling, and Nikki and Daken looked over in time for Gambit to throw his card, blasting Daken back.  
"Daken!" Nikki gasped.  
Victor snarled and lifted Daken up, "You think you can take our girl runt?!"  
"*#^% you Creed. 'Runt' is my father" Daken snarled, his claws coming down through Victor's hands.  
Victor roared, and hit him hard across the chest.  
Remy charged another few cards, and threw them.  
Daken fell back, starting to heal. Remy and Victor moved forward, and Nikki went over to Daken.  
The people were backing away, some running away.  
"If you get anywhere closer to him, I will kill both of you" she said, her claws coming down in front of her, defending both Daken and herself.  
"Outta the way frail" Victor snarled.  
"Go %$*^ yourself Victor" she snarled, her gaze becoming cold, "I am not leaving him."  
"Nikki, go" Daken said.  
"No. I'm not leaving you" she said.  
"Chere, get out of the way" Remy said, almost coaxing, "I don' wanna hurt you."  
"Then don't" Nikki said, "Because if you touch him, I will kill you."  
"Out. Of. The. Way. Nikki" Victor snarled.  
"No" she said.  
He growled and threw her back, her back connecting with a table and breaking it. She gasped, feeling the silver backed glass tear into her skin. She tore it out while the silver burned, the burns healing.  
Daken growled, "Get away from her Creed."  
Remy snapped out of it, feeling Daken's emotions broadcast to him and grabbed the back of Creed's shirt, "Back off Victor."  
"You're with them now?!" Creed snarled.  
"You're not thinking straight" Remy said.  
Daken shook off the anger and went to go help Nikki. She whimpered, biting her lip as her hands wound behind her back.  
"What's wrong?" he asked.  
"Help" she said softly.  
He pulled her hands forward, seeing the blood, and he tugged her forward. A large piece of pure silver was pierced into the middle of her back. She whimpered, his hands touching near the spot it was in.  
"Shh" he coaxed, calming her down. She took deep breaths, her heartbeat slowing, as he pulled gently on it, freeing it from her back.  
"Nikki! Mon dieu!" Remy gasped.  
Victor stopped in his tracks and looked over to them, where Nikki was holding onto Daken, and him pressing his hands to her back.  
"I need a cloth, a shirt or something" Daken said.  
Victor took off his shirt, handing it to him. Daken tore it, and wrapped the pieces around her torso.  
The two men hovered, "Anything we can do?" Victor asked.  
Daken looked over at them, pure hate in his eyes, "I think you've done enough."  
Victor growled and stalked out, and Remy shot Nikki an apologetic look as he left.  
She leaned against a booth, the club deserted, and looked at Daken, "Hey. You didn't need to do that."  
"Yes I did" he said, dressing her wound.  
She reached out, running her fingers through his hair, "Thanks."  
He paused, blinking, and looked at her, that sweet joy dawning in his eyes again, "Thanks."  
"For what?" she asked.  
"For making me happy" he said, and leaned in to press her to him while still holding the cloth to her back.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Remy was pacing around camp, hating himself. Victor didn't care, but Remy was deeply, incredibly, sorry.  
He walked over to her tent, and heard nothing inside, "Nikki?"  
He walked inside to see Nikki curled up against Daken's side, her head resting against his chest. He was stroking her hair softly, watching her sleep.  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Remy asked.  
Daken didn't look up, "I'm staying with her."  
"You can't. This ain't your team" Remy said.  
"You can't tell me what I can and can't do" Daken said, keeping his voice low and calm, his fingers running through her hair.  
She stirred restlessly, and he moved to pull her closer, allowing her to fully lay against his chest. She whimpered in her sleep, and said something in another language.  
"What'd she say?" Remy asked.  
"She's speaking Erie. It's the native language of Ireland. She just said she was scared" he said softly, kissing her head tenderly, "She taught me some."  
Remy's temper flared, but he bit it back, "Why's she speaking Irish?"  
"Because she's asleep. She's even told me I speak Japanese in my sleep sometimes" Daken said.  
"And?" Remy asked.  
"And I don't want to leave her yet" Daken said, and looked up, "You don't even realize how much I need her. She...understands me. She knows how I feel, always. She can almost know what I think."  
Daken gripped her shoulder gently, rubbing it, "I can't...be away from her for too long."  
Remy looked at them, the two of them, and Daken looked up again, "You know how wonderful she is. Just let me stay with her. I love her, I really do. She's my best friend. She's my family. I..." he sighed, "I miss her when I'm not with her."  
Remy nodded, "Go ahead. But you gotta stay outta Marauder things, got it?"  
Daken nodded, just as Nikki started to stir. Remy looked at them, and left.  
"Hey" Nikki said softly, rubbing her eyes, "How long have I been out?"  
He kissed her forehead gently, "Not long. You want to go back to sleep?"  
"No" she said, smiling, "I feel better. Thanks."  
He reached out, touching her face gently, "You let me think a lot."  
"About what?" she asked.  
"Things. You know...I think I might become a better person" he said.  
"You? Oh there's a laugh" she joked.  
He looked hurt.  
"Kidding" she said, and he playfully smacked her.  
She grinned, and hugged him.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
Nikki grinned. She'd taken the solo job just for the thrill of being able to run on her own for a change.  
She saw the small group of mutants, failures to their cause, former Maraurders in-training, loose ends Sinister wanted tied up.  
Nikki grinned, her claws coming down soundlessly because of her magic, and she leapt to another branch.  
They paused and one said, "Wait."  
Nikki beamed, and swung down, her booted feet planted firmly on the side of the tree, "Three little piggies, all alone. Your leader made this too easy."  
They backed up, and the one female was about to scream when Nikki leapt from the branches. She rushed her, her claws slashing the woman open. The two men rushed at her, but with a strike of her claws the burly man was slashed open as well, and the one angelic looking teenage boy was left.  
"Please...I know Sinister doesn't want us...but we're both mutants. We should stick together, right? The world hates us, there's no need to kill off each other" he said, whimpering as he curled into a ball against a tree. He pulled up his knees and shielded his face with his arm, "Please."  
She retracted her claws and crossed her arms over her chest, "What? You wanna help me take out humanity or something?"  
He glanced up, met with her sinister smirk, and she laughed, "We're not obliterating them, we're enslaving them. By the time I'm done, my people will have only the best."  
The boy stood, "Our people."  
She shook her head, "No, mine. Minorities first."  
He whipped out a knife, and she dodged it quickly, "Oh little boy, I'm so scared." She chuckled, and disappeared into the trees. He looked around. She reappeared in a flash of speed, and caught him off guard, throwing him back into the tree. Her claws pinned him to the bark, "I'm not scared of you, or your little games."  
He shifted, and began to change. His angelic face beaded with sweat, as it morphed, his clothes tearing. He roared, becoming a massive animal.  
Nikki gasped, stepping back, "You're-?"  
He was the leader. He was the inhuman in the group. The lycanthrope.  
"A werebear" she whispered. They were a small minority.  
The wearbear roard, pawing the ground, and she mentally cussed. He lunged forward, a sweep of his claws nearly catching her leg. She jolted with adrenaline, leaping up and gripping onto a tree branch and swinging herself up. She climbed the tree, digging her nails and knees into the bark and climbing like a spider. The werebear pawed at the bottom.  
"Going somewhere?" the voice of the woman she'd just killed came back to her.  
Nikki gasped, nearly loosing hold on the tree as the girl faced her, more than human. A werecat. But...how? They weren't mutants like Sinister had thought. The burly one shifted, a werehawk, and soared into the tree. He landed on the branch next to her. Between the cat and the hawk, she wouldn't be able to take both of them. She'd have to chance the bear.  
She let go, falling back. The bear's claws quickly caught her back, throwing her into another tree. She 'oof'ed, dropping. The bear's jaws gripped her side. She gasped, feeling blood drip out from where the bear's teeth tore into her. The cat leapt across to the tree, crawling down to her, "Not so strong, are you now?"  
Nikki gave the cat an uppercut to the throat, her claws extended, killing her. The hawk swooped, and Nikki covered her head, feeling the bear paw at her back. She was outnumbered. She cussed mentally, over and over again. She needed to heal up before she could keep fighting, but she couldn't with the bear pawing at her and the hawk's talons grazing her just as she pressed to the ground.  
She heard a gunshot, and looked up in time to see the hawk go down. The bear was distracted long enough, looking at the oncoming terror for Nikki to leap up and slash off the hawk's head. She backed toward the gunman, whoever he was, and thanked her lucky stars he'd come along.  
The werebear roared, pawing the earth before lumbering away.  
"That was close" she heard a familiar voice say.  
"What the hell were you doing? Spying on me? And where the hell did you get a shotgun?" Nikki asked, seeing Daken standing there with a hunting rifle in his hand.  
"Remy told me you went out after these guys. I knew what they were from what you told me. I had to follow you" he said.  
She rolled his eyes, "Fine. Let's go back...this sucks."  
"What? Work?" he asked.  
"No. The fact that I just got torn up by a fucking manimal again" Nikki said, and walked back.  
TBC  
Chapter 7  
Three weeks later  
Daken saw Nikki laying across her bed and smiled, "So I hear somebody has a boyfriend?"  
She looked up at him, "Mind your own buisness."  
"Really? I'm hurt" he said, and sat down on the ground, "Come on, please?"  
She looked at him, "Do I have to?"  
"Can I know?" he asked.  
"You'll hate me" she said quietly.  
He laughed, "Not unless you're dating my father."  
Her eyes went downcast and Daken's eyes widened, "Holy shit! You're dating my father?! What the hell?!"  
Nikki blushed, "I told you you'd hate me."  
Daken shook his head, "No, I'm just saying...oh my god. You...you love him?"  
She looked away, "I don't want to tell you."  
"Nikki" he said softly, gently guiding her face to meet his gaze, "You can tell me. Please. I want to know."  
She sighed, "I do. More than anything. He's...so perfect."  
He sighed, sitting back down, "Would you marry him?"  
"If he asked" she said.  
"Damn" Daken said. He glanced back at her, "You are so..."  
He saw her eyes go downcast, and then he laughed, "At least we'll be family now."  
She looked up, seeing him, her eyes lit up, "You'll stay my friend?"  
"I'll stay your best friend. I'll always be here. Just remember that" he said, and hugged her with one arm.  
She smiled, "I'll always be your best friend too."  
The End  
**The Subject Of Jealousy (OS)**

The team stood in the midst of a recent battle in San Fransisco, there wasn't too much damage, making Cyclops happy, but for everyone else, they were just happy it was over.  
Logan slung his arm around Nikki's shoulders, keeping her pressed to his side, when the people came forward. Most were applauding, some actually ran forward to embrace the heroes. Nikki saw a group of girls staring at Logan, and she rolled her eyes.  
"Baby, be nice" Logan said, kissing her neck gently. He wrapped his arms around her, "You know I love you."  
She smiled, snuggling against him, "Yeah, I do. Go impress them." She kissed him gently on the lips, and Logan went to go do what he never meantioned he was good at; wooing every woman who saw him.  
Nikki leaned back against the jet, gazing at him. She envied them slightly when the three each hugged him, fangirling afterward. She laughed then, knowing Logan had to deal with that aspect of his female followers.  
"Wolverina?" a young boy asked.  
She looked at him, smiling, "And who might you be?"  
"I'm Jacob, and I'm gonna grow up to be a superhero like you. I wanna be awsome too" he said.  
Nikki grinned and giggled, "Aw, thank you."  
He looked a bit shy, so she leaned down and gave him a gentle hug. His face lit up as if he'd gotten the best christmas present in the world, and he said softly, "Thanks."  
She ruffled his hair, "Anytime."  
He ran back, shouting to his mother that he'd gotten a hug, and she laughed.  
"See? You're pleasing a fanboy of your own" Logan said, standing directly behind her.  
She laughed, "Sometimes you move like me."  
"What?" he asked.  
"More quiet than a ghost" she grinned and rounded the corner to the jet. She stopped before she could collide with a young man, whose jaw dropped slightly at seeing her, "Uhm...my brother just met you..."  
She grinned, "He's your brother? He's adorible."  
Logan glared at the guy, mentally wishing him away.  
"I know he didn't ask, but it would probably mean a lot to him if he got something to remember you by...for, you know, when he's older" the guy said.  
Nikki reached in the pouch on her belt, and withdrew a small, shiny object. Logan recognized it as one of the Irish coins she'd sometimes bring with her on a particularly difficult mission. She always told him it was for luck, since she'd found them on a particullary difficult job years ago.  
She put it in the guy's hand, "The language on it is in Erie. It's the old Irish language."  
He nodded, "Yeah, I speak some."  
"You do?" She asked, surprised.  
Logan wanted to pull her away.  
"Yeah. I can read this...thanks" he said.  
"No problem" she said, and grinned, and saw him go with a slight wave.  
Logan didn't speak as he walked past, brushing it off.  
She sighed, rolling her eyes, and followed.  
The jet was particularly chatty, aside from the two of them. Logan had her head on his chest, his fingers running through her hair. When they landed, everyone else departed quickly, and Nikki started off when Logan took her arm, "Hey. Wait."  
She looked back at him, his gentle but firm grip on her she didn't want to break. She turned, and moved to him, tucking her head into the crook of his neck, "What?"  
"What's wrong?" he said softly, "Why are you so upset?"  
"I'm not" she said, her voice betraying her with a sullen tone.  
He rubbed her back, "Jealous?"  
She nodded, "I still smell their scents on you."  
He gave her a gentle squeeze, "Now yours is on me too."  
She sighed, "Not like that. I mean-"  
"I feel the same way about that guy you were talking to" he said.  
"What?" she asked, "The guy with the adorible little brother? Come on Logan, the guy had to have been married already looking like that."  
Logan glanced at her, giving her a questioning glance.  
"Oh for the love of moon Logan, I wasn't checking him out. I'm saying women like men like him. I have my man, so everybody else can deal with it" she said, and tugged herself closer to him, "I don't get to be close to you enough. I don't get enough time to touch you, and kiss you, and just be with you like we should."  
He stroked her hair, "I love you. Don't forget that."  
She shook her head, "I won't. I love you too."  
"You've always got me. Always. Nobody compares to you" he whispered, and nudged her back gently. She drew back to look at him, and he lowered his lips to hers, kissing her tenderly. She melted against him, her jealousy forgotten.  
"Want to go lay down and watch a movie?" he asked.  
"Can I hold onto you if we watch something scary?" she asked.  
"You won't be scared" he said, chuckling softly.  
"I know" she grinned, and he picked her up in his arms, making her squeak with laughter, as he carried her off.  
The End  
**Fandoms and Shoe Sales (OS)**

Nikki relaxed in the shotgun position of Elie's convertable. The new Queen had two cars, this bright neon green convertable that turned heads as they drove, and the one she was making Jareth help her restore; a 1968 VW hippie van. Complete with flower power. It looked like something straight from Woodstock, as Nikki's mentioned over and over to her, only met with her sister's smile and nod. Kim sat in the back seat, listening to the music with them. She enjoyed the comfortable silences when they drove, as the sisters both seemed able to loose themselves somewhere. Nikki in the scenery, Elie in the music.  
"So what's the occasion?" Kim finally asked.  
"Hm? For shopping? We just go sometimes. We need to remind ourselves we do things other people do" Nikki said.  
Kim noticed she hadn't said 'normal people' like before, "Vampires go shoppng?"  
The sisters cracked up laughing. "Well what the hell did you think we were doing today?" Nikki asked.  
Kim blushed, and fought that back, "I meant normal vampires."  
She used the termenology Nikki used about them, as strange as it sounded to her.  
"Yeah, everyone shops Kimmy" Nikki said. Her old best friend had used to call her Kimmi, with an i, but clearly Nikki was calling her the one with the y. She could almost hear it pronounced.  
"So what's your deal Kim?" Elie asked.  
"Huh?" Kim asked.  
"Why're you sticking with us? Any sane human would've run the other way when they saw what we can do" Elie said.  
"It's not like I have anywhere else to go" Kim said, "And besides, you guys are pretty normal."  
Nikki snickered, "Pretty normal? Us? Yeah right."  
They pulled in, and the girls began talking about other things.  
Elie stopped outside of Hot Topic, "Oh. My. God. JARETH'S ON A T-SHIRT!"  
Nikki clamped her hand over Elie's mouth and scooted her out of the way, "Quiet."  
Nikki looked in and squeaked loudly, "Oh my god that has to be one of the hottest pictures of Logan ever..."  
"Oh my god!" Kim gasped, "A shoe sale!"  
Nikki and Elie looked away from where they were clutching each other's hands, looking in the window, to stare at Kim like she'd grown three heads.  
"What?" Kim asked.  
"You talk about that, when there's this in front of you?" Nikki asked, gesturing to the shirt with Logan on it.  
"And this" Elie said, gesturing to the one with Jareth on it.  
Kim blushed again, "I like shoes."  
"Normal person" the sisters sighed, and Nikki's eyes glinted evilly, "If you like shoes, come on, come with us."  
Kim's eyes widened as either sister took one of her arms and proceeded to drag her inside of Hot Topic.  
The End  
**Elie And Deadpool**

Elie Growled as she got the call from Cyclops. "Just as I was going to show you what I bought. Typical." She was standing in the doorway of Jareth's study clutching a Hot Topic bag to her chest. He was sitting in a leather chair reading a book that looked to be a hundred years old. Anyone else would have walked out and left him in peace but not Elie. She stomped her feet and left to go find out what her mission was.  
"We need you to take out a small drug empire." Cyclops said nonchalantly  
"Oh is that all?" Oh how Elie loved sarcasm  
"Don't worry. I found you a partner though as Nikki's sister I assumed you wouldn't need that back-up but after last time..."  
This comment stung Elie whether it was meant to or not. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
She didn't get an answer because at that moment a man in a red and black suit rolled through the door with a crash and laid facedown on the floor.  
"Wade..."  
"YOU GOT ME DEADPOOL AS A PARTNER?? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU COULD HAVE GIVEN ME! HIM?? ARE YOU IN-"  
She felt someone tapping on her shoulder "Hey are you the lady with the ga y husband?"  
Elie looked stunned for a moment then she rushed out crying.  
"Can't handle my beauty I guess" Deadpool turned to Cyclops.  
Cyclops rolled his eyes and went to go find Nikki.  
She was sitting outside.  
"Hey Nikki, can you come talk to Elie. She's having a breakdown."  
" OH my gosh what did you do? You didn't scratch one of her CD'S did you? Or worse a vinyl record? Ohh no. You didn't call Jareth #)&^% did you?"  
" No, but Wade did."  
""Why on Earth was she with Wade?" a look of realization crossed her face. "You didn't partner them up did you?'  
Cyclops nodded his head  
"You are the stupidest person I have ever met! No offence, but come on! Elie and Wade? Wow."  
Just then Elie walked on to the porch Jareth at her side. "I am ready to go on the mission. Jareth came to talk me out of the closet since neither of you two stupids did."  
VVVRRRROOOOOMMMMM Everyone looked to the left where they saw Deadpool already at the wheel of Elie's green convertible. He pulled up by the porch and opened the door for Elie to hop in.  
"Eh, Posh Spice." He looked at Jareth" Don't worry I'll have her home by ten!"  
The warehouse that the drug ring was working out of was easy enough to find but well guarded. Elie and Wade crouched behind a stack of boxes outside the entrance waiting for a chance to attack.  
"I am so tired of getting sent on stupid missions like this. He thinks I'm weak. He is always comparing me to Nikki!"  
Wade stared at her. "Isn't this a conversation you should be having with your ga y husband?"  
Elie laughed. "C'mon let's go" They both jumped up and within 30 seconds the men were all knocked out.  
"Well that takes care of that." Elie called the police before walking back to the car, which wade had already started.

Part 2: Dinner

"Guess who came with for dinner?" Elie asked, blushing slightly, looking guilty.  
Nikki leaned back, not liking the sound of this, "Who?"  
"LEEEROY JENKINS!" Deadpool said, jumping in.  
"Oh lord, him?" Nikki asked.  
"Hi" Deadpool said, waving with his katatana.  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "Wade, you can put those away."  
He did, and went to go sit down on the opposite side of Elie's seat, leaving her between him and Jareth, "So, you're the guy she married?"  
Elie elbowed Wade, not wanting to bring back the earlier comment.  
Logan walked in, Tayla in his arms and Vincent on his leg, "Great. Deadpool's here."  
"Hi Uncle Wade!" Tayla said, waving and beaming.  
Vincent climbed off Logan's leg and went over to Wade, "Can I borrow that for a second?"  
"You are not shooting Laura now go sit down" Nikki said.  
Vincent rolled his eyes and sat down, "It would've only been once."  
"Vincent" Nikki said.  
"What's he doing here?" Laura asked, walking in.  
Daken and Claudine came in, and the two of them paused, "Why's he here?"  
"I just asked that genius" Laura said.  
Daken's wrist claw came down, flipping her off.  
"Yeah, because it's so bad$^ when nobody can see it" Laura said.  
"Okay, no fighting right now" Nikki said.  
Deadpool sat and watched and then stayed quiet, shockingly. Everyone was looking at each other, surprised. Deadpool leaned back after dinner, and looked at Elie, "You know, I like them."  
"What the hell?" Logan whispered.  
"You know them Wade" Elie said.  
"I know" he grinned, "Thanks for dinner."  
Nikki looked at Logan, and whispered, "Did he just...not be an idiot?"  
"I think so. It's a miracle" he said softly.  
Deadpool squeaked and leapt back, "Monster!"  
"I stand corrected" Logan said.  
Cadie bounded in, looking for table scraps. She snuffled along the floor, her droopy brown ears falling onto the ground.  
Tayla laughed, "No, a doggy."  
Deadpool paused, "I knew that."  
Nikki put her head in her hand, fighting off an urge to hit him.  
Logan rolled his eyes, leaning back and Elie laughed, "She can be quite the monster when she sees someone she likes. She eats shoes."  
"She doesn't eat them" Vincent said, "She chews on them, she eats bugs."  
"And you let her lick your face" Deadpool said, "I don't even eat stuff that dirty."  
"Her mouth is cleaner than yours" Vincent said, lifting her up and sitting her on his lap. He fed her a scrap of bread.  
Logan saw Nikki roll her eyes as Deadpool tried to come up with a retort, but couldn't.  
"Wade, don't you have a golden girls marathon to go see?" Elie asked.  
"Oh, that, thanks. Bye Elie! Bye Wolverine family!" Wade shouted.  
Logan rolled his eyes, "Thank god he's leaving."  
Elie looked at him, "You don't like him?"  
"He annoys me" Logan said.  
"He annoys all of us" Nikki said, and got up.  
Elie was left alone with Jareth in the kitchen as they all parted ways.  
"What was that about?" Elie asked.  
"I believe he annoys them more than they let on" Jareth said, and rose to go in the other room with the others.  
The End  
**She Wolf**

Nikki was cruising in her Mustang, the hood back. She laughed as the cold wind whipped through her hair. Her whole family were speed demons, so it was no shock this was seconded to running with her.  
"Slow down!" Kim screamed, but Nikki just laughed and turned up the already blasting Pitbull.  
Another two of Nikki's favorite songs played on the radio before Kim noticed the speedomiter, "Holy crow! SLOW DOWN!"  
Nikki glanced at it, they were driving at the high point of 120, and she slowed only slightly.  
"NIKKI!" Kim screamed, watching as the car swirved around a corner, nearly missing the trees.  
"Oh relax!" Nikki said.  
"What is your problem?" Kim asked.  
"I'm just relaxed, okay?" Nikki said.  
Then Kim looked up at the sky, noticing the full moon already rising with the nearly October cold.  
"Nikki...it's going to be Halloween soon" Kim said.  
"I know" Nikki said, "It's the best."  
"It's the full moon now. That means there will be one then too" Kim replied.  
Nikki grinned, and her teeth seemed to elongate slightly, "A Halloween moon. That's always the best one."  
Kim watched as Nikki pulled up in the garage. She hesitated outside, the cold on her bare skin seeming to send heat waves. Kim thought she saw her trembling. She was actually scared as Nikki turned back to her, her eyes almost dark, "Go inside."  
Kim did, and ran indoors.  
Later that night  
Logan saw her standing in front of the window again. It was almost midnight, they both had work in the morning, subbing classes. She was staring at the bright silver moon. He reached out and touched her, his lips pressing to her throat.  
"Come to bed" he whispered.  
She growled and pulled away, "I can't. Not yet."  
Her back arched slightly, and a low growl fell from her lips. She turned back to him, her eyes turning dark, almost pained, "I need to go run."  
He nodded, "Want company?"  
"Not now" she said, and unlatched the window before leaping out. She phased in mid air, her dark red wolf taking to the trees.  
She blazed through the underbrush, feeling her paws thud thunderously toward the hollow rock of a cliffside. She leapt up, a waterfall under her, and she climbed the rock, a howl ripping from her throat. She stood on her hind legs, bringing herself closer to the moon, and howled as loud as she possibly could, using all the air in her lungs. She held it as long as she possibly could.  
The wolves howled and whimpered in reply, and she let out another long, loud howl. Her wolf was raging, demanding she hunt, demanding she let go. She felt her muscles clench as she fell to the ground, phasing back full wolf and complied. She hated loosing control, but it was too strong...  
Next thing she knew, she was awake in bed. The noonday sun was high overhead, her clothes torn and bloody. Bloody? What the hell had happened last night?  
She heard arguing voices in the kitchen, just below. Logan arguing with Cyclops, saying it couldn't have been her. An animal attack? Oh god...this hadn't happened since the early 1900s, after her uncle had taught her how to control the wolf...but she couldn't resist. She tasted the blood on her nails, the sweet taste exploding against her tastebuds. She almost groaned, missing the sensation of licking blood of her claws. She drew back with a gasp, just as Kim pushed in the door.  
A scream tore from the other woman's throat, "You did do it!"  
Logan walked in and saw her, "Kim, go."  
"What?" Kim asked.  
"Go" Logan repeated.  
He shut the door before he knew she left, and stood in front of Nikki, "You lost hold on her."  
She nodded, "I can't keep her in control anymore. She needs as much freedom as I do."  
Logan touched her face, her animal rising with the simple touch, "Then we need to keep her happy as much as you too."  
"I know what she wants. It's not always good" Nikki said.  
He held her face, "One way or another, we can make it good."  
She looked at him, and he smiled, "My animal's been wanting too. He wants to hunt."  
"She wants something different" Nikki said.  
"What then?" he asked.  
"You" she whispered, drawing herself closer to her.  
"Funny, he wants the same thing. Looks like they are part of us" Logan grinned her favorite wicked smile, "We don't have work today. Cyclops can deal one day without us."  
She beamed, "Good."  
The lock flipped shut, and Kim sighed exasperatedly, she wasn't getting to know anything anymore.  
The End  
**Wiccans And Warlocks (NPOV)**

Chapter 1  
"What have we got here sergeant?" Cyclops asked. Of all the people I was stuck with it had to be captian stick-up-his-$^.  
"Multiple murders. Some slashed, some incenerated" Sergant McGuiness, the grandson of an old friend of the family, said. He glanced over to me, sweat on his brow. I was crouching over the charred body, sniffing. So sue me if I was used to using my senses.  
"This wasn't natural flame" I said, "It has a hint of brimstone in it."  
I stood and walked over to the bodies with the throats slashed open. Overall, there had to be twenty bodies total. Mass murder wasn't something on San Fransisco's streets, especially with the X-Men around. There was no connection between any of these people, just that they had decided to come to the same place at the same time. I wondered if it had just been a random act of violence, or if this had been planned to draw us out. I knew Cyke hadn't considered that yet.  
The bodies were gruesomely blood-splattered, the wounds on their neck were clean slashes, exposing muscle and the inside of veins and arteries. It made me thirsty at the same time as making me wanting to throw up.  
"This was professional" I said, crouching over a blonde woman, about nineteen, who looked like a former professional stripper. Her throat had been slashed so cleanly I could see the layers of skin up until the pink tissue and red, still bloody, vocal cords. This was more than professional.  
"Who do you think did it?" Cyke asked.  
"I don't know. He'd have to have years of experiance. It's so clean, it looks as if it's leaning toward a woman, or he's metrosexual" I said.  
Both men looked at me, clearly confused.  
"Do you know of any ga y guys in this business?" I asked.  
I stood, dusting off my jeans and walking back to them, "Go head off Jerry, you look like you're gonna hurl."  
He gave me an apologetic nod, and went off to a porta-bathroom.  
Cyke looked at me, "You can tell all that from how someone was killed?"  
I scoffed, "Skippy, I'm a professional."  
He looked at me with that look that questioned my sanity, and I walked back onto the jet. Cyclops followed me, and I fought back the sudden heaving in my stomach.  
"Nikki?" he asked.  
"Back off" I said, before running to the jet's bathroom to throw up.  
Murder scenes didn't usually get to me like this. I'd seen some pretty horrific stuff in my life, especially during my days actually comitting the murders, but this...between the combination of the blood, making my empty stomach contort with hunger, and the brimstone, making it flip sickeningly, I didn't know what overcame me more.  
I stood back, looking in the mirror. My eyes glinted in the light dully. I took several deep breaths, and splashed my face with water. I drew back, suddenly wishing I had some crackers or something to ease the hunger in my stomach without making me throw up again. My mind flashed back to the scene, and without the scent of brimstone to aid it, I could analize it in my mind even better. It had to have been inhuman that attacked them.  
"Ready?" Cyke called.  
I walked out and went to the pilot's seat, sitting down. I noticed how he glared at me beyond his visor, his uniform clad self looking more like a giant algie covered stick rather than me in my black tank top covered by a leather jacket and jeans. My dogtags hung down across my shirt, drawing his gaze, "You still wear those?"  
I nodded. It was less of a reminder of 'the good old days', and more of a reminder of who I'd once been, what I really was.  
"Let's just go, okay?" I asked, and we headed back to the mansion.

The bustle of the busy halls in the Xavier school was a strange comfort to me. I liked the feeling of other people living their hectic lives all around me.  
"Nikki!" Megan called, "The pictures came!"  
I laughed. Megan felt the need to document every moment of her life, especially as an X-girl/kid/teenager/whatever.  
I walked over to where Kim, Mercury, Josh, Santo and Laura stood over Megan, looking at the pictures. I took the free seat at her left, and looked over her shoulder.  
"There's that hot guy" Megan said, refering to the guy I gave the coin to.  
"He's not that hot" I said, "Logan's better."  
"But he is just a little bit" Megan pried.  
"Puppy cute" I said.  
She sighed, "Whatever."  
Kim paled, and I heard her heartbeat rise. I turned to her, "Kimmy? What's wrong?"  
She touched the picture and stared, her eyes wide and doe like, "I know him. Nikki...giving him that coin was the worst possible thing you ever could've done."  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
"What do you mean?" I asked.  
Kim turned and sprinted away, looking like she'd seen a ghost.  
"Kimmy?" I called after her. I knew where she was running to.

Kim went into the Control Room above the danger room, where Daken was sitting at the controls, amping it up for Laura and Rockslide.  
"Daken?" she asked.  
"Hey Kimmy" he said, turning around. He noticed her expression, "What's wrong?"  
"I...I need to tell you everything. Right now" Kim said.  
He nodded, and pulled out a chair with his foot for her.  
She sat and took a deep breath, and began, "When I was a kid, my mother raised me with all the love in her heart. I was everything to her, I mattered more than my father, and that made him angry. He put me in boarding school when I was thirteen. I lost everything I had there." She paused, biting her lip, "I lost my home, my friends, my family, everything material and immaterial I knew and loved."  
"That's not all" Daken pried.  
"No. When I was at that place...two guys gang me" Kim said, "As I said, I lost everything there. I was stuck there until I broke out at seventeen. I bribed the guards with beer from the kitchen, and I ran. When I got home...my mother was dead."  
"Dead?" Daken asked.  
"She'd been shot. She was laying in a pool of her own blood in the middle of the living room. I remember shouting for her...and she was crying, telling me she was sorry to leave me and that she loved me. My father came in with his mistress, my former step mother...and he asked me what I was going to do about it. He never kept it a secret that he had guided her hands in shooting my mother" Kim said, "I stayed there, absolutely miserable until you came. Thank you. So much."  
Kim broke down crying, standing up, as Daken gave her the same kind of warm, comforting hug I used to need.  
I stood in the door, and Daken looked up to meet my gaze. We both shared the same emotions, "Where does this guy come into play?"  
She wiped her eyes and looked up, "He was one of the guys that..."  
I stopped her before she had to think about that, "Is that why he's so terrible?"  
"No. He used dark magic. He always said he'd rule the world. I started studying wicca...trying to use good magic to cancle him out. He hated it, but I managed to stave him off long enough for the rest of the school to find out. He dropped from popularity and gave it up" Kim said.  
I scoffed, "Men."  
Daken looked at me questioningly, "And me and Logan?"  
"Aren't human men, so you're different" I said.  
"He's not human anymore either" Kim said, "Not with what he's become."  
I hugged her tightly, and let Daken hug her from the other side.  
"I need to be alone" Kim said softly.  
I nodded, and Daken gave me a glance. I'd leave, but I'd leave him with her. With a glance over my shoulder, I left them alone, to go find out about this 'warlock' idiot.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
I sat alone outside, just as Emma walked out. She looked tired, unlike usual.  
"Anything wrong Em?" I asked.  
She sighed, sitting down, "Nothing. The baby's just been keeping me awake."  
"Baby?" I asked. I'd all but completely forgotten Emma was a mother now. Though looking at her right now, in her loose white blouse, and surprising, white sweatpants, she definately didn't look like a runway model either.  
"Yeah. Her name's Cathrine" Emma said.  
"Like Damon and Stefan's dead ex-girlfriend on Vampire Diaries?" I asked.  
She gave me a look, "Please do not compare my daughter to a dead woman."  
I nodded, and reached out to touch her shoulder, "You need a break?"  
She nodded, "I'm so sorry Scott's putting everything on you and Logan. You two don't deserve it. We're just...really stressed right now."  
I put my arm around her shoulder. She did look incredibly fragile. Then again, everyone was fragile compared to me.  
"You need to go rest Emma" I said.  
She looked at me, "Would you stick around here for a while? Just to keep an eye on things for me?"  
I nodded, "Sure."  
I watched her leave, and stood, stretching my arms and legs and went back toward the front of the mansion. The smell of brimstone was seeping through the halls. It was deathly quiet. I ran forward, running through the halls. I reached the main hall, and saw what I'd feared.  
He was standing there. Everyone around him had dropped into a coma-like trance, including Kimmy.  
I growled, drawing his attention. My claws came down on one hand, "You just made a big mistake."  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Cathrine was in his arms, he was rocking her like a precious treasure, as if she were his own child. He glanced up to me, "I don't see why we have to fight. You'll just loose like the rest of them."  
I growled, "Put her down, and you'll find out for yourself."  
He looked as if he were, but then with a flick of his wrist I flew back into the wall, being thrown completely through it. I winced as my head hit the hard floor on the other side, the wounds that had been inflicted healing almost instantly. I got back up to see him walking toward me, still carrying Cathrine.  
"Don't fight me" he said, trying to make his voice hypnotic. I scoffed, "Kid, you're looking at Dracula's niece. If that hypnotizing s#^% didn't work on me back then, what makes you think it will now?"  
His eyes widened, and I ducked to the side. He let out his magic suddenly, and I ducked out of the way of it.  
"You don't understand, I have to do this. I have to keep you people away from us" he said, his eyes turning a mystical, glowing green flecked with black, a sort of flame portruiding.  
I sighed, and retracted my claws, "I'm not going to hurt you. Just tell me why."  
He straightened up, surprised, "You don't know?"  
I looked at him in confusion, "What am I supposed to know?"  
He let his magic fade back, and he took out the coin, putting it back in my hand. His eyes started to glow with hurt, "It wasn't me that killed those people."  
I looked at him, "Then why did you come here? Attack them?"  
He looked at me, "I didn't attack them. They attacked me. I just put them to sleep, so they wouldn't hurt themselves." He glanced down at Cathrine, "She reminds me so much of my little brother. That's why I stopped to pick her up. I just came to give you that back."  
He glanced back over to Kim, "It was hardest of all to see her attack me, even if she had every right to."  
I looked at him, "You regret hurting her."  
He nodded, "I would take it back if I could. I...I realized, seeing her again, how much I really used to like her. How much I still do."  
"Try telling her that" I said.  
He chuckled, and looked down at Cathrine, "Here." He held her out to me, and I took her in my arms. He moved back toward the door.  
"Hey" I said, and he stopped, turning slightly. "Who did kill those people?"  
He looked pained, "It was all an accident."  
"Just tell me. I just want to know. I won't tell anyone" I said.  
"My little brother" he said, and as fast as he'd been there, he disappeared.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Two days had passed since Nikki had seen him, and at that point she'd given up. She'd asked the professor to loan her a jet, which he'd done, and she flew out to Montana. She'd had Cerebro locate them.  
"Wolverina!" his little brother shouted, and ran over to her. His arms wrapped around her waist.  
She smiled, "Hi sweetheart."  
He stood in the doorway to the small ranch style house, "Don't. Please-"  
"I'm only here because I want a few answers. That's it" she said.  
He nodded, and motioned for her to come inside. His brother hung on her hip as if she were his favorite person, and as she walked in, she smiled. There was one picture of the two boys, and their parents on one table. There was a shelf lined with baseball and soccer trophies, all for his brother. Pictures of the two of them were on the wall.  
"Are your parents home?" she asked.  
"They're dead" he said, "They died six years ago."  
His little brother looked at her, "They weren't good guys like you."  
Nikki looked at him, "What do you mean?"  
"He means they practiced dark magic. That's how he got his powers. I had to get back into it when his magic started manifesting, so I could teach him to control it" the elder brother said.  
Nikki nodded, "I'm sorry."  
He shook his head, "Don't be. They weren't worth it."  
She looked at the picture, "What happened to them?"  
"Their summonings caught up with them" he said.  
"Can I have a milkshake?" his brother asked.  
Nikki smiled.  
"Not right now" he said.  
"But I want a milkshake" his brother said.  
"Not now" he said.  
Nikki's eyes flashed gold as one appeared at his side. He glanced to her questioningly, "I do that a lot."  
He nodded, and sat down, "You know everything now, so what do you want?"  
She looked to both of them, "I want you to come back to the mansion with me. I can train you if you want."  
"Seriously?" he asked.  
His brother leapt up, "We accept!"  
Nikki grinned, "You won't regret it. I promise."  
He nodded, "Then we'll go."  
She pried his brother off her waist, leaning down to really give him a hug, and she smiled at him, "Meet you there."  
He grinned, "Speed demon."  
"Hotshot" Nikki joked, and was back on the jet before he'd had time to blink.  
The End  
**What Really Makes Cyclops Angry (OS)**

Logan walked in the living room, going to watch TV, when he saw Nikki laying across the couch on her laptop. She was IMing again, another one of their mutual friends from work, a girl named Alex Knight who worked with Tony Stark, or rather, was going to again since Stark could come out of hiding now that Osborn was down.  
"You live on there, don't you?" he asked, sitting on the arm of the couch.  
Nikki looked up, smiling, "You'd be surprised how much fun you can have on here."  
He nodded, letting her rest her head on his leg while he played with her hair, "What would you think if I got one of those?"  
"A myspace?" she asked, perking up, "You'd get on the internet for me?"  
"Pretty much everyone we know has one, so might as well" he said.  
She set down her laptop, stood, and as he thought she was about to kiss him, she grinned and said, "Put your drink down."  
He did, and she leapt at him, tackling him back onto the couch. He laughed, her arms wrapped incredibly tight around his neck, "What's that for?"  
She looked up at him, "Honey, you are internet deprived. That was a glomp. And I glomped you because I'm happy."  
He laughed, "Okay. Fine."  
She gave Alex a quick reply and went to help Logan set his up. She grinned, sitting beside him while she showed him how to mess with the different features.  
Her cell rang, plugged into the wall on the other side of the room, and she grinned, "Just start adding my people and you'll go from there."  
He smiled, and went to browse her friends. Instantly, he'd sent requests to twelve people, mostly beautiful, scantily clad women.  
Nikki was grinning, talking to one of her friends, while one of the women popped up on Logan's IM. He began talking to her. She was a mutant, under the name Cheetara because of her patterned skin. He instantly liked her.  
Nikki walked over, "Make a new friend?"  
He laughed, "Yeah. Nice girl. I think she should come to the mansion."  
Nikki beamed, "I'm so glad you're doing this."  
He kissed her head, "I've got my reasons."

The next day, Cyclops paced around the war room. He was beyond angry.  
"Something wrong fearless leader?" Rogue said sarcastically. Nikki grinned at her.  
"I am just wondering how it is EVERYONE in this mansion has a social networking profile!" Cyclops said.  
"Because it's fun!" Pixie defended, "And you meet a lot of cool new people."  
"Oh please" Nikki said, "He's just upset I denied his friend request four times. I get enough of him here."  
Everyone in the small room snickered, and Cyclops sighed, "Just go. All of you."  
They all dispirsed, and Logan took out his phone, going mobile at the same time Nikki did.  
"And he considers this a bad thing" Nikki said, rolling her eyes.  
Logan grinned, sending her a kiss on their vertual chibi self's app, "I can only think of one thing that's better." Then he kissed her lovingly.  
The End


	22. Part 22

**Heiress By Blood, Hero By Nature**

Chapter 1  
It was late at night, just as expected. San Fransisco was more of a party city than expected. The women of the Xavier mansion had decided to go out to relax for a while. Though, that meant they had to bring the teenage X-women with them.  
Megan, Cessily and Laura were dancing under the flashing lights while Nikki, Emma and Rogue hung back in a booth, drinking. The club was playing J-rock, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, which Emma rolled her eyes at, though Nikki sung along to Kimi To Iu Hana under her breath.  
"Ah can't believe that we're getting a day off" Rogue said.  
"I know" Nikki sighed, relaxing. She drank from her glass, smiling.  
"What's that one called?" Rogue asked.  
"A 69 Special" Nikki said, grinning.  
"Why's it called that?" Rogue asked.  
"It was invented in '69" Emma said.  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "Emma, the main alcohol they had in the 60s was beer and tequila."  
"So why then?" Emma asked.  
Nikki glanced over at her, "If you don't get the inspiration, I feel sorry for you."  
Rogue busted up laughing and high fived her across the table.  
Megan jogged back toward the table, grinning, "Did you guys get something for us to drink?"  
Nikki pushed forward a pitcher of cola, "Go on."  
"But..." Megan said.  
"You're not close to my age kid, don't even think about it" Nikki said, "Just drink your pepsi and be happy I didn't get you pink lemonade."  
Megan pouted and poured herself a glass.  
"Ooh, who's that?" Cessily asked.  
A man dressed in all black had walked in, weaving expertly through the people. He had a long black trenchcoat on, a black cowboy hat, and a gold and red ring gleamed from the side, catching the light and drawing Nikki's attention.  
'No' she thought, 'God no. Not here. Not now.'  
She downed the rest of her drink and stood, "I'll be back."  
The other five nodded without question, knowing if it were something she had to handle she'd take care of it.  
She approached the bar where the man sat, and she walked up behind him.  
"You can't take me by surprise little girl. I have over seven hundred years head start" he said in a thickly accented voice.  
"Why are you here?" she asked.  
"Can't I come for a visit?" he asked.  
"That's a load of bull and you know it" she said.  
He drank a shot, not exposing his face, and she growled under her breath, "I want an answer."  
He sighed, and gestured for another drink.  
"This is rediculous. Act your age old man" she said, crossing her arms over her chest.  
"I will when you act yours little girl" he said, downing another.  
"Just tell me why you've come Vladimir, and we're done with this" she said.  
"No pleasantries?" he asked, half turning, his red eyes exposed to her now.  
"I don't care if you're Dracula, I want an answer" she said.  
He turned fully, looking at her from the shadow, "You know why I've come. Have you decided?"  
"I won't decide. You still have at least another thousand years in you. Look at Aro, he ruled for three thousand" she said.  
He sighed, "I grow tired of this. Then the custom holds."  
"No" she said, "He won't do it."  
"You have no say in it. You passed this up a century ago. You've had your chance, now it is time for me to ask him myself" Dracula stood and said.  
"No. You won't" Nikki's eyes flashed, the silver seeming to expand for a heartbeat.  
He snarled under his breath, "One thing you have to learn, is you are still young and stupid. You have not become a master. I, on the other hand, have."  
He disappeared, not even a mist before her, and she growled under her breath, heading back to the girls. She'd thought she'd have a peaceful night off...  
"Nikki, what's wrong?" Laura asked when she came back.  
"We have to go. Now" Nikki said.  
Laura stood, and Megan looked worried, "Tell us later."  
She nodded, and almost disappeared herself in her speed. She stood outside the club, glancing back and forth. He was nowhere. She cussed under her breath, and started back for the mansion. She had to warn him, to get him out of there. Laura ran out after her worldlessly. Holding himself up on the bricks above the door, Vladimir watched them run, knowing she would lead him to exactly who he was looking for.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Nikki took out her phone, texting as she jogged, 'Dracula is coming for you. Hide'. She sent it, and glanced to Laura, "Go, I'm going to handle this."  
She ran down the opposite street, and Dracula followed her. He was thinking she would lead her directly to his target, but then she spun, snarling, and phased as she leapt at him, hiding in the tree above. The two went crashing to the ground, her humanoid paws resting on his chest, talons at his throat.  
"Nikki, it almost seems as if you don't want him to become a royal blood. You know how much he's always wanted to be a prince" Dracula said, his lips curling back in a sinister smile. Nikki roared, her wolf fangs an inch from his face, "Stay. Away. From. Him."  
Dracula became a mist, and Nikki lunged, suddenly her movements were swift, accurate. Vladimir dodged, frowning, "You have become strong."  
She growled, "I've always been."  
She leapt, and her talons slashed across his chest.  
He growled, and stood before her, "Fine. I will give you more time to choose. Warn him, because if you do not choose someone else, he will be the one. As it has been custom for mellinia, it shall stay that way."  
He shifted to a bat, and flew away. Nikki phased back, and ran back toward the Xavier School.  
She threw open the door, letting it fall shut behind her as she took the stairs two at a time to the second floor. She knew where he would meet her.  
She went into Logan's old room, and he jumped up, startled by the banging door, "Nikki-?"  
She sighed, and threw her arms around Daken, "I...I need to talk to you."  
His arms wound around her, and he drew back her face to see her. Small cuts healed on her cheeks, and he touched her wounds softly.  
She shut the door and sighed, motioning for him to sit down. He did, and she paced, running her fingers through her hair, before she gave up, "There was something I never told you. I know I should've, but I never did. There's a role in the vampyre world called the Dragon Prince. Not just with the title, but it would suit you. I know it's something you might want to do, it's something I was supposed to choose someone for since I'd given up the role of Dragon Princess when I was young, but I can't help it. I was less afraid of my uncle then, but now he's come looking for an heir. If I don't choose anyone, you'll have to take the position, because by custom it goes to the rule of the first born son. That would be you. Vincent could battle you for it someday, but he probably won't."  
She turned to him, stopping pacing, "Just please don't be angry at me."  
He laughed, "A prince. Me, a prince?"  
Her lips quirked in a small smile, "You've always wanted to be powerful. You've always been facinated with Dragons. As you probably know, Dracul means Dragon in Romanian. That's the role of Dragon Prince, it's Dracula's heir."  
Daken looked at her and sighed, "He wants me to do this."  
She nodded.  
"Do you think I could?" he asked.  
She nodded, "I do."  
"Then I will. But I want your help. I trust you" he said.  
She gave a small smile, "As much as I hate getting involved in this, I'll do it."  
He smiled at her, "Thanks Nikki."  
He pulled her into his arms, but her smile turned anxious. She was afraid, not of the power, not of him, but of what he might become. She knew the royalty, she knew the greed that came with it, and she only hoped that the Daken the others had once seen, would stay away, and her Daken would stay as real as he was now.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Two days had passed, and since, Nikki had told her uncle about Daken's decision to take the mantle. As dawn had rose, the two had since bord a plane Romania bound, which one way or the other, was an all day trip. When they reached Romania, the sun was setting over the horizon. The people made the little sunlight they had left last and locked up their houses and businesses before taking shelter indoors.  
"What's their problem?" Daken asked.  
Nikki shrugged, "They've always been like this. I guess it's the fact that they still don't trust vampires, even though the vast majority of us have become a peaceful people."  
Daken gave a small smile, "So what's this like? You used to do this."  
She sighed, "Mostly boring and tedious. Preparing for war was what I liked, but the whole fact is, there may not even be any now-a-days."  
Daken nodded, and watched as she hailed a carrage from the train they'd been on since the departed the airport in the capital. It seemed so old-timed here, like time meant nothing to these people holding thier businesses for generations and living in the same place as their ancestors, selling wares on the street.  
"Are there any cars here?" Daken asked.  
Nikki smiled, "Some, but most people here are too poor to afford them. That, and what would they need them for in a town as small as this?"  
Daken knew instantly this was a place where there were no secrets, everyone knew everything about everyone, even the things people didn't want getting out. He was sure they'd been expecting them.  
Nikki sighed and walked back to him, "He'll take us as far as Borgo Pass. I swear these people are still as superstisious as they used to be."  
Daken followed her into the carrage, and no one spoke as it bumped and ricketed up the road. To be honest, the dense trees with some fog overlooking the sun dipping under the Black Sea, was downright frightening. A wolf howled, joined by a few others, as the carrage stopped. Daken stepped out after Nikki, getting their bags. He noticed the moon, high, round and silver in the sky, dotted with few stars. It would've been a beautiful sight, had it not been for the absolute terror that was honestly gripping him at that point.  
"Come on" Nikki said, "Let's get this over with."  
He hesitated, but followed as she made her way up toward the large wrought-iron gate. For the one time in his life, Daken wondered if he'd made the right decision.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
The two walked up to the gate, and Daken looked around. For a moment, he swore he saw faces in the shadows.  
"This doesn't feel like a good idea" he murmured to Nikki.  
"It's not supposed to" she said softly, and the heavy gates squeaked open. Daken was tempted to act like a child and cling to her side, but he took a deep breath and followed her in. "Relax" she whispered.  
He jumped slightly as the heavy wooden doors to the courtyard from the castle swung open and Dracula emerged.  
"Hello Nikki. Hello Dragon Prince" he said, his thickly accented voice with an everpresent undertone of malice.  
Daken cringed, "Does he talk to everyone like that?"  
"You'll get used to it" Nikki said, and walked in.  
The two went into a grand hall, which was clearly a throne room of old times. There were two polished, ancient wooden thrones, one for the king and one for the queen.  
"Damn" Daken whispered.  
Nikki smiled, shifting her bag into her other hand so she grasped his, "You'll get used to it." She gave his hand a comforting squeeze, though it didn't bring much comfort at all.  
Dracula turned, motioning to Daken, "Come, take your throne. See if it pleases you."  
Daken glanced at Nikki, and she gently nudged him forward. He went forward, sitting in it. He got the image of hundreds of people coming to give offerings and beg for protection and forgiveness. He didn't like the feeling, even though at one time it would've made him smile.  
"It's good" he said. Dracula laughed thunderously, actually making him cringe back into the solid wood.  
"You'll adjust in time my boy. Allow Nikki to lead you around this place, you'll come to enjoy it and all it has to offer" Dracula swept out of the room, his cape having made him look like a shadow, and Daken looked at Nikki, "I don't know what you were just thinking, but that was creepy."  
She smiled and went over to him, sitting on the arm of his throne, "This can be good you know, if you really want it."  
He shook his head, "I'm doing it to help, not because I want it."  
She smiled lightly, "I'm glad. There was one point where you would've come just for the fun of it."  
"I know" he said, "I'm not that guy anymore."  
She smiled, "I know that."  
He glanced over to her, seeing her warm smile, and he glanced to the next throne, "Does this mean Claudine's going to be a queen?"  
"Princess, once you have a coronation" Nikki said, standing.  
He stood with her, "So you're supposed to show me around here?"  
"Might as well. Come on" she motioned for him to follow her, and he did, hesitantly. He took one glance at the tapestry of the crest, and wondered what the hell he was getting into.  
TBC

Chapter 5  
Nikki went off to do whatever it was she was going to do, Daken couldn't remember, but still partly mentally cussed for not going with her. He was stuck, pretty much alone, with Dracula.  
Vladimir laughed at his unease, "Come now boy, you're the Dragon Prince! There's nothing to fear."  
Daken looked at him like he was insane, "Yeah, there is. I'm sitting across from him."  
Dracula smiled, "You don't have to be afraid dear boy. I have nothing to gain by harming you. I've asked for you, or someone like you, for nearly a century. I need someone to take my place one day, and I was hoping it would be you."  
"Why?" Daken asked.  
Dracula's cold, bony fingers rested on his shoulders, "Because of who you are. You used to be cold, merciless, calculating. You were a prince and you didn't even know it. I'd watched, and I'd hoped she would choose you, but all she did was remain your friend for the longest time." Dracula pinched the bridge of his nose, "And then, when you were changed, I thought for sure she would give you the option of this place, but she didn't. She was testing my patience, as much as I love her, she could only keep trying my patience so long. So I decided to come, to help her make that decision. Yet she defended you, she tried to keep you away from this power. Did you ever question her? Did you ever wonder why?"  
Daken was tempted to shake his head, but kept a measured expression, "No. I felt no need, she's never failed me before."  
"She wants the power for herself" Dracula whispered to him. He removed his hands from Daken's shoulders and began pacing the study.  
"I know that's a lie" Daken said, "Even as good of a liar as you are, I could still sense that. And I know Nikki much better than you do, she gave this up, and she doesn't want it back. She tries to live a normal life, why can't you just leave her be?"  
Dracula turned, "Because. I am old, and I will die. I wish to see someone be put in my place before I die. After I train you, you will have your coronation, and assume the place of Prince. You may leave, and do whatever you like until I call upon you again. When that happens, I shall be dying. I will watch you assume my place before I die."  
Daken looked away, "And what if I refuse?"  
"Then why did you come here?" Dracula asked.  
Daken didn't answer.  
"You just came to keep me happy and her out of trouble, that's why you think you came. But part of you always wanted this, the power, the adoration, people to kneel at your feet while you walk" Dracula said, going to circle him. Daken felt oddly like a rabbit being encircled by a hungry coyote.  
"You want this. You always have. I've seen the lust for my throne in your eyes before, even if you've mistaken it. You are who you are Daken, you cannot change that." Dracula moved to the desk, and took an ornate crown out of a box on the desk, "And this is what you'll become."  
He allowed Daken to turn, for him to see his reflection, though Dracula didn't have one.  
"Will I be able to keep my reflection?" Daken asked.  
Dracula laughed, "Yes. The unfortunate side, was she had something to do with you. You've taken on her traits. If only I'd been there as a newborn, you would've become a prince easily."  
Dracula saw Daken looking at his reflection, and took his oppertunity to leave the room. The words had been planted in his mind, now it was time for things to change.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
Nikki returned, smiling, to see Daken already overseeing things. Her eyes glowed as he looked up, and gave her a warm smile, motioning her forward. She walked over, and glanced down at his plans, "Wow. You seem to have everything covered, don't you?"  
He laughed, and put one arm around her shoulders, "I'm finally doing big things Nikki. It feels good."  
Nikki beamed, "Of course you are. You always have. Nothing has ever been short of 'monumental' with you."  
Daken gave her a playful scowl, "Are you calling me a drama queen?"  
"If the shoe fits, buy it in every color as Emma says" Nikki said.  
He growled playfully, and she growled right back. She smirked in his face, and he was giving her a playful scowl that quickly disappeared as he surprised her with a bear hug.  
She gasped at suddenly being lifted off the ground, "Daken! Put me down!"  
He laughed and spun her around, "Not yet."  
She ducked her face into the crook of his neck, "Put me down right flamin now!"  
He laughed and dropped her, earning a look of shock. She sat on the floor in front of him, and his laughter died when her look didn't falter, "What?"  
She tackled him, and then they both laughed, laying on the floor in front of the thrones.  
Dracula stood on the balcony that wound around, double sided, through out the main part of the castle. He frowned at the sight, knowing it would be harder for him to break Daken of his good-natured spirit, so long as this continued to happen.  
"Isabel" Dracula said, to the servant passing by.  
"Yes master?" she asked.  
"Bring me my son" he said softly.  
The young woman nodded, and scurried off down another hall. He knew the boy, Drake, had resented him for passing the throne to his brother's daughter, and he was counting on the resentment, and the envy to take play soon. He needed her to have a distraction, so he could have a perfect Dragon Prince.  
TBC

Chapter 7  
Nikki walked downstairs the next day, seeing Daken taking care of things for her uncle.  
She leaned in and hugged him, "Hey."  
"Hey" he replied.  
"Want to go do something today?" she asked, "Get away from this boring crap?"  
"Too busy" he said.  
She looked up, "How're you too busy? You're never too busy."  
"Then maybe I just don't want to go" Daken said.  
Nikki nodded, "Yeah, this does make you want to just go to sleep."  
He looked back, "I'm not tired, and I just don't want to, so back off alright?"  
She sat up, "What the hell is wrong with you today?"  
"I told you, I'm busy, and I'm not exactly patient with all this crap" he said.  
She gave him a look, "Oh welcome to my previous world."  
"Nikki, will you just be quiet for ten seconds?" he asked.  
She looked at him, and went back to her hot chocolate. A few minutes passed, and she realized the tension between them hadn't eased any.  
"You're not just under stress" she said quietly.  
He slammed his fist down, "If all you're going to do is talk and distract me, then why the hell are you here?"  
She stood up, "Alright, listen, I don't care how hard this is, it was your screw up to accept this, but you don't talk to me like that."  
"Really? Give me one good reason" he said.  
"You may be prince, but I am queen, and what I say goes" she said, leaning on the desk toward him.  
He growled, "Nikki, just go."  
"No" she said, more than stubborn, "Get over this. It's just work."  
"Just work?" he asked, "This is running a country! I'm the king-to-be of an entire race! You would understand that, had you not been an ignorant coward and run away."  
She hit him on the shoulder, hard, "You know nothing."  
His eyes started to change when he glared at her, "No, you know nothing. Things have changed Nikki, you're nothing to me anymore."  
She blinked, and tried to find a lie in his words. She couldn't.  
"Well..." she said, "That changes things."  
He walked back behind the desk, "Does that mean you'll leave me alone now?"  
She nodded, and walked out, passing her uncle in the hall.  
"Wonderfully done prince" Dracula said, gliding in.  
Daken leaned back, "Was there something you wanted?"  
"Oh just to congratulate you. Now that you've gotten her out of here, the only two problems to me will go kill each other."  
Daken laughed softly, and Dracula turned Daken's chair so he could see his reflection, "Make your decisions now prince. You have much to think about."  
He ghosted out of the room, leaving Daken to look at himself. At first, the arrogance and bliss shone through, and then, he looked at himself, and knew something was wrong with him. He wasn't perfect, and listening to Dracula had only made his life harder.  
He looked at himself, examining everything. He found flaws in himself, making him feel better about the moments he'd thought he was a perfect king. Then, he glanced at his eyes. A memory flashed through his mind.  
'Your eyes sparkle when you laugh.' Nikki's face, in the past, but her smile had held through years.  
"Damnit I am an idiot" he muttered to himself as he stood.

Nikki sat out in the garden, tears dripping down her face. This damn prince thing had taken her best friend in it's hold. She hated her uncle for it, and it was a hate that would never budge.  
"Hello little cousin, do you remember me?"  
Nikki barely turned, to see a hulking figure standing over her.  
TBC  
Chapter 8  
Nikki stood, "Drake?"  
"Hey baby cousin. I hear you handed off the throne you didn't want, that was rightfully mine?" he said.  
"You're in exile-" Nikki began.  
He threw her into the side of the castle, "I was. I don't care about these old laws, this is what comes first."

Daken stormed into the study, his eyes blazing, "You. You're just as manipulative as Romulus."  
Dracula smiled, "Well, I had to be to break you of that 'good' habit of yours."  
Daken lunged, gripping his throat, "Oh really? Let's see how good I am now."  
Dracula hit him hard, and Daken lunged, sending them both out the open window.

Nikki's talons slashed at Drake, her wings out, propelling herself back as he lunged. He was a dark grey color, in sharp contrast to her glittering gold, something caused by her magic.  
She saw them fall, and in a heartbeat, she'd forgotten Drake, and flew to Daken's side. She caught him, allowing her uncle to fall.  
Drake slashed at her exposed back, tearing into her wings. She let out an inhuman shriek and turned, her talons slamming into his chest.  
Drake lunged at her, his wounds bleeding, and he griped one of her wings, his foot against her back, and several loud cracks resounded through the space. His talons tore through her wing, and she screamed, her grip loosing it's hold on Daken.  
"Let go, I'll be fine" Daken said, "Fight him back."  
She looked at him in regret, and let him go. He landed on his feet, watching her.  
Nikki lunged at him, her claws tearing through him, as he gripped her other wing and tore. She let out a cry of pure agony, and lunged with her better wing to tear open his throat. He shoved her back, and she fell. Her back connected with the stone, and she dropped to the ground.  
"Nikki" Daken breathed, running over to her.  
He reached her side, and she whimpered, "Daken...my wings."  
He touched her face softly, guiding her to look up, "How much pain are you in?"  
She bit down on her lip, closing her eyes, "A lot."  
"Stay here" Daken whispered, pressing his lips to her head as he turned, Drake landing at the exact moment.  
"Out of the way boy, and I'll let you live" Drake commanded.  
Daken's claws came out, only two of them on each hand, as he glared at Drake defiantly, "I'd love to see you try."  
Drake roared, and lunged at the two of them. He slammed his claws into Drake, fighting with every technique he'd ever known.  
His final shot was clean, quick, and his wrist claw came up to stab Drake through the throat.  
"No" Dracula roared, and lunged at Daken.  
Nikki stood, despite her pain, and threw herself at Dracula. Daken dropped Drake, and gripped onto Nikki, tuging her away gently, "Come on. It's okay."  
He noticed tears streaming down her face, and knew she was in real pain. He kissed her forehead gently, shifting her so her broken wing was over his back, and the one nearly torn off, still bloody, hung over his arm. She whimpered, and he held her tightly against his side.  
"Come on" he murmured to her, "I'm going to take care of you. Forget them, forget this."  
She looked at him, and nodded, and he lifted her up, careful of her wings, and let her drape over his arms.  
TBC  
Chapter 9  
Nikki was sedated, her wings bandaged and spread out. He let one of her wings rest on his lap as he brushed her hair back.  
She stirred, and leaned her face into his hand, a soft groan slipping from her lips, "Ugh, who hit me with a truck?"  
Daken smiled, shifting so he sat on the bed beside her, her bandaged wing still draped over him, "Hey. How do you feel?"  
"Fantastic" she said sarcastically.  
He laughed softly, "No, really."  
"Like shit" she said, starting to sit up. The sudden sharp pain in her back made her hiss a breath and lay back down, "Fuck."  
Daken laughed, "Maybe I should've warned you that there are still bandages holding you together."  
She glared at him, "Am I home yet?"  
He shook his head, "We're going home soon. You have to heal up some still, and then we'll go home."  
"What about you, being Dragon Prince?" Nikki asked.  
"There's someone else, an old friend of yours who's surprisingly still here at the castle. I thought he'd be better for the job, even if he's damphir."  
"Damon?" Nikki asked, sitting up, and Daken eased her down again.  
"Relax. Yeah, it's Damon. You still remember him?" Daken asked.  
"Yeah" she said softly, "I can't forget. He was my donor."  
Daken nodded and brushed back her hair, "Don't worry Nikki, okay? I'm here, I'm taking care of you. I will always be there for you. I'll never go away."  
She chuckled, "You sound like Jacob."  
He laughed and touched her cheek, "I'll be your Jacob if you'll be my Bella."  
"I'm not tripping over air for you" Nikki said.  
He laughed, and leaned down and hugged her, "Don't worry, you won't need to with the way you get hurt."  
She rolled her eyes, "Nice one."  
He smiled at her, "Thank you."  
"I'm stuck with you aren't I?" she said.  
"Yup" he said.  
"Turn on the TV" she said, and let him sit down next to her again.  
It was only the kind of beautiful friendship they had.  
The End

**Relapse**

Chapter 1  
Nikki sat in the window, looking out over San Francisco bay in the night. The entire team had stayed late, and Nikki sat in Emma's office, looking out toward San Francisco, glaring at the multicolored lights.  
"Nikki, your thoughts are becoming disturbing" Emma said, worry in her voice.  
Nikki turned back to her, taken out of her thoughts, "Huh? I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."  
"I can tell" Emma said, in a tone supposed to be playful, but was mostly worried.  
Nikki sighed, "Emma, I just spent a week back in the place I pretty much swore to myself I would never go back to. This is the second time in a year I've gotten my wings nearly ripped off my body. I have a right to be a little pissed off right now."  
Emma turned, "Nikki, I'm concerned. You have just gone to relive a lot in your past. It's not a good thing. I'm afraid..."  
"Of what Emma?" Nikki asks calmly, "That I'm loosing myself in memories? It's not going to happen."  
Emma looked up, her eyes filling with worry, "That you'll become who you used to be."  
Nikki shook her head, "No, I won't. I can't be her anymore Emma, I have too much to worry about." She sat down and took some papers and a blue marker, helping Emma grade tests.  
"Then why are you wearing that?" Emma asked, refering to her outfit.  
Nikki looked down, the black fishnet top under her yellow and black Skeltanimals tank top with black skinny jeans, red and black converse, and black fingerless gloves on her hands, "Because it looks cute together. And it's Skeltanimals, how can you resist this?" Nikki asked, giving Emma the widest, brightest smile as she holds out the image of the Skeltanimal printed on it. Emma laughed and returned to her work, the two working in a companionable silence for a short while.  
"Just know I'm here, if you want to talk" Emma said, looking up.  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "Great. Thereapy. I need that so much."  
Emma and Nikki both burst into laughter at her sarcasm, and continued with their work.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
The mansion was quiet, and the only sound in the sub-basement was the beeping of the monitors keeping Norman Osborn alive.  
She wore a dark cloak, the black and gold of her own personal style of the Phoenix glinting in the muted light.  
She stood over him and rested her hands on either side of his head, "C'mon gobby, wake up. We need you back."  
She found him inside his mind, being tormented by the Green Goblin.  
"Goblin?" she asked.  
"Who wants to know?" he asked.  
"Don't let him go!" Norman shouted.  
Rachel lifted her face, "Phoenix. I have a job for you."  
Rachel opened her eyes and moved back, tenderals of her flame touching the air as she pulled back. Osborn's eyes snapped open, and he leapt off the table with an evil cackle.  
"The plan my dear?" he asked.  
"Come on, we'll see" she said.

Nikki smiled as she looked over at Logan, her lips pressing softly to his neck, "Hey."  
"Hey" he said, nuzzling her hair.  
She stretched and rubbed her aching neck, "Mm, that bite was nice."  
He laughed and kissed the still-healing wound on her neck, licking softly at her tender skin, "Sorry if that hurt. You taste fantastic."  
She giggled and rested her head on his chest, "Can we sleep in a little?"  
He kissed her head, "Sure."  
The phone rang, and Nikki groaned, shifting her head to bury it under the pillow, "We're not here!"  
Logan laughed, kissing the back of her shoulder before leaning over to pick up the phone, "Hello?"  
"Logan, Norman's gone" Emma said.  
"Osborn's in a coma Frost, he's not going anywhere" Logan said.  
"No, he was gone sometime last night" Emma said.  
"What? He steal some of your panties and that's how ya found out?" Logan asked, making Nikki come out from under her pillow to see what was going on.  
"Logan...I'm warning you..." Emma said.  
"Can't hear ya Em, you're breaking up. I'll call you when we're on our way" Logan said, and hung up.  
"Who stole Emma's panties?" Nikki asked, giving him an incredulous look.  
Logan laughed, "Norman Osborn."  
Nikki busted up laughing, and lay on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, and they laughed together. He smiled as he leaned over her, and kissed her lovingly. She sighed and kissed him more passionately.  
"Want to-?" she began, just as the phone rang again.  
"If that's Emma again, I swear..." Nikki didn't even have to finish that threat, because Logan pulled the cord out from the back of the phone, and grinned mischeviously, "There was a storm, and the power went out."  
Nikki grinned back evilly, "Oh I hoped that would happen."  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Nikki flipped the channels at the mansion, before catching the news. She sat up straight, "Oh my god...LOGAN!"  
'We are LIVE over Manhattan, where the Green Goblin has blown up two thirds of the city. The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the Avengers are on the scene, but can not contain the Green Goblin' The anchor spoke with a steady voice, but laced with worry.  
Nikki got up, and ran down to the jet hanger with a few others. The students gathered in the halls, "We can help!" Some yelled, "We'll take him out!"  
Nikki went through, into the War Room and met with Logan, Emma, Nightcrawler, Collosus, and Rogue.  
"We have to go to Manhattan and contain this" Emma said.  
"He's blown up two-thirds of the city" Nikki said.  
Emma looked up, "Dear god. We're not going to make it in time. Let's go, suit up and we'll wing it and hope we do some good."  
Nikki nodded, and went to go get ready.

The jet flew over lower Manhattan and Nikki whistled, "It's like something out of Cloverfield."  
Pixie gasped, "All those people...?"  
"Probably dead. They didn't have any warning" Nikki said.  
They'd agreed to bring Pixie, Rockslide, Elixir and Hellion.  
Rockslide almost threw up, seeing a bloodstained street, where someone had a bomb dropped on them.  
Nikki cringed, seeing another building being blown up, as a red shower shot out one of the breaking windows to splatter the building beside it.  
"Oh mah god!" Rogue gasped.  
"That was like Freddy vs Jason and My Bloody Valentine combined" Nikki said, "Oh was that sweet!"  
They all began to look at her like she was insane, but Logan rather with worry. That was what she would've said years ago.  
"Let's go, now!" Emma said.  
Nikki was first to run out, and leapt up at the Green Goblin, catching part of his glider on her claws.  
He grabbed her wrist, and spun around so when he flew the other way, he let go of her, and she hit a building.  
"Damn it" she muttered, "Should've seen that coming."  
She took off as he went for Pixie and Logan, and as he saw her, he threw an explosive. She leapt back, but it still hit the ground close to her.  
'F^&%!!" she mentally shouted, just as it went off.  
She slammed back through a building, hitting the ground and groaning. The structure shook, and she noticed the metal beam she was laying on.  
"Oh s#^%" she said softly, pushing herself up.  
The building cracked, and a hail of cement, metal and other debris rained down. She ducked against a wall, as part of the ceiling caved in. The roof fell to the foor, crumbling, and she cringed away. She felt something bounce off the wall she hid by, and her eyes widened. A blast went off, and she fell between the debris.  
The Green Goblin hovered over the building, seeing her, beaten and loosing consiousness. He lowered his glider, and put his glove against her cheek, looking at her.  
He pulled her free, and carried her off on the glider, making his plan.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
The sensation of water on her skin, through the tears in the legs of her uniform, and the fact that her boots were heavy with water, nearly submerged, was what began to wake her.  
She moved slowly, testing her muscles and feeling where she was still healing and if she were fully able to move. Gravel crunched under her, and she sat up, running her fingers through her hair to get it all out.  
"Sleep well my dear?" a familiar, cynical voice asked.  
She glared at him, "For being blown up, yeah. Where are we?"  
She noticed they were under a pier, the dark wood overhead and poles around them, grey gravel under her, and the tide up to her knees. She stood and walked to higher ground, ducking down and sitting under the wood.  
He brought her a backpack and tossed it to her, "We're under a pier. Can't remember exactly where, but pretty far away from your friends."  
She scoffed and nodded, taking out a can of soda and a gas station sized bag of doritos, "Great. Because that seems to be just my luck lately."  
He reached out, hesitating, "If I'd left you there, you would've died. Come back, probably, but I got you to the shore so the dust could get washed out of your wounds. It healed better with salt water."  
She chewed quietly, "Thanks, I guess."  
They sat in silence for a moment and she said, "Okay, what gives? You're a psycho sociopathic lunitic who just blew me up repeatedly and carried me off to possibly meet my doom, and yet...you get me healed, you buy food, and you don't treat me like a captive. I'm a little confused here."  
He looked at her, "I can kill your friends easily, they mean nothing to me, but you were one of us once. You're different than them."  
He walked forward as she opened her mouth to speak, and he got on his knees in front of her, taking her face in his hands, "You may not think it, but you've seen so much more, from both perspectives. It influences every decision you make. You see light, and you see darkness, and you're smart enough to be able to figure that out."  
Nikki began to pull away from him, but he kept his grip on her, firm, but almost gentle, "Will you listen to me? I am not going to hurt you. I am not afraid of them. As neither are you."  
She looked at him in confusion, "Then you should be."  
He released one side of her face, and leaned in, "I'm not afraid of anything." He suddenly kissed her, and she shoved him back, "Now I know you're insane Osborn."  
He sat on the gravel, and stood, "You want to go back to them? Those people who will never understand you? Not like I could?"  
"What the hell are you talking about? They're my friends, you have no idea what you're talking about" Nikki said.  
He grabbed her arm, and made her walk up the slope from under the pier. The sudden light made her eyes focus rapidly, and she pushed on him, trying to free her arm. She knew he'd reinforced his gloves somehow, so not even with her strength would his grip falter.  
"Tell me right now, would you die for them?" he said, pushing her toward the edge.  
"You know, I can figure out where this is going. Just push me in and finish this" she said.  
He chuckled, "Smart girl."  
He didn't give her time to struggle as he practically threw her in, releasing her wrist as she fell.  
The water suddenly engulfed her, bubbles rising in her line of vision. She saw the surface, and pushed herself to swim. It was difficult, with the weight of the adamantium, but she surfaced. She looked around, unable to see the pier. The tide dragged her in different directions. She coughed, gasping for air as a wave crashed over her, knocking her under again. She shoved toward the surface, and coughed hard, getting air into her lungs again.  
She looked around, almost panicked. Of all the things that could scare her, it had to be water. If she stopped swimming, she'd drown like anyone else. Nothing could help her then. Another wave crashed, and she fell back under.

The jet circled the water, from the pier.  
"What if we can't find her? And he was bluffing?" Pixie asked.  
"He wasn't" Logan said, feeling even more panic gripping him at the fact he couldn't find her.  
"No, look, right there!" Rockslide shouted, almost jumping up and down.  
The water was choppy, thick dark grey clouds overhead. It was like the cliff scene in New Moon. Logan felt a mix of terror and relief, he'd found her, now he had to save her.  
"I'm going" he said.  
Emma nodded, and let him jump. The water swirled, and he saw her fall under with him. She reached out, her hand nearly touching his. He gripped her hand tightly, pulling her up with him as hard as he could. They both broke the surface, coughing. He patted her back with one hand, keeping her in his arm. She practically draped over him, coughing up water.  
She looked at him, and threw her arms around him, "Logan."  
He laughed breathlessly and kissed her neck softly. Another storm wave crashed over them, and the tide was disorienting. He pushed to the surface, with her in his arms. They both choked, and he knew she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer, being tossed around like that.  
The jet began to lower, and he whispered to her, "Hang on. We're going home."  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
1930  
He hadn't meant to intrude in her life, but the entire fact was he hadn't seen her in nearly two decades, and this theater, seemed to be something she would enjoy. Vladimir led his niece into the Realto theater, Chicago's Arts District's pride and joy. She marveled at everything as she walked, the ornate carvings on the outside of the building, and on the walls and ceiling inside. She saw her reflection in the mirrored hall, the pillars around her nearly the same shade as her champange gold dress. The wide staircases around lead to the balconies, one of which was the private on he'd requested for them. She walked around the entire place, seeing it all and marveling at it all, before they sat for the show. He'd been unamused, but she was facinated with the human life. The tragety of Romeo and Juliet on the stage, the human lovers willing to die for each other. He turned to see her looking at them in the final scene, Juliet about to kill herself to be with her love once more. Her eyes were full of sorrow and longing, and he sighed. Forever the hopeless romantic, she wasn't cut out for the life she'd chose in his oppinion. He'd let her know that later. But for that brief moment, when Nikki's eyes had rested on the actor and actress portraying the heartfelt lovers, she'd felt for the first time in her long life, real longing.  
Nikki began to awaken, feeling the floor of the jet under her.  
"Baby? You okay?" Logan whispered, touching her face.  
She sat up, and looked around, "But, weren't we just-?"  
He pulled her tightly into his arms, crushing her to his chest, "Yeah, but they brought the jet down and picked us up. Don't ever scare me like that again, okay darlin?"  
She smiled, "Of course. I love you."  
He pressed his lips to her forehead, before holding her tightly again, "I love you too."  
"Are you alright?" Emma asked, kneeling by her side.  
She nodded, her head resting on Logan's shoulder, "I am now."  
The longing in her memories had gone, because she knew how love really was now, not just how it was portrayed by actors on a stage.  
"Logan" she whispered.  
"Yeah?" he asked.  
"Thank you for saving me" she said softly.  
He guided her face to meet his, "You know I would. Any moment, whenever you need me. I will always be here for you."  
Her smile grew, and she wrapped her arms around him, keeping herself pressed tightly to him for the rest of the way home.  
On the shore, Green Goblin watched the jet fly away, and he climbed on his glider, knowing he would find Phoenix. This wasn't over yet.  
The End

**Tayla, Daken, and the Pink Happy Meal Monkey (OS)**

Tayla sat at the table, swinging her feet restlessly.  
Daken walked in, sitting down at her other side. Them being the only two in the kitchen, Tayla pushed a foil wrapped little package to him, smiling.  
"What's that?" he asked.  
"For you" she said, and offered him the rest of her fries. He looked at her like it was odd, and it was, but he took them anyway.  
She pushed the package to him, and hopped down, smiling, before she left. He opened it, and took out the little stuffed toy inside, "TAYLA WHAT THE HELL?!"  
He walked out of the kitchen to where Tayla sat with Vincent watching a cartoon version of Logan on the screen, "What is this little monstrosity?"  
Vincent busted up laughing, as Daken was holding up a tiny pink monkey wearing a t-shirt that said 'I'm fabulous' with hearts on its belly.  
Daken's jaw set, a low growl coming from his throat, "Really Tayla."  
She looked at him with her wide, innocent eyes, an adorible, heartbreaking pout on her lips, "I thought you'd like it big brother."  
He wanted to be angry at her, and mentally cursed how soft he'd become, before he pocketed the monkey, "I do."  
The statement made Vincent fall off the couch laughing hysterically, so much so Daken wanted to kick him, but didn't.  
"You are your father's son Vincent" Daken said.  
"So are you softy" Vincent said. Daken lifted Vincent up by his collar, "What'd you just say to me?"  
"Stoppit, you're scaring Hearts!" Tayla cried.  
"Hearts?" Daken asked.  
"The monkey" Tayla said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  
Vincent busted up laughing again, and Daken dropped him.  
"Daken?" Tayla asked, popping over the couch as he walked past. He sighed, turning back to her, "Yes Tayla?"  
"Can you hold onto it? For good luck, whenever you need it" she said.  
He went over to her, leaning over, "If you don't tell anyone, I'll do it for you, ok?"  
She nodded, and made a motion to zip her lips. He ruffled her hair, and walked away.  
The End  
**The Ways Of The Heart**

Chapter 1  
"What is beauty?" Kurt Wagner began, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In several plays, beauty is the main conflict. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo was a man blinded by a woman's beauty, especially the beauty of his love. Beauty is..."  
Nikki opened the door, and Kurt smiled, "Beauty is Miss Nikki."  
Nikki paused, "Huh?"  
Kurt went over to her, his tail twisting around her waist as they began to dance. Soft giggles and gasps went through the students, and Nikki giggled softly herself.  
Kurt spun her delicately, and stopped their waltzing, "The beauty of the dance, was dwarfed by the beauty of the dancer." He bowed, kissing the back of Nikki's hand, "Thank you Nikki."  
She laughed, "If you weren't Logan's best friend, you wouldn't get away with that elf." She very softly smacked him with the letter from the Professor for him, telling him everything that had to do with recent events. With a smile, she left the room and heard Kurt's class break into applause.  
She walked into the padded dojo where Logan had just been teaching a class, to see him meditating. She smiled, and sighed softly. She watched him, deep in his own thoughts, as she suddenly fell, a startled gasp slipping from her.  
He caught her in his arms, resting her against his legs, as he smiled at her, his eyes opening, "Angry for that?"  
She shook her head, "More like shocked. Don't do that."  
He laughed and leaned over her, his lips pressing to hers. She melted in his arms, hers wrapping around his neck. He chuckled against her lips, "I won't."  
His lips returned to hers, and the ground shook under them.  
"I think Hank blew up the lab again" Nikki said, giggling.  
"And that's our problem how?" Logan asked, kissing her passionately again. She shrugged and returned her attention to him.  
The ground shook violently and Nikki sighed, drawing back, "I hoped we'd get a minute today."  
He sighed and stood, "Do we ever?"  
They took off up the stairs, and outside. The water lapping at the shore of Nation X, what the students called it now, was deep, blood red. Nikki gasped, covering her mouth as her fangs portruded.  
A giant, firey bird slashed through the air, and Nikki growled, "Well, I always knew someone in the Summers family was gonna go crazy."  
Green Goblin flew overhead, and circled around. Nikki sighed, "Him too?"  
Some of the X-Men ran up from the sub basement and the mansion, and Daken paused, seeing Rachel, "Damn it."  
She landed, emerging from the fire. His eyes widened, this was not the Rachel he knew.  
She'd changed so much, that at first, he couldn't recognize her. The only part of her hair left red, were streaks, the rest was dyed black. She wore black leather, even her off-the-shoulder top, with the metallic red phoenix on it. Her hair barely reached her shoulders, and she stepped forward. The flame had glazed her eyes red gold.  
"Rachel?" he asked, his mental cussing amusing her.  
"Hey Daken" she said, before sending forward a wave of flame he barely had time to dodge.  
Nikki leapt at her and Rachel barely dodged, "Nikki, come on. You don't realize what he's done, leaving me?"  
"He moved on. He can't help it if he wants someone, oh I don't know, not psycho?" Nikki said, her claws out.  
"I am not crazy. My mother, was not crazy" Rachel said.  
"Well now that you bring it up, she was a nice gal and all, but not exactly all there upstairs" Nikki said, before quirking her head, "Does that bother you?"  
"Norman, get over here and handle her!" Rachel shouted.  
He looked regretful, and looked at Daken, changing course for him. Nikki looked to Logan, "Go, I can handle her."  
He looked at her, and she nodded, reassuring him she'd be alright on her own. He went to go handle Osborn with Daken.  
"Bad move old woman" Rachel said.  
Nikki retracted her claws, and punched Rachel in the face, "Oh really, little girl?"  
Osborn jumped off his glider, deciding to go hand-to-hand against Daken. Logan ambushed him from behind, and he leapt up, flipping back away from both of them.  
They were about to lunge, their claws out, when they heard a scream from across the island.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Pixie's hand were clamped over her mouth, as they looked.  
"What's wrong Megan?" Scott called.  
Her eyes were wide, and she turned slowly to see them, "They took the fight in the water."

Nikki felt the burns on her skin from Rachel's phoenix flame heal. She growled, as slashed through the calm, still water after Rachel. She couldn't keep her fire lit in the water, and with all the blood around them, Nikki could draw energy and strength from it as she healed. Rachel knew, this was a huge mistake.  
Rachel broke the surface, fighting toward land, when she felt an ice cold hand wrap tightly around her ankle.  
"Oh my g-" Rachel gasped, and took in a breath before she was pulled under the water. She saw it, Nikki's hair flowing around her like flame in the bloody water, like nothing she'd ever seen. A scream came from her, bubbles rushing from her as Nikki gripped her hard, and almost flew through the water. Rachel was trying to scream for her to let go, that it was hurting her, but found herself on land in a few moments. Something almost rock hard slammed into her back and she choked, bloody water coming from her lungs. She looked up, to see Nikki glaring at her, "This would be about the third time I've saved your life. I think we're at the part where you pay up your debt for that."  
Rachel's eyes widened, "What do you want?"  
"Go, and take your psychotic friend with you. We'll come find you when we actually have time to deal with you" Nikki said, "And if you don't, then consider being held under that water."  
"So if I don't, you'll kill me?" Rachel asked.  
"It really took you that long to figure it out?" Nikki asked, standing. She was dripping wet, but all of her wounds had healed.  
Rachel stood, and shouted, "Norman, get over here! We're out!"  
Nikki smiled, and gave a sassy wave to them both, earning glares as they departed. She turned back to them, "It's better if you didn't find out."  
She wrung out the end of her shirt as she walked back toward the mansion, the beginnings of a plan forming in her mind.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Logan smiled at Nikki as she came back into the room, a towel wrapped tightly around her.  
"We're going to have to worry about them eventually" he said.  
She looked at him and started getting dressed, her wet hair still falling down her back, "Why?"  
"Because they're going to come back you know" he said.  
She shrugged, "Not soon."  
"What makes you say that?" he asks.  
"Because. I'm sure of it, you didn't see the shock in her face when I told her what I told her" she said.  
Logan took her hand and tugged her down on his old bed, resting her head on his chest. He played with her wet hair, "Baby, they're going to be back."  
She looked up, her eyes meeting his, "I know, and when they do, we'll be ready. We all will be."  
She smiled, and he gently nudged her off him, to lean over her and kiss her. She smiled brightly as he began to draw back, "You know, I'm really tired of all of this. I just want a moment where there's nothing in the world we need to worry about."  
He rested his hand on her cheek, cradling her face, "I'll give you that."  
Their lips molded together again, and sparks seemed to fly in her heart. Logan chuckled, and drew back, "Darlin, can you stop that?"  
"What?" she asked.  
He moved her opposite hand, and she noticed the bright glow that came from her fingertips. She laughed softly, and smiled.

Daken was sitting on the shore, as tired as possible. Rachel had been there, and she'd hated him.  
He'd never imagined Rachel would come back, or that her mood toward him, even when she'd been the one who'd left him, would've been so violent.  
"Hey" Claudine said, walking over to him, "I heard Rachel came back."  
"She hates me, what's the big deal?" he asked.  
"It matters to you" she said softly.  
"No it doesn't" he said.  
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting her head on his neck, "I can read your mind. She still matters."  
"Not as much as she would've. She's not even Ben's mother anymore, you are" he said.  
"She's Ben's birth mother" Claudine said.  
"And do you think she was around to take care of him?" Daken asked, "No, she left me with him." He looked out at the bay, the blood in the water having faded a lot, "I finally know what my father was talking about. Having a family, settling down...I don't know. I love this, I want to keep up the action, the adventure, and at the same time...I don't want to. I want to have a normal life, with you and Ben and Kayla. Just the four of us, in our own house, but we'd go home and see my parents every so often."  
"What about Laura? Do you think she'll do the same if we do?" Claudine asked.  
"How should I know? Laura's always been an unpredictable person, she'll surprise us" Daken said.  
The crunch of gravel sounded behind them, and Kim walked out to them, "Nikki and Logan are getting ready to go. Coming?"  
He kissed Claudine gently, "Come on."  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
The scene died down for a few days, until there were reports of Green Goblin sightings over Manhattan...again.  
Nikki sighed, sitting in the back of the jet, "Really, can't this guy do better than pestering us all the time?"  
Megan was curled up to her right, "I hope he doesn't do that again."  
Nikki patted the back of Megan's hand, really too tired to do much else. She'd been up all night for the past two nights, between work and the moons, her natural state not allowing her to sleep nights as of lately.  
Logan's arm wrapped around her, and she rested against his shoulder, half asleep.  
"Hey, we're going to need all of you today, let's not screw this up" Cyclops said.  
"You know what Scott? Go f*%$ yourself" Nikki said.  
A collective giggle went through the jet's occupants, and Nikki smiled, slightly more awake.  
"Nikki, you're not Wade, solve the identity confusion" Scott said back.  
"Ooh, a witty comeback from the boyscout. How come nobody was laughing? Oh yeah, because I've met bread with better comebacks than that. Well actually, just look at Deadpool" Nikki said, and the other few team members burst into laughter. Logan even chuckled, grinning at her.  
"So where do you train? Clown collage?" Scott asked.  
"Cyke, I really don't care what you do with your collage degree, but that proves why you think you look good in spandex" Nikki responded, earning more laughter, "And I've always known how to comically own anyone. Just ask Daken, the yo momma wars we got into with Scalphunter were just freakin' priceless!"  
The rest of the jet burst into laughter, making Cyclops incredibly angry, and Logan beamed at Nikki.  
"Just get ready to go" Cyclops muttered.  
Nikki pulled her mask over her face, "Game on."  
Her mischevious grin echoed a time long past, and Logan smiled, remembering the early days of their love.  
He took her hand and she glanced to him, just for a moment, but the joy of the past nine years shone in her eyes. He leaned in and captured her lips gently, kissing her lovingly for a moment, before he drew back and whispered, "Knock 'em dead baby."  
"Kick their asses tiger" Nikki purred back, smiling.  
The jet landed, and the team headed off, ready for action.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Green Goblin was nowhere in sight.  
"This really doesn't feel like a good thing" Megan said softly, and edged toward Rockslide, wanting to use him as a shield.  
Nikki laughed ruefully, "When is it ever?"  
The sound of something piercing the air overhead, almost like a small plane came through, and Nikki growled, "You gotta be kidding me."  
He was wearing the Iron Patriot armor, but the glider had been split it two, and were double-reinforcing the foot plates.  
Logan gripped Nikki tightly, and pulled her to the side as Osborn flew overhead.  
"Damn" Logan said quietly.  
"Well, might as well make the most of this" Nikki said, and stood.  
"Thundercats, ho!" Megan shouted, and leapt into the air.  
Nikki laughed joyfully, "Cheetara reporting for duty Lion-o."  
Logan smiled at her as she leapt up and slashed at the double re-inforced plates. He wavered, beginning to fall.  
She dodged a repulsor blast, and laughed as she used the momentum of swinging with her claws to flip behind him, nailing him directly in the back of his head with her foot.  
Osborn gave a dazed grunt, and Logan laughed. Nikki pulled her claws free and jumped off Osborn, catching ahold of the light pole and slashing part of it off as she landed on the ground. She did a complex movement, and smiled.  
Logan crossed his arms across his chest, leaned back on what was left of the light pole and grinned at her. She winked at him, and purred, as she used the metal section as a bo staff, vaulting herself into the air and slamming into Osborn's chest plate.  
Cyclops and Rockslide were watching, and Rokslide whistled, "Damn."  
Pixie ripped aside the face plate and threw pixie dust at him.  
She flew down and Nikki twisted her foot around his back, and slammed him forward as much as she could. He fell, and Nikki landed herself on the ground. Logan tugged her back and smiled, "Nice work darlin."  
He kissed her neck gently, and she beamed, "Let's see how easily he'll break out now."  
Cyclops walked forward, and pulled Osborn toward the jet.  
"What'd you make him see Pix?" Nikki called.  
"Unicorns" Pixie said, and walked back toward the jet.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
Logan walked into the Professor's office with Nikki by his side.  
"Yes Logan?" The professor asked.  
"I'm opting out Professor" Logan said.  
"What?" Professor Xavier asked.  
"Nikki and I are going to leave the X-Men. I'm not sure if it's going to be perminant or not yet...but we're going to stay out of this for a while. This thing with Osborn, this isn't our problem anymore. We've been helping fight this fight for the entire time, and it's been weeks. We want peace, quiet, things we really can't get doing this" he said.  
The Professor nodded, "Alright. Well...I don't know if there is anything I can do or say to change that, but...I hope you're happy with what you choose."  
Logan nods, "Thanks Professor."

They sat around the war room table when Logan made the announcement.  
"WHAT?!" Elie shouted, "But...but..."  
"Yes!" Cyclops said, "Finally, order."  
They all looked at Elie, and she stood fully, "I'm officially running for X-Men President."  
A unanimous shout of 'Elie' filled the room. Logan rolled his eyes and Nikki giggled.  
They both stood to leave, and Elie followed, "WAIT!"  
Elie dropped to the floor and clung to Nikki's leg, "Don't go! I'll be eaten alive without you!"  
"Elie, you were just voted leader. You'll do fine, and you never come here anyway" Nikki said, "Now if you're going home, get up and we'll go."  
"No! Don't go!" Elie shouted, and Nikki dragged her leg around the floor, her sister clinging tightly.  
"ELINORIA! For cripes sake, we are just going home!! Get up and come with us, please" Nikki said.  
Elie stood, brushing herself off, "Okay, fine."  
They walked toward the jet, and Logan smiled as he slung his arm around her. Her costume was draped over her arm, and she glanced up to smile at him. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea afterall.

Logan drove up in the Jeep, parking in the garage. He walked inside the side door after making sure the garage had closed.  
"Hey darlin" he said, walking into the kitchen where Nikki had been cooking most of the day.  
"Hey sweetheart" she beamed, leaning back and kissing his chin, "Dinner's almost done."  
He grinned, sitting down while everyone else sat down.  
"How's the job hunt going?" Nikki asked.  
"Found something. And it wasn't Alpha Flight" he said, grinning.  
"Great" she said, smiling.  
"Mommy, Daddy, does this mean you're normal now?" Tayla asked.  
Logan laughed, and Nikki looked at her happily, "No honey. We'll never be normal. But we're going to try for now, okay?"  
Tayla nodded, and they looked at each other. Maybe...for once...this could be a good thing.  
The End

**Do Not. Insult. My Mother. (OS)**

Nikki and Daken stretched out across the warm grass in the middle of summer. Her head rested on his upper arm, stretched out under them, and they both lay there and enjoyed the warmth of the sun.  
"Over here again freak boy? What are you, her dog?" Scalphunter asked.  
"Go screw yourself" Daken said, his eyes closed, still the picture of peace.  
Nikki smiled, giggling to herself.  
"Too bad that's your mother's job" Scalphunter said.  
Daken's eyes snapped open, and he sat up, "What did you just say, you pathetic waste of DNA?"  
Nikki laughed at his rhyme, and he shot her a look telling her to be quiet. She watched with amusement as he stood.  
"You heard me freak boy" Scalphunter repeated, "What are you gonna do about it?"  
Daken's lips curled back in a sinister smile, "You know, I might have believed that, if you weren't a girl yourself."  
Nikki laughed, because either it would work, or Daken would get shot.  
"What did you say to me runt?" Scalphunter asked.  
"Are you loosing your hearing, or are you just stupid? Is it the fact I speak in more than two syllables?" Daken asked.  
Scalphunter fumed, "I'm smarter than you."  
"I doubt that" Daken said.  
"Oh really?" Scalphunter said, "I know pie."  
Nikki facepalmed, "It's Pi. And it's a number."  
"Damnit" he muttered.  
Daken laughed, and spoke fluent greek.  
"What?" Scalphunter asked, as Daken chuckled.  
"That little rebuttle, about my mother? Just became even worse for you" Daken said, and whispered to him what he'd said.  
Nikki howled with laughter, hearing him, and fell back on the warm grass, laughing uncontrollably.  
Scalphunter glared at Daken, "I knew my mother, and she wasn't some japanese ho."  
Daken's smile fell, and Nikki stopped laughing. "Do not. Insult. My mother."  
"Why freak boy? You a momma's boy?" Scalphunter asked.  
Daken lunged and slammed his claws into the other man's crotch, making him fall. Nikki laughed again, grinning as Daken drew his claws out and retracted them, "You are really lucky I let you keep those. And if you ever think of it again, I will make you wish you were dead. Understood, 'freak boy'?"  
Nikki beamed, and stood, walking up behind Daken to stand at his side, "And if I catch you, you can gaurentee you'll be in twice the pain it would be if it were just him." She leaned in, and whispered in her ever-so-seductive voice, "I'll make sure we don't stop until your guts are a paste smeared on concrete."  
She drew back, and grinned at Daken as they walked away.  
Vertigo walked by, and saw Scalphunter sitting there, holding his bleeding crotch, and snickered as she walked by, "Whatever happened to you, you had it coming."  
The End  
**Life As It Could Be**

Chapter 1  
Nikki was sitting in the library, reading one of the many books she hadn't gotten to yet, and smiling.  
"Hey honey" Logan said, walking in and sitting down near her. She turned and smiled at him warmly, shutting her book, "How was work?"  
He laughed, "Easy. I'll miss the challenge soon."  
She giggled and smiled, "We both will, but this...it's sort of what I always wanted." She stood, and walked over to him, sitting on his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck.  
He smiled at her, "Really?"  
"Really" she said, and rested her head on his shoulder as they sat together, "My mother and father had this kind of life. She'd stay home, and occupy me and my brothers and sisters, and my dad would go out to work for a few hours a day working with my uncle. He'd come back, and everything would be normal. For us anyway. My dad would tell stories, and we'd play games, and go do things we wanted. My mom would spend most of her time cooking, or sewing, or things like that when she wasn't with my dad. They acted more like children than we did sometimes."  
Logan laughed, and rubbed her back, "Now I see where you get your spirit."  
She smiled, "That's just a nice way of saying I'm immature."  
"Childish, at times, but I still love you" he murmured, and kissed her gently. Her smile grew, and she kissed him back.  
He smiled as he kissed her even more lovingly, their lips molding together. His hands rested on her back, holding her tightly against his chest. She giggled, resuming their kiss as her fingers twisted in his shirt.  
"What the hell did I walk in on?" Daken asked, and Logan began to break away, as Nikki continued to kiss him lovingly for another few moments before drawing back. She beamed, and looked up at Daken, "Hey."  
"Exited to be normal, much?" he asked.  
She grinned, "Never been happier. What about you?"  
He shrugged, "I keep myself occupied."  
"Learning another language genius?" she asked, more his friend than family at that point. He stuck out his tongue at her, and she did the same in reply.  
"As I said, childish" Logan said, rolling his eyes.  
She hopped off his lap and began to walk away. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. She squeaked as she fell on her back on his lap.  
"Where did you think you were going?" he purred, lifting her back up to sit on his lap. His hands warmly lingered on hers.  
Her lips formed a smile, and she leaned back onto his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck. His arms wrapped around her, giving her a gentle squeeze. He nuzzled her gently, her lips touching his neck, and they both smiled.  
Maybe...normal wasn't so bad after all.  
TBC  
Chatper 2  
Nikki giggled as Logan kissed her lovingly again, his lips lingering on hers.  
"What brought all this on?" she asked, as his forehead pressed to hers. He held both of her hands tightly in his own, stroking her knuckles, "I missed you today."  
She blushed lightly, "They're watching."  
He glanced over to his new co-workers, men who'd actually known him before, when he'd taken a break from the X-Men some 15 or more years ago, and raised an eyebrow. One or two whistled, and Nikki blushed deeply. He gave them a one-fingered salute, and kissed her again, "Don't mind them, they've been like this forever. They're just jealous."  
She blushed even deeper and giggled, "I can tell."  
More than one were checking her out when Logan looked at them and yelled, "Whatever yer gutter minds are cookin' up, keep in mind she's my wife, I actually get to do what yer thinkin!"  
They all groaned, half of them disappointed, half of them disgusted, and walked off in all directions.  
She laughed as he walked back to the Jeep, one of the many cars they had, and climbed in. She hopped in shotgun, and as he pulled out she rested one of her hands on top of his on the wheel, "How was today?"  
"Easy as usual. It's been two days baby, not like it's going to get any more difficult" he said.  
The drive home was everything she'd always imagined as a little girl, with childish dreams. They talked about work for a while, then the coming Halloween, and holidays past. What they were going to do coming up. Their plans, and everything to do with their lives. Somewhere between there and home, Nikki began to realize how it was becoming everything she ever wanted, and all she'd had to do was give up what she'd never really wanted.  
He pulled in, and Sal romped out of the trees, beaming, "Hey! You guys, guess what?!"  
Without warning, a little black wolf cub romped out of the trees, and ran directly over to Nikki. Her blue eyes gleamed, and her stubby tail wagged.  
"Oh my god, Tayla!" Nikki gasped, "That's wonderful baby girl!"  
Tayla morphed back in Nikki's arms, throwing her arms around her, "That was awsome! I loved it!"  
Nikki beamed, laughing, and swung Tayla in a small circle. Logan smiled at them, knowing it was a moment only the two of them would share, being part wolf.  
Sal smiled, and he had that look of 'god-isn't-the-center-of-my-world-perfect?' Logan could agree completely. Nikki looked over, her eyes dancing, and the moment their eyes met, she had the same look for him. He returned the look, and the smile.  
"Come on, we should celebrate" Logan said.  
"Ice cream?" Tayla asked.  
"Anything you want" Logan promised.  
Tayla grinned evily, and yelled at the top of her lungs, "SUPER SUNDAIES!"  
She hopped out of Nikki's arms and ran into the house, and Nikki laughed along with Logan. Sal bounded up to her, "Going running with me and Seth tonight?"  
She glanced back to Logan, who shrugged it off.  
"Sure" she said, "Last one to the peak and back will have to buy pizzas for the next year."  
"Oh you're on" Sal said, and ran inside himself.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
The next afternoon, Nikki sat down at the computer, and began to write.  
Sal walked by, and glanced over to her, "What're you doing?"  
"Writing" she said proudly.  
"Writing what?" he asked, looking at the screen.  
"A novel" she said.  
"Of what? Your superhero exploits?" he asked.  
"No, it's a drama. You see, it's about this girl who accidentally kills her best friend, and then-" she began.  
"Forget it, I don't want to know if it involves humans" Sal said.  
"Speciesist" she muttered.  
The quiet of the house was unusual, but peaceful, and not after long did Vincent walk downstairs, half asleep and flick on the TV.  
Nikki laughed, "You don't have school today."  
He nodded, and yawned, "I know, but I got a show on."  
Her lips twitched, trying to fight back a laugh, "Sweetheart, this is just proof we need to invest in TiVo."  
Vincent looked at Nikki, "Do you think dad would buy it if you asked?"  
Nikki laughed, "I'll talk to him about it later. Want me to tape it for you?"  
He nodded, and watched as she set up the VCR before he went back upstairs. She began to hum the cartoon's themesong, and after not long, was she singing along to it.  
"You're in a good mood" Daken observed, seeing her singing quietly to herself.  
She smiled at him, "It's hard not to be when I don't have to deal with Captian pain-in-the-ass anymore."  
Daken nodded, and she looked up at him, "Why is everyone up early?"  
"I don't know" he shrugged, and walked in to watch TV. They sat in companionable silence until she'd finished typing, and looked up to finish watching the cartoon.  
"Vincent?" Daken asked as one of the chibi-style people blasted a robot.  
Nikki smiled, "Who else?"  
They looked over to meet each other's gaze, and both burst out laughing.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
Kim was sitting outside when Daken walked out. He noticed her and nodded over to her in aknowledgement.  
She smiled back, and returned to her book. Daken began to train to himself, each step precise, as if he were fighting invisible enemies.  
Kim glanced up to watch him. His fighting skills were wonderful, and mentally she wondered if she could mimic him, though that wasn't the only reason she was looking.  
He laughed quietly, "I'm not a telepath, so tell me why I'm so interesting."  
She shrugged, "You're a good fighter. Not bad on the eyes either."  
His head snapped up and he looked at her, "What's that supposed to mean?"  
"You're cute, don't let it go to your ego" she said, and returned to her book.  
Nobody had ever been so nonchalant with his looks since he'd been friends with Nikki. Though Kim did remind her of Nikki back then. He laughed at that thought.  
"Something funny?" she asked.  
"You remind me of Nikki back when neither of us were the good guys" Daken said.  
"Please tell me that's a good thing" Kim said.  
He smiled, and returned to his training.  
"Daken?" she asked, worried.  
"You know, back then, it was all about the appeal for her. She made blood sexy. Then again, she can make anything anything she wants" Daken said.  
"Was that a complement?" Kim asked him.  
"Not to you, to her. But your attitude matches hers back then. Youthful, cocky, arrogant, what appealed to every man on that team, myself included" he said.  
"You had a thing for her?" Kim asked, intranced.  
"We had a thing. It was ten years ago Kim, and it was just a fling. We ended up inseperable since then" Daken said.  
"Wow" Kim said, sitting down on the ground near his feet, "Does Logan know?"  
"Hell of course he did. One of the first things I did was threaten to kill him if he hurt her. We were getting along, but she was the world to me. She still is" he said.  
"Romantically?" Kim asked.  
"No" he said, "She's my best friend. She always has been."  
Kim stood, and tried to mimic him as best she could. He laughed, "Want help with that?"  
She sighed, "I can figure it out myself thank you very much." He shrugged, and let it go.  
Kim moved over toward him, and caught his feet with her ankle. He grunted as he hit the ground, "What the hell?"  
She fell on top of him, laughing, "Got you off guard."  
"You made me think. It's not an easy feat" Daken said.  
She smiled, exposing her teeth, before she ambushed him with a kiss.  
He drew back, shocked, "Kim, what the hell?!"  
She grinned, leapt up, grabbed her book, and ran.  
TBC

Chapter 5  
The air was cold and the wind was strong, but the Halloween moon hung high overhead as the Howletts started down the street. Tayla rode on Sal's shoulders, him dressed up in a stereotypical werewolf costume, and her as a wolf cub. Vincent ran ahead, decked out in a black leather duster and black fedora, having opted for Van Helsing this year.  
Nikki had put as much effort possible into her costume, a long, flowing black and purple dress, like one of a vampire, but her eyes suggested differently. She'd opted for a new style, changing her eyes completely golden. Logan really hadn't even bothered to dress up at all, but let Nikki make him wear some more formal clothes while he held her warmly against his side as they walked. She held herself against his side, and he'd wrapped his jacket around her. Laura had gone out with her friends back in San Fransisco, and Claudine had gone with her. Daken had opted to stay home and watch the Friday The 13th marathon on TV, while Jareth handled the trick-or-treaters.  
Sal smiled, looking at Tayla as she ran back down to his side, her small hand enveloped by his as they walked along, her having gotten down to ground level once more.  
"Lookit I got" she said, and held up the cloth bag with Frankenstine on it.  
"Damn. You really are too adorible for people to resist" he said, counting two big snickers bars and a bag of pretzles.  
Vincent ran back over to his friends, and they compared treats.  
"I got a candy bar" Vincent said proudly.  
"I got gum" his friend Matt said.  
"I got a rock" his other friend Andrew said, and they both looked at him. He laughed, "Kidding! Haven't you guys ever seen Charlie Brown?"  
Vincent rolled his eyes, "You're just like my mother."  
Nikki called ahead, "I heard that!"  
Vincent rolled his eyes, and continued walking with his friends.  
"You know, if your mom wasn't so hot, I'd be really scared of her" Matt said, earning an elbow to the gut from Vincent.  
"You're a real freak man" he said to Matt, and ran off as the other boy took out a can of crazy string.  
Andrew walked along between the running boys and Sal and Tayla. He was dressed in pale colors, a little brown haired, green eyed angel, with Matt being a bat.  
Tayla let go of Sal's hand and went over to Andrew, "Wanna candy bar?"  
She held out her bag of candy and he shook his head, "No. I just give the candy to my little sister anyway."  
Tayla looked at him, "Why? Don't you like candy?"  
"She likes it more" Andrew said.  
"You're weird" Tayla said, and ran back to Sal.  
Vincent stopped, with Matt, and the two of them busted up laughing, having been within hearing distance of Tayla.  
Andrew shot them a look, just as a roar filled the night. They froze in their tracks, while people began running down the street beside them.  
"W-what's that?" Matt asked.  
Vincent looked at him, "I really, really hope we don't find out."  
Heavy footsteps drew closer, as they could make out the outline of a seven or eight foot tall figure approaching them.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
The three boys looked between each other before Matt screamed, "FRANKENSTEIN!"  
They ran down the street and ducked behind Nikki and Logan. Sal held Tayla in his arms.  
"It can't be Frankenstein" Sal said.  
Nikki's eyes changed back, "Yes it can be."  
Sal looked at her and backed behind her too, "Why do you say that?"  
"Because I actually met him once" Nikki said, "Sal, why are you acting like a child? They have an excuse, you don't."  
The lumbering footsteps drew nearer, and Nikki wasn't surprised to see the Frankenstein monster himself draw out of the shadows.  
He stopped upon seeing them, and recognized her. In an almost Hulk-meets-Herman-Munster voice he said, "Nikki!" He laughed and lumbered toward her, lifting her up in a bear hug. She laughed, patting his huge shoulder, "Hey Frank. Can you put me down?"  
"Been long" he said.  
"Too long" she agreed.  
"How long?" he asked.  
"Over a century, I think" she said.  
He put her down and looked at her, "Old. But not old."  
"It's a long story" she said, sighing.  
Matt snickered, "Your mom just let him get away with calling her old."  
"Shut up" Vincent said, stepping on his foot.  
Matt yelped, and Frankenstein focused on them, "Little people."  
He lumbered forward and picked up Vincent and his friends in both of his arms, laughing as he hugged them. Matt went pale, looking like he would scream, but didn't. Andrew was quiet, and Vincent laughed, "He's like Hulk or something!"  
Frankenstein put them on the ground and looked at Tayla. She smiled at him, and held out her bag of candy, "Want some?"  
He looked into it, and took out a candy bar, "What this?"  
"Candy" she said.  
He started to put it, wrapper and all, toward his mouth, and Tayla laughed, "No, you have to unwrap it first." She opened it, and put it back in his hands. Frankenstein popped it in his mouth and laughed, "Candy good."  
Tayla smiled. Sal looked scared out of his mind.  
Nikki walked over to Frankenstein, "What are you doing here?"  
"Igor get mad. Talk loud. Frank go away. Walk long. Come here" he said.  
"He took you to Alaska?" she asked.  
Frankenstein shook his head, "Hudson Bay."  
"That's the other side of Canada" Vincent said.  
Frankenstein nodded, "Walk long."  
Nikki looked around, seeing the streets were deserted, "Sal, why don't you go take the kids down a few streets? Logan, want to go with them?"  
Sal nodded, "Ok." Matt ran over and practically clung to his leg, while Andrew and Vincent smiled before walking after them. Logan shrugged, "I'll stay."  
She laughed, and whispered to Frankenstein, "Trick-or-treating isn't his thing."  
Frankenstein laughed. Logan sighed, "Just what we need, another Hulk."  
"Will everyone stop comparing him to Hulk?" Nikki said, annoyed, "He's smarter than that."  
Logan chuckled, and they turned the corner. The people who had been on the previous street stopped in their tracks, but those who hadn't been marveled. A guy dressed as a hippie passed by Frankenstein, "Authentic costume man."  
Frankenstein nodded, "Thanks man."  
"Right on" the hippie said as he passed by.  
Nikki laughed as she leaned on Logan's shoulder.  
TBC  
Chapter 7  
The Howletts returned home later that night, Vincent and his friends going to go have a sleepover complete with the horror movies Nikki didn't need to ban since she knew they'd just watch them anyway.  
"So what went on while I was here?" Daken asked as Nikki plopped down on the couch beside him.  
"Well, we ran into Frankenstein's monster. He went trick-or-treating with us for a while, and then Igor had to come pick him up. I really don't want to know what's going to go down at the castle now that Frank has sugar. Let's just hope my uncle doesn't show up again."  
Daken laughed, "Think it'll be that bad?"  
Nikki looked at him, "Honestly? Worse."  
Logan sat down in the chair next to the couch, and Nikki rested her head on the back of the couch, "I love Halloween, don't get me wrong, but this would be so much easier if I had ended up like you guys."  
Daken and Logan looked at each other and then looked at her and both said, though in different words, the same thing, "Oh no it wouldn't."  
The End

**Jumping In Leaves (OS)**

The full moon hung high and bright overhead as Nikki and Sal tore through the trees like bullets from a gun. They were racing each other again. The leaves had mostly fallen, as the air had fallen down between the thirties and forties, and they knew snow was on it's way. It made Nikki smile, as much as she loved the warm weather, snow always made her happy.  
Sal leapt in his wolf form after a lone firefly, and jumped into a pile of leaves in the process. Nikki stopped to laugh, "What're you doing?"  
He phased back, up to his waist in multicolored leaves, "Jumpin' in leaves. What else am I doing?"  
She laughed, and walked ahead a few steps, before turning around and leaping into the large leaf pile herself. She laughed as she lay back against a tree, "I haven't done this since I was a kid!"  
Sal smiled, "You seem to be a lot more at peace since you quit. I think this life suits you, you know? Staying home, doing the things you want to do when you want to do them, running at nights, the things you like."  
Nikki smiled, and stood up, "I do like this. The problem is, I know we'll be going back to it. However long it is, fifteen days or fifteen years, we'll always end up going back to it. It's in our blood."  
"Or maybe your blood just got spilled in something else?" Sal said. Nikki looked at him questioningly. "Don't worry about it."  
Nikki began to walk through the bare trees, Sal standing to follow her. Her hands brushed the trees, and then her steps changed. She turned in a circle with her steps, and then her arms swung out, her fingertips brushing the bare bark of the trees, and soon, she was dancing. Sal just watched her. He'd never seen her so...happy. There was no other real way to describe it. She was spinning and twirling and dancing as if she had a partner through the bare trees under the moonlight. It was a moment he felt blessed to see. He held out his hand wordlessly, and she gave him a small smile as she took it.  
Then, they danced. Like it was nothing but a run in the woods, jumping in leaf piles, they danced through the trees like it was part of the moonlight. She spun free of his gentle grip on her hands and turned to howl at the moon, his howl joining her. It was a moment she'd missed sharing with him. Having a best friend to share the moon with.  
"Let's not think of the future all the time" Sal said, "Because all it holds is change, and neither of us want anything to change. So let's let time pass and nothing will change."  
Nikki laughed, and turned back to him, "That doesn't sound so bad."  
She looked back up at the moon, and back to him and her grin came back to her lips, "Race you back." She took off running, and he'd never let her know, but he gave her a head start.  
The End  
**Personal Sitcom**

Chapter 1  
"And we are online" Vincent said, grinning, as he flicked on the monitors. The entire system, a complex blend of sound equipment, video monitors, camera controls, speaker controls, and much more, went online at once. Vincent took the headset and looked into one monitor, seeing his friend Matt's face reflected in one of the screens, "Ready to start taping?"  
Matt grinned, "Yeah."  
He flicked on the cameras and it began, and Vincent laughed, "I can't wait until you see this man. This is going to be awsome! Just wait until you see this, my aunt's a dork around us, just imagine what she'll be like in private!"  
Matt laughed openly, and his screen went blank. It was midafternoon, and there seemed to be nothing really going on in the King house. Jareth was sitting on a lounge in the library, reading to Freddie. She was biting her thumb.  
Jareth jr was running around with the goblins, and suddenly, he toppled, and the floor-sized lamp toppled over. He looked horror stricken for a moment, before he got one of the goblins to grab a little broom and sweep the glass under the thick carpet. He put it back upright, turning it around, and made sure of his freedom. They continued to run.  
And Elie was climbing into the closet. Vincent leaned forward, interested, as she took out a book and began to read. 'In the closet?' Vincent asked, and then burst out laughing. Elie was...wow. Even more wow when she wasn't there.  
"What's so funny?" Tayla asked from the doorway. She hopped up, looking at the screens. She huffed as she jumped, "Why is" huff "auntie Elie" huff "reading in a" huff "closet?"  
"Because she's weird" Vincent said.  
Tayla grabbed the house phone Vincent had in his room and called Elie from the built-in phonebook. Elie picked up the ringing phone at her side, and Vincent mentally cussed, Tayla couldn't end this for him now!  
"Auntie Elie why are you reading in the closet?" Tayla asked, the picture of innocence.  
"Because it's the only quiet place in the house. Can I go back to my book now?" Elie asked.  
"Ok, bye auntie" Tayla said.  
"Bye" Elie said, and hung up to return to her book.  
Vincent sighed, and took the phone from Tayla, "You, out. Please. Now."  
"Okay" Tayla said, and ran outside.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
It was late into the night when Vincent woke up to the sound of talking on the monitors. It was Friday night, and he thanked the higher powers he didn't have to get up in the morning, and that he'd already convinced his mom to go tape his cartoons for him, since she was half addicted to them herself.  
He lifted the headphones and looked at Elie and Jareth's bedroom. Elie woke up panicking, and Jareth sat up with her. Vincent laughed at Jareth's hair, comparing the usually feathery blond mess to Albert Einstine at that moment.  
"Elie, what's wrong?" Jareth asked groggily.  
"They were beating me with saxaphones! And...and David Bowie was sitting on a giant pear!"  
Jareth groaned and fell back to bed, "Go to bed Elie."  
"I'm serious!" Elie said.  
"So am I" Jareth said back, falling asleep.  
"But...but...Jare-bear..." Elie said, and Vincent fell out of his chair, laughing hysterically.  
"Oh....my...god!" he gasped, laughing unbelieveably hard.  
In the morning, Vincent woke up on the floor, having lay there laughing well into the night before falling asleep there. He'd been woken by the sounds of Elie making cereal for breakfast.  
"Momma, can I have something cooler?" Jareth Jr asked.  
"Like what?" Elie asked.  
"Something...experemental" Jareth Jr said.  
Elie laughed and smoothed his hair, "You were the one making me eat bacon with cheese and cherry yogurt when I was pregnant, weren't you?"  
Jareth Jr beamed widely, "I am cool like that."  
Freddie rolled her eyes across the table and looked back to her little napkin drawing of shooting her brother.  
"Freddie, that's not nice" Elie said, and took the drawing from her.  
Freddie scowled, "But it's true. He annoys me."  
"You annoy me" Jareth jr said and stuck out his tongue.  
She rolled her eyes and returned to her cereal.  
Vincent laughed, glad he was taping, and went to go grab breakfast himself.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Vincent laughed as he uploaded several of the videos to the web site he and Matt were running now, "This is web show gold!"  
"And what exactly would that be?" Daken asked.  
Vincent turned to face him, "Swear on your life neither of our parents will find out."  
"Depends" Daken said, "What's in it for me?"  
"C'mere" Vincent said.  
Daken shut the door as he walked in, and laughed at some of the footage, "You're practically blackmailing Elie."  
"I'm not, just embaressing her" Vincent said.  
"Here's what you have to do with that now" Daken said, and began to form a plan with his little brother.

Elie looked at the manala envelope on the counter. It was adressed to her. That usually was not a good thing. She reached for it, hesitated, and drew back. She reached for it again, hesitating, and drawing back.  
Vincent sighed, and half wanted to yell through one of the speakers for her to open it, but didn't.  
Elie finally reached for it, and tore it open. Vincent waited. Elie's eyes widened as she looked around the room. Her eyes focused on the camera, and went past it. She hadn't seen a thing.  
Vincent grinned at the promise of a new drama, and went to the door to go yell over to Daken. Laura was waiting outisde. She grinned at him, and said quietly, "You are so busted. Daken filled me in on everything."  
"But...but..." Vincent said quietly, trying to protest.  
"On one condition" Laura said.  
"What?" he asked.  
"Introduce a new love intrest. Someone Elie has to really like. Bring back Connor or something" Laura said, walking back to her room.  
"But Connor's a doorknob!" Vincent hissed, but she was already back inside her room.  
TBC

Chapter 4  
Elie was in her closet, on her phone with Nikki, but Vincent wasn't paying attention to the pathetically girly stuff. He was busy watching Jareth jr run around the house with a metal baseball bat and chase goblins while yelling, in a terrible singing voice, the Star Wars theme.  
"This is gold! Complete gold!" he said quietly, fake sniffling, "I'm so proud!"  
"I wish I could say the same thing" Nikki said, leaning on the door frame.  
Vincent spun around and looked between the monitors and his mother, "I swear to god this isn't what you think it is."  
"I know it isn't. Imagine my surprise when I come across the website you and Matt run. Of course, my intrest was piqued, and I checked it out, only to find my sister embaressed so many ways I didn't think it was possible" Nikki said.  
"I...I...I cannot atone for my sins!" Vincent said.  
Nikki busted up laughing and pulled his chair over, "I'm not asking you to. I'm saying why didn't you let me in on this? I'd embaress Elie like no tomorrow. I'd make her do the freakin Caramelldansen!"  
Vincent smiled, "So you're not mad?"  
"No. Just let me in on the master plan next time, okay?" Nikki asked.  
"Well, it's just a web show. Matt's sick, and he wanted something funny to watch. I told him about Elie, and we made the web site. Then Daken wanted to turn it into a drama, Laura wanted to make it a romance, and Tayla's the only one who hasn't asked for anything of it yet" Vincent said.  
Nikki laughed and stood, guiding his chair back over to the desk, "You can't please everyone. Just like with my writing, I write the stories I like, not what everyone else tells me to write. Then again, I have enough plot bunnies hopping around in my head it's sometimes hard to keep everything on topic."  
Vincent looked at her, "Do I have plot bunnies?"  
She smiled, almost giggling, but held it back, "Everyone does. Especially at your age. Dig around in your mind, sometimes you have to lift up the metaphorical carpet for a plot bunny to come hopping out."  
"Thanks mom" Vincent said.  
"Anytime" she said, and hugged him tightly, "Oh, and by the way, I hope you plan on ratting out your cousin, because I'd be willing to give you five bucks for everything Jareth jr's done so far."  
"Mom, make it a dollar, because otherwise you'd be broke" Vincent said.  
The End  
**Two Wolverines and A Kitten**

Chapter 1  
Nikki heard the familiar revving of Logan's motorcycle and smiled. But the second voice she heard over the engine, an unfamiliar, clearly female one, sent jealousy through her for an unknown reason. She walked downstairs to lean on the railing into the living room as they walked in.  
"Darlin" Logan said, his eyes lighting up as he looked at her. It made her smile, and secretly be pleased.  
The smell wafted through the air before its owner entered. She was flamin' gorgeous, so much so Nikki's ego took a strong hit looking at her. And her smell, it was thick, like chocolate, and she smelled like warm vanilla and sugar. The female was curvy, and clearly a mutant. She had blonde hair with black spots on it, like a cheetah. A soft golden fur covered her visable skin. Nikki felt her eyes change color, fading to black. The female had slitted golden eyes, just like a cat. She wore a low-cut green tunic, most of her arms exposed, a gold waist belt and black jeans with black ballet flats. It was a look Nikki would've loved, on anyone else.  
"Baby, this is Cheetara. She's a mutant, like us" Logan said, looking to her.  
Nikki noticed the small claw like nails, perfectly manicured and painted black with a green tint. "Are the claws it?"  
Cheetara was suddenly at her side, "Nope."  
"Cheetah girl. Nice" Nikki commented.  
"That and more" Cheetara said, "I have some psychic capabilites. But only some."  
"Good for you" Nikki said.  
Cheetara made a soft mewling snarl, and Logan sighed, "Kitten, be nice."  
Nikki turned around seeing Cheetara's pleased expression, "Kitten?"  
"Her. I call her Kitten" Logan said.  
Nikki clenched her teeth and looked at him, "Kitchen. Now."  
Cheetara watched them walk off, and looked partly surprised.  
Nikki stormed into the empty kitchen, fuming, and looked at him as he walked in after her, "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" She asked in a hushed, but still angry, snarl.  
"A female feral" Logan said.  
Nikki clenched and unclenched her fists, "What. Is she. To you?"  
"My friend who's a girl" Logan said.  
"Right. Sure. HAVE YOU LOOKED AT HER?!" Nikki asked, "I took an ego hit seeing her walk in. And have you smelled her? My god she's like Bella Swan or something!"  
Logan gently took ahold of her arms, "There is no reason to be jealous of her, okay? She's a sweet girl."  
Nikki scowled, "That's it? She's a freakin bombshell! She could put a playboy model off the cover!"  
Logan laughed, "She's cute, but darlin, she's not you."  
"Oh that helps so much" Nikki said, crossing her arms over her chest.  
"Don't be jealous. Please. I love you. But I really do care about her. So let her stay, okay?" he asked.  
"Stay? As in live here?" Nikki asked.  
"C'mon, just for a while" Logan said. He gently held her face, and leaned in, his forehead pressing to hers, "Please?"  
She sighed, "Ok, fine. Just for a while."  
He smiled, kissing her tenderly, "You won't regret it. Who knows, maybe you two can be friends."  
She smiled, but once he went out of the room she muttered, "Me. Friends with her. Right."  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Nikki scowled as Cheetara walked in.  
"Hey Nikki" Cheetara said, sitting down.  
"What do you want?" Nikki asked, glancing at her.  
"C'mon, what's up with you?" Cheetara asked, scooting closer.  
Nikki didn't reply.  
"Look, I get where you're coming from. I'm not going after Logan. He's just my friend" Cheetara said.  
Nikki glanced at her, "Seriously? Have you looked at him?"  
Cheetara laughed, "Yeah, I know he's hot, but I don't know, he doesn't like me like that, so I don't like him like that. You get it, right?"  
Nikki glanced over to her, "So what's your deal, how'd you end up here?"  
Cheetara shrugged, "I'd rather not talk about it."  
Nikki gave her a glance before nodding, "I know the feeling."  
Cheetara sat in almost companionable silence with her until she shifted, leaning on Nikki's arm. Nikki caught Cheetara's scent, and leapt up, almost making Cheetara fall over.  
"What-?" she began.  
"Sorry. You're...a little much to handle" Nikki said.  
"Oh...the vampire thing" Cheetara said, "It's okay, I'll just...keep a distance."  
"Don't worry about it" Nikki said, "I'll be right back."  
She was back in a few moments, with a mug of microwave-warmed blood.  
"You...drink that?" Cheetara asked.  
"Do you want me to bite you?" Nikki asked.  
"No" Cheetara said.  
"Then yes, I drink this" Nikki said.  
They returned to their silence, the TV playing before Cheetara asked, "Why did you treat me like a threat to you? I mean, yeah I know it's weird to have a guy with a girl who's just a friend, but...you married him. He loves you and you know it, so why even be threatened?"  
Nikki shrugged, "My ego took a big hit seeing you. It's not every day that I honestly start doubting my immortality."  
"Why?" Cheetara asked.  
"Because. You walked in, and I just felt...wrong. Like I was the one intruding on you and Logan, not the other way around. It scared me. I still don't like it" Nikki said.  
Cheetara was quiet, "Oh."  
Nikki's eyes stayed on the TV. Cheetara looked at Nikki again, "So...do you think we could ever...not be enemies?"  
Nikki let a small smile quirk her lips, "Yeah. Besides, it'd be nice for you to have a friend who was a girl, right?"  
Cheetara laughed, "Yeah."  
Nikki moved, and let Cheetara rest her head on her arm again.  
"You know, you're not as addictive when I have liquid willpower in my hands" Nikki said jokingly.  
"Well thank you. So I'm not...terrible?" Cheetara asked.  
"No. You smell like warm vanilla and sugar. But it's thicker" Nikki explained.  
"Hm, I do smell good" Cheetara said.  
Nikki laughed, joined by Cheetara's almost purring giggle.  
Logan watched them warm up to each other and smiled.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
Nikki was happy to awake the next morning, and as she looked around, she felt something was...off. Which, considering who they were, didn't surprise her.  
Logan walked in the bedroom door, clad only in his pajama pants, which made Nikki smile. Her smile fell seeing his expression, "What's wrong?"  
"Kitten's gone. She didn't take anything with her either" Logan said.  
"Do you know where she would go?" Nikki asked.  
"No. We're the only people she has out here" Logan said. He was clearly worried, and Nikki sighed, "You want me to go look for her?"  
Logan looked at her, "Baby, you don't have to."  
She sighed, climbing out of bed, "I will though, and yes, I do have to."  
"Why?" Logan asked.  
"Because she's your friend. I'd do it for Kurt, I'll do it for her" Nikki replied.  
Logan looked at her, a small smile on his lips, "Want me to follow?"  
"I'll be going the senic route love, you won't be able to keep up" she said, kissing him gently, "but you're making up for lost sleep when I get home."  
He smiled, pressing his forehead to hers, "Of course."  
She used her vampire speed to grab an outfit suitable for flying, and he almost pouted, "You didn't let me see."  
She laughed, and strode over to him, one boot still unlaced, "You'll see plenty later."  
He took her face in his hands, pressing their lips together. Warmth surged through her blood as she kissed him back, her hands resting on his.  
He drew back only slightly, "One for good luck."  
She smiled, and reached down to tie her boot, and stood back up again, kissing him gently, but warmly once more, "And one for the road. I'll be back soon."  
He nodded, and she went for the window, turning back to smile at him before she leapt out, and her body disinagrated. Her bat form couldn't handle the light, and going wolf would shred her clothes and shoes, things she needed this time. Becoming a mist was easy, but spreading herself out...was the hard part. She had to focus to extend herself, covering the whole forest at once. She could see everything, everywhere, as she furthered herself. It was an assault on her senses, making her want to loose her focus and drop to the forest floor and just try something new, but she didn't. Sixteen miles away from the direction of the lake, there was a shed-like shack, and an all too familiar scent came from inside. She snapped back to herself, feeling like a rubber band, and focused on the shack. She forced the mist that was herself through the cracks in the walls, and shuddered as she came in, "Ugh, I feel like Beetlejuice."  
Cheetara's head snapped up, "Who said that?"  
Nikki came to rest in her human form on the floor, "Me. Miss me?"  
Cheetara looked at her, "Where'd you come from?"  
"Where she came from doesn't matter, but where you're both going, does" a man said.  
Nikki turned, and cussed quietly, "Well this isn't good."  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
"Moon Knight?" Nikki asked.  
"Hello Rina" he said.  
"What the hell man?" she asked.  
"You don't understand. She never told you her past, did she?" he asked.  
"It doesn't matter" Nikki said, standing to face him, "You're going to let her go."  
"Your compulsion doesn't work on me" he said.  
"Oh really? Then how about this" she asked, and whipped around in a carefully styled martial arts kick.  
He went back a few feet, "Ouch." He flipped out two machetes and lunged at her. Her claws came down, blocking them, "Never bring knives to a claw fight."  
With his weapons still in her grip she jerked up her knee, hitting him in the stomach, and whipped around to kick him in the side, sending him to the floor. She caught his knives out of mid-air, "Do you seriously want to play with me while I have your weapons?"  
He looked at her, almost shocked, as she put a foot on his chest, "Well?"  
He took ahold of her ankle and she twisted to the side, flipping him over as he tried to grip her. She winced, feeling the joint pop apart, and Cheetara's eyes went wide. Nikki freed her ankle from his grip, and with a loud cracking pop, she fixed the joint. Moon Knight was looking at her, surprised by her move, as she leaned down and flipped him onto his back once more, her grip on his throat strong, "I wouldn't piss me off if I were you."  
He looked at her, and tried to pry her hand free. She smiled wickedly at him as her grip tightened on his throat.  
"Let...go" he choked.  
"When you let her go" she said.  
"I...can't do..that" he choked.  
"Too bad" she snarled.  
A quick flick of her wrist, and a crack, and he was limp.  
Cheetara gasped, "Did you...?"  
"No. He's alive, but paralized. I'm not going to let him hurt you" Nikki said, and quickly broke the chains on her arms and legs. She rubbed her neck, and stood, "Thanks."  
"No problem. Come on, we need to go home" Nikki held onto her shoulders as she shuffled forward.  
"Need help?" Nikki asked. Cheetara nodded. Nikki took ahold of her arms and pulled her up onto her back, "Better hold on tight kitty girl."  
Cheetara did, and the trees blurred by as Nikki raced through the forest back in the direction of home.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Cheetara relaxed on the couch from the time they'd gotten home. After a few hours, Logan was still happy, but Nikki was worried. She walked out of the kitchen with two spoons and a carton of ice cream, "You okay?"  
Cheetara sighed and moved aside for her to sit down, "That wasn't good back there."  
"I know" Nikki said.  
"This wasn't the first time this happened, either" she admitted.  
"Why is he after you?" Nikki asked.  
"Because of where I popped up. I...I showed up at the wrong place at the wrong time with my powers. I almost got killed. I never meant to hurt anyone, but it was dying or fighting back, and I didn't want to die. I don't want to die..." Tears pooled in Cheetara's glowing golden eyes and began to drip down her face.  
Nikki wrapped her arms around Cheetara, letting her lean into her shoulder and cry. Nikki smoothed Cheetara's soft spotted hair, "Look, I wasn't there, but I can promise that if he's after you for beating on one of his buddies that would've killed you, I'll take the sorry #%^ out for you."  
Cheetara cried, clutching Nikki tightly, "Y-you would?"  
Nikki gently lifted Cheetara's face so their gaze could meet, "Yeah. I would."  
Cheetara's tears flowed faster, "But...no! That can't be right! N-nobody ever said that, n-nobody ever loved me."  
Nikki held her tightly, "No, don't say that."  
"Nobody ever has! I've always been the freak, the animal, I've never been anything!" Cheetara cried.  
Nikki smoothed her hair, "You are. You're Cheetara. You're sweet, and beautiful, and wonderful. I couldn't have asked for another girl for my husband's friend, or mine."  
"You'll abandon me. Just like everyone else" she said quietly.  
Nikki stroked her hair, "No. I won't. Listen to me Cheetara, I love you. We both do, but one thing I can say without a doubt, is I do. You've become like a sister to me, even with hesitation there. You're the sister-in-law I never got."  
Cheetara looked up at her, "Do you mean that?"  
"Of course. God, look at yourself and look at me, do you honestly think you're the freak here? That's my thing" Nikki said, and nudged her gently.  
"Your family accepted you" Cheetara said, "Mine didn't."  
Nikki gave her a gentle squeeze, "No one's really ever does. Mine, they're all freaks, mentally even worse than me, so they can't talk and they know it."  
Cheetara looked at her, "Worse than you?"  
Nikki laughed, grinning brightly, "Shocking, I know."  
They both laughed, and Cheetara looked at her, her eyes glowing, "Thanks."  
"Yeah, yeah, anytime" Nikki said.  
Cheetara wiped her cheeks, and Nikki looked at her, "I just noticed, you don't have fur on your cheeks."  
Cheetara laughed, "Not my face, just...everywhere else."  
Nikki laughed, "Advice? Marry a werewolf."  
Cheetara laughed and reached for the ice cream, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." She took a spoon and dug in, with Nikki doing the same on her side.  
"To family?" Nikki asked.  
"To adopted family" Cheetara said. They grinned at each other and clinked their spoons together as their attention returned to the TV.  
The End

**So Sick (NPOV)**

Part 1  
The morning dawned to being alone. I hated Cyclops for pulling him out like this, especially when he knew this wasn't us anymore. I sighed, standing, and went to go make breakfast.  
The phone rang as I reached the kitchen, and I lifted it, "Hello?"  
"Darlin, don't come after me" Logan said, quietly and urgently.  
"Logan, what's wrong?" I asked.  
"It was a trap. This whole thing, Cyke never said anything" Logan said.  
"Well get out of there!" I said.  
"Darlin, no matter what goes down in the fight, stay safe, I love you. Always" Logan said.  
"Logan, don't say that! Where are you?!" I asked, beginning to pace.  
"In the air over Romania. Listen to me, be safe. I love you" he said.  
"I love you too" I said, afraid.  
"Damn it" he cussed quietly. The line died.  
"Logan?" I asked, "Logan?!"  
I hit the counter, nearly breaking it. I lifted my cell, and began to speed-text his old friends, The Avengers and the X-Men. We had to find him.

"What do you mean it's a cold trail?! It can't be a cold trail!" I shouted, looking at Cyclops.  
The truth was, I could believe it was a cold trail. I couldn't feel him there, on the edge of my mind, like I could usually. The fact that they couldn't find him, it just made my heart ache even more deeply. I wondered, for the breifest of moments, if I'd lost him. If I'd lost my whole world in a moment.  
"Don't worry Nikki, we'll find him" Luke said, touching my shoulder. But it was too late, the beginnings of my heart tearing had started.  
"Do everything in your power Luke" I said, turning to face him, "And I mean everything."

2 weeks later

It was almost as if a hole had been punched in my chest. I couldn't breathe right anymore. Every moment I'd been awake, had been filled with the worry I'd never see him again. That had been the first few days. After the first week, I'd given up hope all together. I hadn't fed like I should, hadn't eaten in almost a week, hadn't drank more than half a bottle of water in the past two days. I stared at my face in the mirror for a moment, my eyes sallow from the tears that had run every time I'd slept at first, and then after that first week, I'd given up sleeping too. I'd woken every night, several times, from the nightmares that only my own cries could wake me from. I'd given up on putting on a strong, brave face and acting like it was okay. It wasn't. I knew it wasn't, and it wasn't. I'd tried to convince them to abandon me, that life without Logan just wasn't one worth living, but Elie, Sal and Daken had always stayed within reach. The first few days, Elie kept trying to cheer me up, then she gave up and only tried for comfort. That didn't work. She'd convinced Kim to stay behind while she'd come. It wasn't like I was the only worried one, I knew I wasn't, but I was the worst. I still had hope, a small, tiny part of me still had hope, but it was fading quickly. Sal had said he'd be here when I needed him, but I couldn't ask anything. I didn't need a Jacob, I needed to be alone. Daken was more persistant. He tried to get me to eat, to try to stay alive. His efforts were wasted though. I hated it. My tears had run dry days ago, and they hadn't run since. The hopelessness in my eyes reflected, and I knew, I wasn't whole. They could try all they wanted, but I wouldn't be whole until I was with him again. If all I could do was wait, I wanted at least a sign. One, that was it. but it didn't look like God was on my side right now.  
TBC  
Part 2  
The pain was overwhelming. I lay in bed, my breath coming in ragged sobs as if my lungs didn't work properly.  
"Nikki?" Daken asked.  
'Who else?' I thought bitterly.  
He sat down by my side, putting my head on his leg while he rubbed my back. He tried to soothe my aching heart, something that just couldn't be done. There was no cure for my pain, no trying, and I hated it. I was so helpless, that nothing I could do could alleviate my desolation.  
"Are you ever going to speak to me?" he asked.  
"What's there to say? 'I'm sorry I'm in love with your father Daken, but the pain isn't going away. No matter how hard I try, I won't heal'?" I asked, so much bitterness in my voice that I was almost surprised to hear it from myself.  
He sighed, running his fingers through his hair, "C'mon, just...try. Please, seeing you like this kills me."  
I looked at him, and wondered what he saw. Maybe he saw what I felt. "Don't try anymore Daken. Please. I'm not worth it."  
"We all try, don't forget that. And no, I've promised you once, I will promise again. I will never, ever abandon you" he said, trying to reach for me.  
My heart twisted, wrenching and I leapt up. I couldn't take this. He sounded so much like Logan.  
"Go" I said, my arms instintively wrapping around my chest.  
"Nikki-" he began.  
"GO!" I shouted.  
He left the room, and I fell to my knees, my breathing uneven. I felt the need to reach out with my heart, my mind. The magic tried to find him, but couldn't. I felt the desolation coming over me again, and I couldn't find it. My claws came down, a small flash of physical pain, as they touched my wrists. Memories were flooding my mind, and I let them. I didn't care about the pain it caused me, I needed to remember him. I couldn't forget. Every precious moment, every moment of fighting for each other, the struggle for our love was what I had to remember. My claws were glinting in the light, stained red, and I finally felt hot, wet tears streak down my face.  
I fell to the floor, crying, my chest clutched in my bloody hand. I wanted to scream to the heavens, asking why I couldn't die. Asking why I didn't have him. What had I done wrong? Was this my payment for trying to atone? Was my destiny to be soulless, left on this earth in utter desolation?  
I wasn't aware of the blood soaking my shirt, but the hands on my arm were prying me out of the pained stupor I was in.  
"LET ME GO!" I shouted, pushing him back.  
Daken gripped my arms, forcing me to sit, "Damn it Nikki, stop this right now!"  
I glared at him, tears still running down my face, "Just let me go."  
"No" he said. He got down on his knees, still holding my arms, "If he is alive, do you think he wants to live without you? Do you think any of us want to look into his eyes and see that we let him down by letting you kill yourself? Do you even know if he's dead?"  
My heart ached numbly, "No."  
Daken pulled me into his arms, my arms just dropping. He held onto me, and I realized, he was crying too. I knew he didn't hurt like I did, but the pain, it was still there. and I was making it worse.  
"I'm sorry" I said quietly, my claws retracting. I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tightly, "I'll try again, if that's what you want. It won't change, but I'll try."  
He drew back, tears still flowing from his eyes, "That's all I can ask."  
TBC  
Part 3  
I'd finally really come out of my room, and had taken over where Elie left off with Vincent's math homework. The GPS on the table bliped to life, and I glanced up. It had zeroed in on a space in the mountians, in Romania. I knew that spot well, it overlooked the sea. If the jet was there...  
Vincent looked to see my expression, "Go mom. I can handle it."  
I kissed his head, "Okay. Have fun with this."  
"Yeah right, now go save dad" he said.  
I grabbed the GPS. It was about the size of a portable DVD player, and Daken looked up. His eyes widened, "We got a lead?"  
"Big one. We found the jet" I said. That little spark of hope grew a little. I didn't want it to become much more, but I couldn't stop it.  
"Let's go" he said.  
The other quinjet, as underused as it had been the past almost-two-months, started quickly. I felt the relief to get back out there, to go find him. Most of all, the hope was there.  
I heard the sonic boom we made myself, and I had no clue how fast we were going, just that in ten minutes, we had to slow down, as we were approaching the mountian range. The GPS was mounted in the control panel, the red blip that was the other quinjet growing closer. I saw it, and my heart soared, though I tried to force it back. We landed, and Daken was the first out in our race to feel the ground. Snow crunched under our feet, and I looked at the jet. It was unlocked, but had clearly been sitting here this whole time.  
"It's empty" Daken said, "It hasn't run recently."  
I looked over, and growled under my breath, "Remember where we are?"  
He glanced over, and the dark stone of the castle rose out of the pure white snow. There had clearly been more, as the footprints that had to have been here were filled in. We glanced to each other, hoping we'd have a lead here too, and started for the castle. The gate was open, which was a pure blessing. Slinking in as quietly as possible, I removed the grate on the lower window and pushed in the open latch. I glanced to Daken, who clearly looked like he'd support me if I fell, and I started to slide in, feet first. My feet touched ground, and I motioned to him before ducking inside. The warm air hit me instantly, a far cry from the cold outside, and I looked around. It was the old lab part of this place, and I went down the old wood stairs. It was strange being here, as it had been abandoned before I was born. The cages for the werewolves were ahead, and some part of me, probably the part with the hope, drew me there. My feet were silent sliding across the pure stone floor, and as I reached the first cell, my heart leapt up and did a flip in my chest.  
"Logan?" I whispered. I couldn't decide my emotion. I was shocked he was here, that I'd just found him by chance. Grief, seeing him so battered and bloody. I should've been here for him sooner! and then relief, he was here, he was alive. I could hear his heartbeat. His eyes started to open and I reached through the bars to touch his arm, "Logan, I'm here now."  
He opened his eyes, and his other hand touched mine, "I missed you."  
Tears filled my eyes, "I did too. So much."  
I took several deep breaths to compose myself, but I couldn't help but notice how my lungs worked right for the first time in weeks.  
Daken ran over, his feet quiet, and stopped, "Oh my god."  
"God has nothing to do with it" I heard the familiar voice, that sent so much hate through me it was unimaginable.  
"Vlad" I said, almost a snarl. Then, I felt Logan in my heart, in my mind, as if our connection had never been severed. He was trying to calm me, to stop me from doing something irrational. Too late.  
"You know, I never did know what you saw in him. I suppose that hunk of metal went back online and you found us through that, didn't you?" Dracula asked.  
I stood, "So you orchestrated this whole thing. Two weeks you put me through hell, for what?"  
He laughed quietly, "I was hoping you'd move on. But you're so stubborn..."  
The words made something in me snap. All that rage that had been building up deep inside me, it began to force its way out. I gave an inhuman roar as I leapt at him, and he instantly fought back. My vision was tinted with red as I felt my nails, now my wolf claws, slashing at him, tearing both fabric and body.  
A shock ran through me from the old machinary. The electricity being drawn to my adamantium, but on I fought, not giving up. He threw me back, and rusted, warm metal connected with my skin, as the sudden electricity jolted through me. I wasn't even aware of my scream, just Daken lunging at Dracula.  
I fell to the stone, and forced my head up, "No, Daken get the hell out of here! Go!" I shouted, knowing he'd have to go and we'd follow.  
"No Nikki-" he began.  
"GO! I won't tell you again!" I yelled.  
He looked at me, a glance of hurt. He didn't want to leave me. I needed him to, I needed one of us to make it out of here. I knew he could see that, and he ran for the small window we'd entered through.  
"No!" Dracula thundered, and I leapt at him, my claws ripping out of the back of my hands as fast as they ever had, and embedding themselves in his back.  
He roared, and with a strike of his arm I hit the wall across the room.  
"Damn it" I said quietly, starting to sit up.  
Dracula stalked to me as Daken got out, and I mentally sighed with relief. One of us was making it out today.  
"You think you've won?" Dracula asked.  
"Now that I'm here I know we will" I said.  
"Child, you have only proven yourself so, so wrong. You've seen what I've done to him, just imagine your fate now that you're here" he said, lifting my chin to face him.  
My gaze was cold, "Try me old man. We'll see how far you get."  
"Yes, we shall" he said, and let me fall to the stone floor.  
The End of part 1

**A Grim Fairy Tale-NPOV**

Chapter 1  
It had been another two weeks. The days had come and gone in my mind, and I knew more than anything that with each day, our chances of getting out in one piece lessened.  
Searing hot metal pressed to my side, hot enough to leave a third-degree burn had I been human. I bit back a cry, holding it in. Logan did the same for me, trying to be brave. But this was all we could do now. Endure. Survive. Try to see dawn break over the snowy mountain crest again tomorrow. I couldn't think of escape, not when I had to think of just staying alive. Through torture and starvation, as if I hadn't done enough of that on my own, we were still able to be together. That was what mattered right now.  
"So stubborn" my uncle said from across the room, "It will be your downfall."  
The dwergi pressed the hot metal into my side harder, jabbing it, and I hissed out a breath, laughing ruefully, "Keep trying old man, it'll take more than that to break me."  
"Oh, I know. I've seen your spirit at work before" he said, pausing, and looked directly at Logan and I, "The colors you wear, I wonder what they represent? Isn't the gray and black X-Force?"  
I snarled, just as the lash of a whip hit the dwergi, making the hot metal drop. I glared at Dracula, "Yeah, and? That just signifies it's true that we can kick your ^%."  
He snarled quietly, and with his speed he went across the room, slapping me hard across the face. Logan growled. I looked back at him, defiant, and my knee jerked up. He caught it, forcing it back down. He looked at me, his eyes as hard and cold as the polished rubies in a jewlery store window, and snarled quietly, "I will break you, or I will break the two of you apart."  
"I'd like to see you try" I said.  
"I will" he said grimly.  
Most people, human or not, would've gotten killed for what I did next, but I spit in his face. Logan smiled through gritted teeth, my defiance making him ignore the pain.  
Dracula snarled, and as if he would've struck out again, he drew back, "Pray the weak ones you call your friends come to your rescue, because I will make your life a living hell."  
"You can't. You broke me once, you made me die, but I've come back reborn. I'm a phoenix Drac, and I'm insane to the point where you can't reach anything I care about" I said.  
"You will snap, you will grovel at my feet and beg for mercy, even if I have to kill him to do so" Dracula said, deathly quiet.  
I laughed in his face, "Kill both of us, you'll see we come back. There is nothing you can do to make death anything but peaceful, life anything but a joke to be laughed at. And you, are quite the comedy yourself, worthless, spineless, worm."  
I had no idea what had gotten into me. Maybe it was the fact that there was a strong possiblity we would never escape. Maybe I really had gone insane, but I was having fun. He didn't strike me for that, rather gathered up his cloak as dramatically as a teenage prom queen and swept out of the room, the dwergi after him. The chains on my wrists came undone, and I let myself sink to the floor. Logan did, breathing slightly raggedly, but he laughed softly, "You really have changed without me."  
I reached out, pressing my hand to his cheek, "I wasn't me without you."  
His hand covered mine, and I smiled, leaning in and pressing my forehead to his. Dracula could starve us, torture us, even seperate us, kill us, and we'd take it all with a smile. Because through hell and high noon, we'd be together through it all. Though, there was still that nagging little part of my mind that wondered when the hell they would come and bust us out.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
For a change, he didn't come in the next day. We waited, anticipating, until well after dawn. I smiled at the sun on my face, and as much as I wanted to stay awake, Logan and I both fell asleep. It was much later when I woke, and the sound of the huge old grandfather clock chiming said it was around 9 o'clock. I stretched a moment, looked up at the sky, and fell back asleep, the weeks having caught up to me. The next time I woke, Logan was up too, and the sun was dawning over the horizon. We'd gotten a day to sleep, to relax, but was it really going to last two? After noon had come and gone, we did relax, seeing it was another day on our own. I wondered if Dracula was doing this on purpose.  
"We have to find a way out" I said, looking up to the barred window above the cell, a chilled breeze sweeping into the room. I sighed, stretching and spinning around in the small stone space.  
Logan chuckled, "Got any ideas?"  
I sat down beside him, having smiled enough for a while, "Back out that window, the one I came in."  
He laughed outright, and looked at me, "Babe, you're, no offence, tiny. You think I can fit through that?"  
I looked at myself, and it was true. I looked like I'd shrunk. I needed food, but I couldn't think of that, I would get too hungry.  
He gently nudged my face up, meeting his gaze, "What happened while I was here?"  
I moved forward, leaning on his chest. His heartbeat calmed me. "I wasn't okay anymore. I couldn't fight my emotions. It hurt too much."  
He rubbed my back, and he said quietly, "You tried to find me."  
"Every day" I said, listening to the steady sound that had always been my anchor to sanity, "Every day I would reach out and try to find you. When I couldn't...I thought I'd die. I tried to push the pain back, but...it never worked."  
His arms wrapped tighter around me, pulling me up onto his lap. He looked at me, "You didn't take care of yourself."  
"I was worried about you" I said quietly.  
His eyes were worried and intense, "Don't do that to yourself for me. Ever."  
"I won't promise you that" I said.  
He leaned in and captured my lips, so warm and tender, as if we had never been apart. As if our lives weren't possibly on the line at the very moment, and I kissed him back. My heart hadn't ached, not like it had healed, but as if there'd never been a wound in the first place.  
He drew back, holding my face, "We will get out of here. and when we do, I'm giving all this up. Cyke knows he can handle himself, so does Luke. There's nothing I need to do that doesn't involve me staying with you."  
I heard the sound of a jet, a high powered jet, cutting through air, and I looked up.  
"Do you think-?" I began, just as the ground shook with the force of something hitting it.  
We both looked to each other and smirked, "Peter."  
I heard quiet, approaching bamfs and beamed, "Kurt."  
The elf in question bamfed into view and gasped, about to say something when I leapt up and hugged him, "Am I glad to see you fuzzy!"  
Logan laughed and Kurt looked at us, "Tell us on the jet?"  
"They're fighting, aren't they?" I asked.  
He nodded.  
"Then take us to the fight. We'll tell you afterward" I said.  
Kurt sighed, "Same old Nikki. Logan, do you have a preference?"  
"Yeah. Going to whup this guy's ^$" Logan said, grinning at me.  
Kurt sighed again, "Of course."  
Then, we were standing on the balcony, overlooking the fight in the main hall. I turned, grabbing an old Arabian Nights looking scabbard off the wall, and looked back to Logan as I took hold of the side of the huge tapestry, "You know I've always wanted to do this."  
He laughed, "Yeah."  
I took hold of the sturdy cloth and smiled at them as I climbed up on the railing, and swung. I heard the scabbard go deeply into Dracula's back with a sickening sound and then slash through, as I spun around and landed on the stone floor. That was about the moment my mental image of fighting a black mist genie in an orange and gold Grimm fairy tales ariabian nights get up came to mind. I laughed under my breath as Dracula turned to face me. The fight had all but stopped with me coming in.  
"You..." he said quietly.  
I smirked, "Me."  
He roared and leapt at me, but with a spinning kick and a stab, he looked at me in shock as I embedded the scabbard though the exact center of his chest.  
"W-what?" he asked, and looked at me, "Y-you dare defy me?"  
I rolled my eyes, "I 'defied' you last century. As quoted, 'This time, it's personal'." He was down and out for now, and we all knew that. That look, the look I bet Jareth had twenty years ago being owned by a 'little girl' (as I knew he considered me that sometimes), dawned on his face, the entire room burst into cheering and applause.  
I fell as somebody tackled me and turned to see Daken, "What the-?"  
He hugged me, "Got you this time."  
I sighed and said, "Damn it Daken, aren't you too old to be glomping me?"  
He looked at me, his eyes dancing, "As long as it ticks you off I'll do it."  
I rolled my eyes, "Maybe it's not the action, but the person who ticks me off."  
He laughed, "You know you love me."  
"Not like that" I said.  
Logan pulled me up, almost dropping Daken, and he looked up, "Real subtle dad."  
Logan grinned and pulled me tightly into his arms, "So where were we?"  
I pretended to think a moment, "Oh yeah..." I said quietly, and wrapped my arms around his neck as he nearly picked me up in a kiss.

Our friends had been incredible about this whole thing, and when the jet touched down home, Vincent was the first person to get to us. He jumped up, making me pick him up, and I laughed, "Missed us?"  
"Do all of us a favor, give it up" he said.  
I laughed, "So cynical. You really are my kid."  
He hugged me tightly, and then I put him down and took Tayla out of Sal's arms. She buried her face in my neck and drew back after a minute, wrinkling her little nose, "You guys smell like water and rocks."  
I laughed, kissing her wrinkled little nose, "Give me a few minutes, I'll go shower."  
She smiled, "I'm glad you're back momma."  
"I'm happy to be back Tayla" I said. She ignored the smell of stone, that even I could smell on my skin, and held onto me tightly.  
Laura went to both of us, and for Logan's sake we ignored Kyle was there as anything else but a friend. I set Tayla down on the floor as we walked in. Suddenly, I had two people clutching me, almost breaking me in half, with unified shouting of my name.  
"Elie! Kim! Can't move!" I said.  
"You're home!" Elie shouted.  
"Yes, now I'd like to move!" I shouted. They both let go and beamed.  
Cheetara went over and hugged me, "Welcome back."  
"Thanks" I said as she went over to Logan. I looked over to Kim and Elie, "You guys mind holding down the fort while I go stop smelling like underground?"  
Elie began humming Underground by David Bowie (from Labyrinth AGAIN), and Kim smiled, "No problem."  
Walking upstairs, I'd just opened the door when Logan tugged me back into his chest, "Now where do you think you're going, hm?"  
I laughed, "To wash of the smell of dungeon."  
"Can I come?" he asked.  
I almost blushed, but didn't, and said, "Wouldn't have it any other way."

The End

**The Pack-NPOV**

It was a wonderful thing, having a pack. Being a wolf, the only thing about that kind of life that could be bad was being alone, but with my boys (and Leah, but she kind of counted in there), I was always far from it.  
Sal, Seth, Jake, Quil, Embry and Leah made up my pack. There weren't many of us, and while Jake technically had his own pack with Seth, Leah, Quil and Embry, and Sal and I had our pack of two, we were still trying to be a real pack, the lot of us.  
"Nikki!" Seth shouted as he bounded up to me, almost tackling me.  
I laughed, "Seth! God man, I'll never be able to really hold myself up right when you're running at me, will I?"  
He drew back, "Sorry."  
I hugged him as tightly as he'd hugged me, "Sure, sure."  
Embry lifted me off the ground from behind, spinning me around. I laughed, going along with it. They were idiots at times, but they were my idiots.  
"Ready?" Sal asked, running down and out to us.  
Embry looked to me and whispered, "Dog pile?"  
I grinned wickedly, "At your wish."  
"DOG PILE!" Embry shouted, and they all ran over to Sal, burying him under them. I busted up laughing as Leah ran up, "What is wrong with them?"  
I smiled, "They're our boys, what isn't?"  
They all leapt up, laughing and rough housing, and I mentally wondered how I could ever have not had a pack. The camaraderie, the sense of family with us, it was a tie we couldn't break.  
We ran off, Leah and I ahead, and shifted almost instantly. The feeling of changing into my half-wolf, keeping my ability to speak out loud and yet, the attributes of a wolf, along with our mental 'pack mentality'.  
'Woo-hoo! I love the cold winter air out here!' Quil yelled mentally, howling.  
I barked a laugh, 'Try living out here all year.'  
'Can we?' Seth thought to us.  
'You think they'll miss you down south?' I asked.  
'Damn Nikki, you're already considering the windy city south. You really are a snow bunny. Or, snow puppy' Embry chimed in. I kicked leaves in his muzzle.  
The others barked laughter, and Embry lunged for my tail. It started a playful game of chasing each other's tails. After a few moments, Embry fell and I laughed, running a circle around him, 'Too weak of a stomach for me?'  
Jake's head snapped up, 'Nikki, head's up.'  
I heard the approaching sounds of another pack, and I looked up, 'Look alive people.'  
A gray humanoid female lead the way into the clearing, with several others behind her. I remembered this one, and growled, "You're the b^%ch that went after my mate."  
She looked up, "Back on this territory? I thought I would've smelled the stink already."  
My boys growled, Leah included, and Seth sniffed himself, 'I don't smell that bad do I? A little leafy, but-"  
'SHUT UP SETH!' we all thought-yelled in unison.  
He whined, and I gave him a glance. He looked up to see me, and pulled up his head. He went over, and gave the gray female a thorough sniffing.  
"What the-?" she questioned, standing on two legs and stepping back.  
Seth went back over to me, 'She smells nice.'  
Jake leaned down and wolf-facepalmed. I reached out, stroking Seth's mangy hair with my clawed half-paw hand, 'Leah really did drop you when you were a baby, didn't she?'  
He growled quietly, 'I'm not stupid.'  
'No, you're Nikki's special ed puppy' Embry said.  
I glared at him, 'Please Seth, in all seriousness. You have their scents, right?'  
He nodded.  
'Then keep them in mind' I said, and turned back to the gray female, "What do you want on my land?"  
"Simple. I came to try again" she said.  
'Oh no you di'nt' Leah thought.  
Seth looked over to her, 'Oh yeah, and I'M special ed?'  
'Shut up, both of you' I thought to them.  
"Really, do you honestly think he's going to choose you over me? Look at our color differences little girl. I'm Hot Topic, you're Ambercrombie. You just don't measure up."  
She growled, low in her throat, an annoying sound, and looked at me, "We'll just have to wait and see."  
She trotted off and I growled under my breath, "Bitch."  
TBC  
The Pack- Part 2

Night had fallen, and alone, I made my way back to the clearing. I knew she'd be there, alone, and I looked forward to it. Some cute stuff had happened up until now, and as fun as that always was to deal with everybody else, it was time to think of just myself now. I was in this fight for a reason, and I was taking her down. For the girls, I'm the best there is at what I do, and I say that for a reason. I can't loose, not against her.  
My feet had just touched the cold dew on the grass of the clearing when she emerged, human, from the trees. I knew it was the gray female.  
"I really hope you've reconsidered" I said, "It'd be a shame to have to make a rug out of you. I don't kill animals."  
She snarled quietly, "We'll see who's making a rug out of whom."  
"Ooh, so sophisticated" I said sarcastically.  
She snarled and phased instantly. I laughed and lunged, my wolf suddenly coming into form. A roar ripped from her throat and I didn't care, I was beginning to loose myself. The red was dancing on my vision. "You'll never have him b^%tch! He's mine!"  
Our roars mingled in the air. I didn't know how deep her claws were going, but mine were stredding tendon, ripping muscle. Her roars filled with pain as much as rage. The red haze through my sight intensified, and I lost it completely. I was only aware of the metallic taste of blood on my tongue as my consious mind completely retreated, and my animal took over.

Dawn light broke over the sky, and I sat up, groggy. My face was dirty, streaked with dirt and blood as I sat up. My muscles were sore under my skin, wounds having healed. My jeans were torn, all of my clothes soaked through with blood, now dried. I was tempted to strip, but the idea of walking home and possibly encountering something, or someone even, on the way back was not an appealing one. I didn't know where gray was, and I didn't want to follow her trail either.  
It didn't take me long to hike back home. Logan was already outside. He'd heard my approach and stood as I entered the large clearing our house was in, "What happened?"  
His arms wrapped around me and I smiled, nuzzling into his neck, "I don't know. I lost it."  
He touched my face, gently easing me back to look at me. Once he knew I had no open wounds he seemed satisfied, "That your blood or Nyssa's?"  
I laughed, "So gray wolf has a name? I don't know, probably hers."  
He pulled me under his arm, against his side and brushed a strand of dry, formerly blood-soaked hair off my cheek, "We should probably go take care of this..."  
I laughed, "Doing laundry for me babe?"  
He shrugged, "Want me to?"  
I smiled, "You must really love me to do housework."  
He shrugged again, "Nope. I just love you anyway."  
His lips pressed to mine, and I locked the door behind us. The bitch was wrong, I'd won again. And the prize was all mine. I couldn't have asked for anything better, it just wasn't possible.  
The End

**The Phantom Of The Realto**

I'd only been down this road twice in my life, once just after the Realto Theatre had been built, and once here with Remy, just for a night out. Now, this would be the third time I'd ever been to this place, but not for fun this time. Rosalie, of all people, had come out here and swore that the play had been stopped by a ghost. The irony? The play had been The Phantom Of The Opera.  
Now here I was, walking into the same beautifully gilded theatre, taking the ornate steps up to the private balcony. The audience sat in the main balcony and the regular seats below. I climbed into the same private balcony I'd sat in the 1920s. The lights dimmed, my vision adjusting completely before they'd went out. I knew my eyes would be glowing from the lack of light, much like a wolf's. The actors were taking center stage, and after not long, I found myself entranced by the phantom's actor. Maybe he was the source.  
Just as the thought came to my mind, a light shook loose and fell to the stage, shattering and blackening the room. The crowd gasped and I watched intently while a gray misty form took center stage, an inhuman illumination seeming to come from his very core to illuminate himself and only himself. He'd taken the form of a man, and for a moment, I thought maybe I was close to a vampire. He was wearing a costume from the play, the white mask covering the side of his face, "Leave, now!"  
His voice was like honey, strangely warm and silken. It sounded like Jasper speaking, but stronger, more confident.  
The people ran, but I went toward the stage. Pushing my way through the thick black backstage curtains, I stepped onto the clear wood stage floor. The phantom seemed to snarl, "Go, get out of here! Get back!" There was an edge to his voice, and I stepped forward again, "No."  
He shifted forward, as there was no other way to describe the way he moved, mist trailing in tendrils after him, "Get back!"  
His hands were cold, almost wet as he pushed me back. The floorboard I'd been standing on cracked, and he grasped my arms, pushing me toward the edge of the stage. The floor cracked and I fell through. His cold presence followed me through. The floor hit my backside very roughly, and I growled under my breath, "Cripes!"  
He was standing in the corner, "Get out of here, leave!"  
"Why? What's going on here?" I asked.  
"GET OUT!" he thundered, pushing me behind him.  
There was a low snarling in the shadows as he ducked me behind the cover of his black cloak, and I saw a pair of bright red eyes, like a dog's, reflected back at us.  
TBC  
Part 2

"Get out of here" the red-eyed creatures inhuman voice snarled, "For we are not your biggest threat."  
"What?" I asked quietly.  
The phantom whirrled to face me, his eyes dark, his face grim, "The Hound speaks true. Go back, we will find you."  
"What?" I asked, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"  
"Go back to your family. They are in danger. You, are not yet. We will find you" the phantom repeated, "Go."  
I was sure now, everything he'd done, as theatrical as it was, was to get my attention. I grasped the floorboard above, and felt something under my feet lift me. I didn't look down to see what it was, rather than leaping up, jumping off the stage, and taking off at vampire speed as fast as I possibly could. It wasn't too long before I started catching up with the old Blackhawks. Government. Son. Of a. B^%ch.  
I reached home before I heard the 'copters, and without bothering to shut the door I yelled, "Everybody get what you need we have to go!"  
The thing was, having heroes for parents had apparently trained my kids to prepare for the worst. It had trained me myself. The things I'd always needed were kept stored in a bag I could easily grab and go with. I took all of two minutes to change, and by then, the faint sounds of the blackhawk was approaching. I took the stairs two at a time, barefoot, and looked at Daken. He looked at me, "You take Vincent, Tayla and Sal, I can get everyone else into town."  
I threw my arms around him briefly, "Go. Be careful."  
All he did was nod as we took off for the garage. Sal put Tayla in the near non-existent back seat, and I helped Vincent in. After Daken pealed out in his Jaguar, I closed the door to the Diablo and sped off. The place looked abandoned as soon as we'd left, and I knew, I just knew that I wouldn't be able to outrun this copter. I shifted my bag to the backseat and said quietly, "Sal, take the wheel."  
"What?" he asked, "Nikki, no-"  
I'd already leapt out, nearly phasing in an instant to shift, taking on the speed and prowess of a hunter just as I let them go. I had to get them away from here, to face this. This wasn't any ordinary helicopter, this was them. The ^%$#ing corrupted government that had gone after me and Logan in the first place. I just knew it. Machine gun fire opened, and I leapt out of the way. I wasn't afraid anymore. Swinging up into the treetops, I leapt head on at the blackhawk, to see a sudden dark swirl around myself. I beamed, and charged it. My claws sunk deep and allowed me to climb onto the hull. I swung myself in, propelling myself to slashing the first men I saw. These weren't government gone wrong. God-%^*#ing-damn it.  
I knew who they were the minute I'd begun fighting them. These twisted son of a b*^$hes were more than antimutant, these were the decendents of the Nazis. People like Hitler would be proud of them.  
"I suggest you get the *%$% off my land" I snarled.  
"Mutant freak! You'll never win!" one of them yelled.  
"Oh yes she will" the phantom said quietly, at my side. A snarling, drooling Hellhound was at my other. I grinned, exposing elongated fangs, "Shall we have some fun boys?"  
The dog bared it's teeth, chuckling darkly and the phantom's smile was as dark as my own, "We shall."  
Never in my life had I seen a gore-fest like this one. The hound's teeth shredded skin and muscle, making men scream in terror and pain. The phantom was strangely incapasitating, them being unable to touch him. And I, my claws out, was having the time of my life. The pilot was the only one left, and just as my claws slice his head off, blood from his jugular spilling down his remaining throat, the detonator was activated. The phantom and the hound disappeared as fast as they had come, and my instant reacton happened: I jumped. Not a brilliant idea, I will admit, but I'd only gotten that far in my plan when the trees came into contact with my skin. I grabbed a branch high on, and ended up slamming myself into the side of a huge evergreen.  
"Sonofa-" I began, and the branch snapped. I dropped, being bounced around like a freakin' pinball until I hit the ground. Hard.  
"Damn it, flying would've been easier" I muttered as I sat up. Most cuts were shallow, but the few deep ones would heal soon.  
"Nikki!" I heard a shout.  
I turned, and there was Logan. He went over to me, seeming relieved as he threw his arms around me, pressing me back against his his chest.  
"You alright baby?" he asked quietly, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead.  
I smiled, "Healing up."  
He looked over the bloody cuts and scrapes and sighed, "Knowing you it could've been worse."  
"Knowing me?" I asked, "What, am I human Bella now?"  
He laughed and lifted me up, "Darlin please, she could never measure up to you."  
I smiled, "You know I like it when you say stuff like that."  
He pressed his lips lightly to mine, "I know. C'mon, let's get back to the others."  
I snuggled into his arms, "Okay."  
TBC  
Conclusion

When we'd returned home, it was like nothing had ever happened. I went upstairs, sitting at my favorite spot in the windowseat of our bedroom as the sun began to set. My eyes drifted across the multicolored clouds, the grey-blues, lavenders, pinks, oranges and reds around the bright orange sun.  
Logan's arms wrapped around me, "Are you okay darlin?"  
I leaned against his chest, my arms resting on his, "Okay, but nothing more."  
He kissed my neck very gently, his lips lingering there, "Can I fix that?"  
I snuggled into his arms, "Just stay here with me."  
He kissed gently down my neck, nuzzling into the back of my shoulder.  
"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.  
"I can't help but thinking, what happened to the phantom? Why can't I help him? and the hound?" I asked.  
He gently rubbed my arms, "Baby, you may be trying to save the world, but it's not possible to do it all."  
I pressed my cheek against his neck, looking out the window with him. I saw the vague mists over the treetops, moving away, and I sighed, "Maybe. I'm still going to try."

The End

**Peace (OS)**

Logan smiled at me while we lay curled up on the living room couch, watching the single most gory movie we could find. The chainsaw revved, slicing off another limb from the man strapped to the table, and I winced. My stomach growled with thirst and I sighed, "Stay right here." He paused it, "Hurry back." I smiled, promised by the warmth of his arms, and grabbed a few blood bags out of the freezer. The cool, metallic smell reached my nose, and there were three different scents along with that. A warm, almost lilac, a rich strawberry, and a creamy, sort of lemon pie smell from each of the bloodbags. I loved the individual scent of each, and smiled to myself thinking of them combined. The warmth of the combined smells touched my nose as it warmed in the microwave. Tayla ran up and tugged on my belt, "Momma, can I come watch the movie with you?"  
"It's a little too scary for you honey" I said, stroking her soft hair.  
She pouted, "Please?"  
I picked her up, her arms wound around my neck, "How about the next movie we watch we all watch it together, hm?"  
She nodded, "Okay. Can we watch Dark Crystal?"  
I laughed, "Okay."  
I set Tayla down, kissing her head softly, and she ran out of the room to where I saw Sal leaning against the railing to the stairs, talking to Logan. He scooped up Tayla and I heard the words, 'New Moon' spoken. Oh lord.  
I walked back into the room, curling up against Logan's side. The man on TV screamed, and blood spurt twenty feet. I busted up laughing. Logan looked at me for a moment.  
"Baby, how much more fake can it get? That shot like twenty feet!"  
He laughed then, "Yeah, you're right."  
I curled into his side, his arm wrapped around me, and sipped at the sweet, warm blood in the mug in my hands.  
The nice change was the house was quiet, everyone having their own things to do. We finally had some time alone. Just as the killer's head got chopped off by a scantily clad blonde, Logan leaned in to kiss me. I set the mug down and wrapped my arms around his neck, our lips just barely brushing...  
"HEY PEOPLE!" Elie shouted.  
My shoulders slumped in a mix of annoyance and defeat, "Elie, bad timing."  
She was standing in the doorway, wearing a blue shirt, leggings and a huge, hideous pink tutu.  
"What, did you loose a bet or something?" Logan asked.  
Elie scowled, and I'm sure my expression stopped her from retaliating.  
"Eww, you guys are watching that?" Elie asked.  
I rolled my eyes, "Elie, please?" I almost wanted to yell it at her.  
She sighed, "Fine. I'm gonna go home and watch Twilight."  
I lowered my face into my hand. She walked out, shutting the door behind her.  
Logan removed my hand, tilting my face back up to his, "Now where were we?"  
I smiled, "Hm, about here." I leaned in, my arms wrapped around his neck, and we kissed. Yeah, I love nights like tonight!  
The End

**Forced Humanity (OS)**

Pretending you were a hero when you really weren't was one story.  
Playing for both/neither teams was an even more different one.  
But trying to play normal? That was a whole new story.  
I lay across a blanket outside, dew still clinging to the grass. The complete works of Edgar Allen Poe in my hands. I read my favorite poem over again. The cold breeze whipped through the air, almost ruffling the pages of my book. I closed it on the bookmark and let the wind ruffle my hair. I stood, feeling the wind blow back the sleeves of my shirt, my hair billowing around my face.  
I heard a laugh behind me and turned to see Logan. Uncerimoniously, I dropped to the blanket, grinning. He walked over and lay down beside me, his arms gently wrapping around my torso as he pulled me to his chest.  
"Today's a nice day" I said softly.  
He began to play with my hair, "Yeah."  
I rested against his chest and thought for a moment, "Do you ever think it's pointless trying to be something we're not?"  
He sighed, "Sometimes. I've had a lot of heartbreak baby. I've seen a lot of people I love die, my friends, loves, family, and I never thought I'd get a life like this. Then you came along, and I could see it happening. Then, look at us now."  
"We're pretending to be normal" I said.  
He rubbed my back, "No we're not. Babe, some of those guys I've worked with for about thirty years going back and forth from around here. They know I'm not normal, and hell, most people can tell. But you, well, you're slightly more obvious."  
I looked up to meet his eyes, "Really now?"  
He grinned, "Do you honestly think a normal woman could be even half as beautiful as you?"  
I rolled my eyes, "You are such a kiss up."  
"I love you. I'm biased" he said.  
He tugged me up, gently kissing my neck from my shoulder up.  
"Baby" I giggled, gently pawing at his chest. He chuckled, his lips pressing to my neck. He whispered in my ear, "Want to go inside?"  
I beamed, feeling him bite gently on my ear before drawing back to see me, his beautiful eyes reflecting such light, such joy, the sun was put to shame.  
"With you, always" I said.  
The End  
**Once Upon A Louie and Claudia**

Chapter 1  
1910  
He was beautiful. The water cascading off his slick raven hair and off his pale olive skin. He was Italian, from the Tuscan countryside, and in all my time out here, moving from place to place like the nomadic members of my kind, if they were that, he was the single most beautiful of us I'd ever seen. And his name was Marc, short for Marcus, but oh my lord was it beautiful when his name flowed from his voice. He was absolutely wonderful, and I couldn't imagine a day out here without seeing him.  
I'd taken up residence in Volterra out of necessity. Not with the Volturi, never with them, but on my own. I lived outside the walls of Volterra, but every day I would come into the Plazza Di Priori and pull water from the fountain. Marc would never be there, but I would always be able to look up and see the beautiful red curtains of his window. I always knew it was his, as I'd been there during Saint Marcus day the previous year. I knew Marc missed his home in Tuscany. I knew this, because sometimes, he'd go back and visit, and me with nothing else to do at night, took off after him through the trees. He seemed even more beautiful bathed in moonlight, laying among the flowers and high grasses. But today was different, I'd promised myself that. Today, he would finally know I existed.  
"Hello Marc" I said quietly, passing him on his way back into the plaza at nearly dawn.  
He looked over to me, his gorgeous golden brown eyes meeting mine, "Have we met?"  
"I've seen you around" I said.  
He walked over, taking my chin and leaning it up, "You are not a native of this place."  
"I'm Irish American. I've been in Romania for two years before I came here a year ago" I explained.  
His hand was soft, gently brushing along my cheek. I knew it was only to push back my flame red hair, but it still sent chills down my spine.  
"How old are you?" he asked.  
"Fourteen" I said.  
He scoffed, pulling back his hand, "Fourteen? Who could let a child be alone?"  
"I'm not a child" I said, keeping calm.  
He looked at me curiously for a moment, "Come back with me. I suppose you can stay for a while."  
"Where?" I asked.  
"With me" he said.  
My heart seemed to explode, as if it leapt out of my chest in a burst of confetti and started dancing. I kept my calm and smiled, "I'd like that."  
We returned to his loft. It was as beautiful and artistic as I'd imagined. The room was bathed in deep crimson, gold and emerald. He shut the curtians to the main room and looked to me, "You can take my bedroom since I have no guest rooms."  
The main fact was, as much as I felt for him, it was a strange mix of familial and not.  
"I..." I began, unsure of what to say.  
He sighed, "Come." He gestured to a room that was pure emerald, gold rimming the walls like in the main loft. The bed was huge, deep emerald green bedcloths and two small gold lamps on either bedside table. I looked to him. He was glancing at the portrait on the wall of an olive vinyard on the Tuscan countryside.  
He walked in, sighing, and pulled off his shoes. He was an impecable person. He hung up his jacket in the closet and turned back to me, "Do you have anything else?"  
I shook my head and he sighed, taking out a huge poet's shirt, "Stay as long as you please."  
I smiled meekly at him, not really used to interacting with people after being on my own the past year. By dawn, I'd returned to the room to find him reading a book.  
"What are you doing?" I asked.  
He sighed, "Come here."  
He allowed me to climb under the thick emerald quilt and lay my head against his muscled torso. Then, his sweet, soothing voice began to read The Raven by Poe, and I fell asleep.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Marc and I drew closer, and for a time, I was almost his child. Every time my arms would wrap around his neck at our dawns, he would take hold of my arms and hold onto me like I was his lifeforce. We hunted together, spent our free time together, and slept in the same bed. Over the next two years, we grew closer. But one night made everything change. It was nearly dawn and Marc climbed into bed beside me. His arms wrapped around me as he kissed the top of my head, "Sleep well my heart." I rested my head on the pillow and curled my arms around his, "Sleep well Marc." His fingers began to brush through my hair, lulling me to sleep.  
When I awoke I heard Marc arguing with someone. I rose from the bed and went to the door, "Marc?" He was arguing with a man, clearly hispanic, with long black hair. "Nikki, go back to bed" Marc said quietly.  
"So this is her?" the man asked, "Is she your daughter or your bride?"  
Marc growled, seeing the man's ebony eyes scrutinize me. Marc went over to me, pulling me against his chest tightly, "Go. Get away from us."  
I put my arms around him, trying to comfort him and the man laughed, "Definately your bride." The man leapt out the window, taking his leave to the streets of Volterra. Marc locked the window, turning back to me. He walked back and went over to me, wrapping his arms around me, "Come now my sweet, we have to go."  
"Go?" I asked, "Go where?"  
He took my face in his hands, "You have to trust me. I will protect you, I promise." He shifted to hold me close, tightly, and I held onto him as well. "I will never abandon you" he murmured.  
I reached up, brushing his soft hair back out of his eyes, "Tell me."  
He leaned into my hand and sighed, "If only you knew...if only you weren't so young.."  
I rose my other hand, gently tracing his soft lips, "Tell me Marc."  
His eyes opened and he murmured, "You are immortal."  
I nodded.  
He sighed, his warm breath feathering on my fingertips as he closed his eyes once more, "The Volturi have found out about us residing inside the walls of the city. They're afraid...that was Demetri. He has orders from Aro to drive us out."  
I looked at him, seeing the pain in his eyes, "It's okay. We can go home."  
"Home?" he asked, his eyes opened and he looked at me curiously.  
"Back to Tuscany" I said, "Why? Is there something wrong there?"  
He sighed, "The place where I go, I know you've seen it, that was the place where my home once lay. It is gone now. We will have to move on."  
I held onto him tightly, "I can live with that."  
His fingers stroked my hair as he gently wrapped his arms around me, "Let's go."  
He held onto me as we walked into the room, and he grabbed some things from my part of the closet. I sat down, letting him throw me a dress. I laughed, I always hated these things, but for Marc's sake, I'd wear them.  
"Where are we going?" I asked.  
"London. It is time we payed a visit to an old friend of mine" Marc said, and as he pulled the large leather bag with both of our things, everything, packed up into it over his shoulder, he held out his hand for mine.  
With a smile, I took his hand to leave for the Old World.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
The London underground was just the way I'd imagined it. Dark gray cobblestones under our feet, huge towering buildings. Everything there was gray, and the wet mist in the air made me cling closer to Marc. Even if we were the creatures of horror, it certianly felt as if we were the prey.  
"Marcus" a cultured, hispanic accented voice said quietly.  
"Theo" Marc said quietly. I held onto his back, feeling his hand close around my opposite one. There was a young man, no more than my age, with dark cherry colored eyes. He was a newborn.  
"It's a pleasure to meet you. Tristian is waiting" the boy named Theo said.  
Marc gently squeezed my hand and lead me into the underground. The air became very thick, and I wanted to panic. Marc tucked me against his chest, rubbing my back. I clung to his deep blue jacket, keeping color and sanity in my view. We eventually emerged from the tunnel of dark stairs and emerged into a huge, pale yellow sandstone room, the floors a white and green granite. There were a row of coffins in the back, a large red velvet couch near a table under the only small, barred window in the room. It wasn't made to let in sunlight, rather have the occupants see outside. Sitting on the couch was an older looking man, perhaps in his fifties, with the palest of red eyes, so pale they were almost pink.  
"Ah" he said quietly, "Marcus, old friend. You are running from the Volturi again, I suppose?"  
Marc sighed, "Yes Tristian. We are."  
Tristian looked at me, his strange magenta eyes taking me in, "Come here child, I don't bite." He chuckled at his joke, and Marc didn't make me let go of him as we walked forward. His hand pressed to the small of my back, holding me against his side.  
Tristian held out a hand and hesitantly, I reached out mine. I touched his palm with my fingertips and gasped. He was colder than stone, his skin almost chalky but without the dust. His hand closed around mine, feeling my skin. He sighed, "It's been so long since I felt warmth."  
Marc's brow furrowed, his hand coming off my back to rest on my wrist, holding me still. Only then did I realize I was trembling.  
"You remind me of Louis and Claudia, though, perhaps closer. Armand will enjoy knowing this the next time he visits" Tristian said, releasing my hand. I drew back, the feeling almost like the blood had been frozen in my veins went up my whole arm. Marc gently rubbed my arm, pressing a kiss to my forehead, "It's alright, we'll be going soon. Hush my dear, I will protect you." Then Marc turned his gaze to Tristian, "I do hope you aren't serious. Armand and I have developed...a dislike for each other."  
"Oh. That changes things" Tristian said, "Well, I suppose you two should be on your way. But there is something I must warn; Get out of the city as fast as you can. Go somewhere the others will not follow. Because the Volturi will come here, and they will kill me. It is time, my old friend, that you moved on."  
Marc nodded and released me for a moment. He went to Tristian and embraced him tightly, like he was leaving his father. Theo went over to me, hugging me equally as tightly. He took in my scent and exhaled in a sigh against my throat, "Be well young damphir."  
"I'm not a damphir" I said to him quietly, "I'm a crossbreed."  
He looked up, his eyes dancing eagerly, "So is Marc. That's why they want him. I have to stay with my father, but you and Marc should run. Go hide. He needs you just as much as you need him."  
Marc came over to me and wrapped his arms around me, "Goodbye Theo. Come my sweet."  
I nodded, murmuring goodbyes to the two vampires as Marc pulled me back up the dark stairs. My eyes didn't adjust like the time before in our speed.  
We reached the streets in a moment, and the rain was falling once more.  
"We have to go to the docks" Marc said, taking my hand.  
"Where are we going?" I asked.  
"America" Marc said quietly.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
The time Marc and I spent together made us closer, until eventually, we had to part. Had I known then, I wouldn't have been afraid to leave him, but fate never could keep people in my life too far away.

Thanksgiving morning, and we were all cooking. Laura and Claudine were helping me in the kitchen, with Vincent sampling, Logan, Sal, Kyle and Daken had split into teams for football and Tayla was their little cheerleader.  
"So who's coming over today?" Claudine asked.  
"Just Kyle. The Denalis and my mother and Carlisle sent their wishes already, along with the extended family" I said.  
The doorbell rang and I looked up, "Or maybe we do have a surprise."  
Laura took over the rest of what I was doing as I went to the door.  
A very familiar face greeted me at the door, as he hadn't changed a bit.  
"Hello my darling" Marc said, opening his arms for me.  
"Marc!" I gasped, running over to him. We hugged tightly, his crushing grip very familiar and even despite the cold air outside and the long time we'd spent away from each other, very comfortable.  
He pulled back, grinning, "God you've gotten old."  
"Shut up, you're older than me" I said. He laughed.  
"Come inside" I said. He walked in, presenting me with a bouquet of beautiful colored flowers.  
"These are from your home?" I asked, touched by the gesture.  
"Yes. The exact ground where my house lay" he said.  
"Thank you" I said, reaching out and hugging him tightly.  
"Hey Nikki- oh who's the hot guy?" Laura asked.  
I sighed, "Laura, this is Marc. We've known each other for a few months shy of a hundred years."  
"Holy crap" Laura said.  
"Almost done" Claudine called out.  
I touched Marc's hand, "Can you-?"  
"Eat, of course" he said. At my confused expression he smiled and said, "I've been building up a tolerance to it over the years. I never forgot how you used to eat rather than...drink."  
I smiled, "Then you'll absolutely love today."  
I led him into the kitchen where everything had been set out, and I glanced to Laura, shooting her a smile. She leaned out the back door and yelled, "Guys, dinner!"  
At the mention of food, the boys tossed the football back to Kyle who caught it easily and they ran back inside.  
"Who's that guy?" Sal asked, grabbing a plate off the counter to go eat.  
"Guys, this is Marc, he's an old friend of mine" I said, rubbing Marc's arm.  
"I'm blessed to dine with you all" Marc said, and I almost blushed.  
Logan looked at him, with the eyes of 'friend or boyfriend?'  
I rolled my eyes and thought to him, 'Close friend. Not boyfriend. Family.'  
Logan rolled his eyes and grabbed a plate. This was one of those insanely wonderful days. We went into the huge dining room where we'd set up for the holiday, and sat around. Everybody sat, and despite all the empty space, laughter and conversations echoed off the high walls. I'd told Marc everything about my past hundred years, and even more about recently. He seemed surprised. Maybe it was because I really was the freak of the vampire world. But I didn't care. It was Thanksgiving, and I had the people closest to me. That was all that mattered today.  
The End  
**Nightmare (OS)**

It was one of those moments when I was absolutely sure I was dreaming, but I couldn't wake myself up. The darkness was cloying as I reached around, feeling only being boxed in. There were screaming, and shouts, crying and dark laughter that sent fear into my heart. I didn't know why I was screaming too, but the wall, or whatever it was in front of me, cutting off my senses, was in the way from knowing what was going on. All too quickly did it open suddenly, and in the momentary blindness of my nightvision leaving me, did I only see a few shadows standing over me.  
I woke to the sound of my own screams. Logan held my arms, stopping me from struggling free.  
"Shh, it's okay darlin, calm down" Logan coaxed, rubbing my back as he held me tightly to his chest.  
"I-it was a dream" I murmured, holding onto him. He rubbed my back, kissing my forehead.  
Still, I couldn't get the sounds of the muffled screams out of my mind.  
"What was it?" he asked quietly.  
I looked at him and he held me close. I could tell he was worried.  
"I was locked in something and I heard these people screaming...then it opened, and I couldn't see them, but there were people there, gathered around whatever I was locked in" I said quietly.  
He ran his fingers through my hair, guiding my head to rest on his shoulder. "You're okay, we all are" he murmured, kissing me gently.  
I held onto him tightly as he lay down, tugging blankets over us, "Just rest darlin. I'm here."  
I nuzzled into his chest, taking in his scent. He stroked my hair, holding me as close as we could possibly clutch each other. Eventually, sleep clouded my mind again, but with his scent present in the front of my mind, it was impossible to tell my reality from the dreams that danced on the edges of my consiousness. But never the nightmares.  
The End


	23. Part 23

**Animals In The Same**

Chapter 1  
I'd never thought in my life I'd been able to be the monster of nightmare.  
The initial bite had been deep, uncaring. It was true, the life of a criminal meant nothing to me. This was just another wasted life, one that would not be when I was finished with it. The man's blood, sweet, warm, coppery with the real taste inside it. It was like Russian vodka, definitely alcohol loaded. It had a taste like a glass of the vodka prepared the right way. It was almost icy, almost refreshing on my tongue, but the warmth of the human's body was still in it. I half wondered if it would taste just as good chilled. I hadn't noticed the screams or his struggles as I drank, each drop bringing me closer to a strange sort of intoxication.  
"Darlin, come on, let go" Logan coaxed, and the limp body fell from my grasp.  
I smiled, half dazed, "I think he was a drunk. That was pretty nice."  
The buzz wore off almost as fast as it had come, and I found myself sitting on a rooftop high overhead from where the initial attack had been.  
"How did-?" I began.  
Logan silenced me with a kiss, his lips gentle on mine, "That was a little careless babe."  
I smiled, "Life's all about the thrill, isn't it?"  
He chuckled quietly and lifted me up, letting me see the scene below. People had gathered around the body and it made me giggle. It was almost as if they were waiting for him to wake up. His throat had been torn out, even though I hadn't remembered doing that. I guess I had gotten more caught up in the moment than I'd thought. The dark red blood was streaked across his shoulder, part of the collar of his shirt shredded. I could see white tendon, red muscle complete with small blood vessels, and a very torn open jugular vein, still blue on the outside despite the tear in it.  
"Wow. I really did a number on that guy" I said, giggling softly.  
"You okay baby?" Logan asked. I could see slight confusion in his eyes.  
"Eh, I still have a buzz. That guy was a real bona fide drunk, because that even got me halfway there" I said.  
"Can you hang on to me?" he asked.  
"Why?" I asked back.  
"Because. Darlin I hate to admit it, you're drunk. I'm holding you up. You're probably going to need to if we're getting down from here" he said, chuckling softly as he pushed back my hair from the side of my face.  
"I'm not drunk" I said and let go of him. I could walk perfectly fine and he could see it. "Now, follow me" I said, grinning as I leapt down. Air 'whoosh'ed around me and I smiled, my feet landing on the ground easily. Logan landed beside me, "Come on. Let's get away from here."  
I smiled, "I hope you can keep up." With that, I took off into the streets at Vampire speed.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
Morning dawned and I had no interest in sleeping yet. Apparently, neither did Logan. His arms were wrapped tightly around me, our lips molded together like they had been all night. He drew back slightly, chuckling breathlessly, "You could probably go all day couldn't you?"  
I grinned, kissing him again for a moment before whispering, "Depending if you can."  
He tugged me down against him and smiled, our lips pressing together again.  
"Come on people, time to wake up!" Elie yelled, throwing open the curtains. The sudden sunlight blinded me and I covered my eyes with my hand, "Damn it Elie, we weren't sleeping!"  
For the first time, she turned around and stared. I pushed the covers up over Logan's chest, trying to block him from her view.  
"Oh" Elie said quietly, "Um...that's awkward."  
"So it won't be rude to ask you to get the hell out of our bedroom?" I asked.  
"No, that'd be okay" Elie said and ran for it.  
I smiled, almost laughing and turned back to Logan, "We really need to keep our door locked."  
"Since when has that stopped Elie? She's like Hulk she'll walk right through the damn thing" Logan said, though joking, it was still funny.  
"Babe, be nice. Elie's...Elie. She's my crazy sister, and therefore, your crazy sister" I said.  
"My crazy sister in law" Logan said.  
I pouted, faking hurt, "So you don't love my family? But...but they love you."  
He absolutely melted at that, leaning away, running his fingers through his hair and muttering softly. I smiled and playfully glomped him, landing us both on the bed, "Come on, do you really think I'd be mad at you for calling Elie a nutjob? She really is, but that won't stop me."  
"Babe, I have to say it, most of your friends really are psychos" Logan said, "Remember the rapist werewolf?"  
"Hey, he had some quirks and issues okay. He's a good guy" I defended.  
"Darlin, he thinks-" Logan began.  
"I know what he thinks, he's told me. Sweetheart, can we focus on something other than my psychotic friends/family?" I asked.  
Logan chuckled, exposing my neck to him as he gently kissed under my ear, "Still? I'm surprised."  
"Don't be. Without all the superhero stuff going on, we've both got a lot more energy, and it's a weekend. That just makes it better for us" I said, kissing him passionately once more.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
The music blasted in my ears, a pleasant welcome into the house. Given, Laura was playing my music but since we had the same tastes, it wasn't too bad. 'For Your Entertainment' by Adam Lambert (who even if he wasn't straight, was damn sexy) blasted out of the speakers upstairs. I was getting more than a few ideas from the lyrics, as I always had, but that didn't stop me from glancing back to Logan, intent on having some of them carried out today.  
He chuckled as he walked in, "I recognize that look."  
"You should, but there's something new about it today" I purred.  
"Oh really?" he asked playfully. I kissed him hard, one of my legs winding around his waist. He pulled me closer, his hands on my back as we kissed. I grasped his shoulders, pulling him as close as we could possibly get. He pulled back, chuckling breathlessly, "I have a feeling you've been planning to ambush me for quite some time."  
I grinned, "Plans are always better set in motion my love."  
Our lips reconnected and his lips were all I could think about. How he held me so tightly that if I were a normal woman it would've hurt. The way he clutched me, kissed me, like I was the only thing in the world. Let's just leave it at this; we were damn lucky the bedroom door had been unlocked this morning.

Away from all that, Laura was hanging out with Mercury, her best friend, and Pixie, who was a friend, but not as close as Cessily and Laura were.  
"I can't believe Nikki listens to this" Cessily said.  
"Cessily, she never acts her age. She woke up on her day off to watch Adam on early morning news. We're talking about Nikki up at 7 on a day off" Laura said.  
"Really? She is devoted. I just set it to record" Megan chimed in.  
"We don't have a DVR Megan" Laura said.  
Cessily blanched, "You don't?! How?! You're filthy rich and you don't have a DVR?!"  
"We haven't gotten around to it. I have a feeling we'll end up with one" Laura says, thinking.  
"Why?" Megan asks.  
"Because. Dad's got hockey, Nikki's got cartoons, I've got my stuff, we'll end up with one" Laura said.  
"Wait, she watches cartoons?" Cessily asked.  
"She's Nikki" Laura said, "She's not normal. It's fun."  
"So what did you guys do for thanksgiving?" Megan asked.  
"We had dinner with Kyle and Nikki's old friend/flame" Laura said.  
"Does that girl have one boyfriend who's dead?" Cessily asked, "She's the opposite of Logan, she has exs coming out the woodwork."  
"No, most of them are dead. But Connor and this guy...he is hot though. I see why she liked him" Laura said.  
"No way. What's he like?" Megan asked, inching closer.  
Laura launched into her tale, but no one could barely hear it over the music. I thanked my luck for that, because that was not the moment I needed a Marc recap.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
I had known from day one that I was not normal. Having a day, a moment, so special as this...just proved it.  
"Oh. My. God" I said quietly, unable to breath.  
This was one of the freakin single best moments of my life.  
His leather jacket encased arms wrapped around me, resting my head against his padded shoulder. I wanted to scream, fangirl, and just freakin explode.  
"Hey Nikki, I am so glad to finally meet you" one of the people I'd loved since I'd even heard of him. Adam Lambert was hugging me. Me. and I was sure I was going to freakin die of happiness.  
"H-hey Adam" I said, forcing my arms to wrap around him too. I had to give the Professor some credit. He gave the students free reign to go to the concert, Pixie told Adam about me, and now, here I was, actually touching him.  
"I hear you sing" he said.  
"I used to. I haven't in a while" I said, trying to act nonchalant when I was really freaking out.  
"It's okay" he said. I wanted to turn around and pull a Wade. I should be freakin Caramelldansen at this point.  
I grinned, "Okay."  
The girls were going to freak. They were going to freak, then kill me for not bringing them.  
We sat down in the studio and I almost screamed. He moved in so we could share a headset and I heard Laura start freaking out.  
Then, I thought I would die as he started singing. The best part, he was going to sing to me.  
"Hey, slow it down  
What do you want from me?  
What do you want from me?  
Yeah  
I'm afraid  
What do you want from me?  
What do you want from me?  
There might've been a time when I would give myself away  
Oh once upon a time, I didn't give a damn  
But now  
Here we are  
So what do you want from me?  
What do you want from me?  
Just don't give up  
I'm workin it out  
Please don't give in  
I won't let you down  
It messed me up  
Need a second to breathe  
Just keep comin around  
Hey  
What do you want from me?  
What do you want from me?"  
His singing was so wonderful, so beautiful it got me thinking. There was nothing I would've given for this moment. Me, Adam Lambert, and god did I love this. The girls were dancing, cheering and all around having a good time. The best part was no one could say it alone. But Adam Lambert was singing for me. Then a thought actually sprung to mind, this was such a great moment I might actually pay Cyke back in some way for this. Not now. Now I was going to hear him sing.  
TBC  
(A/N- I just had to have an Adam Lambert gush fest, I'll get back to seriousness tomorrow.)


	24. Part 24

Chapter 5  
I couldn't wait to see what had gone on at Xavier's since I'd been there.  
Elie was the first one to reach me. "One, how did you go see Adam Lambert without me!?! Two, one of your old students is locked outside while another two are throwing matches at each other."  
I sighed, happy and relaxed, "It's good to be back."  
"You're rejoining the team?" Elie asked eagerly.  
"No. I'm going to start teaching again. I need to do this Elie, I miss them" I said.  
"Good for you, because I'm not doing this anymore" Elie said.  
I walked in the room and for lack of anything better to say I shouted, "You're both grounded, now go get David out from outside."  
"NIKKI!" Santo and Josh yelled, running over. Santo picked me up, hugging me close, "We missed ya!"  
"Okay, I get it, now put me down!" I said.  
He laughed and set me down. I looked at the smoldered matches on the floor and sighed, "Santo, Josh, go clean up, and somebody let Allene back in the room!"  
Pixie flitted up and hugged me, "Welcome back Nikki."  
"Thanks kid, now go let Allene in, will ya?" I asked.  
She did, and Elie stood leaning in the door as I took out my much-abused copy of Twilight and said, "Forget Summers's rules, we're playing by my game now. Boys, I hope you have enough manpower in your gut to stomach a couple paranormal romances. Because after this, we move onto The Invisable Man."  
The kids cheered, happy to have me and my paranormality back. I looked over to Elie and grinned, and she gave me a smile with the look of death. I'd handle her later. It was time to dive back into the world of not Bella and Edward, James and Vicky.  
The End

**The Great Science Test Plan (3rdPersonPOV)**

'There is no way I'm going to pass this' Vincent thought. He sat at the table during study hall with Laura and her friends, as he didn't like being around too many people, and tried unsucessfully to study the mathematical equations for Mr. McCoy's science test.  
He looked at Megan's markers, a plan forming in his mind.  
"Megan, can I borrow that?" he asked.  
"Sure" she said, handing over a black marker.  
Laura shot him a questioning look and he grinned, beginning to copy down the things onto his hand and wrist he knew he'd never remember. Within five minutes, he smiled at his handywork.  
As he approached science class, he grinned at everyone else who was cramming to pass. He was confident, which was a little shocking to them. The guys that sat around him saw his hand and looked at him, smiling with the pride of older teenage boys knowing their ways had corrupted an eleven year old, soon to be twelve. The problem was their science class leveled between his age and sixteen, Julian Keller's age.  
Mr. McCoy passed out the test without a word, Vincent's confident smile seeming to make him happy.  
The answers were straightforward, simple, and he was the first one done. As he washed off the ink, it left a vague stain on his skin. He almost laughed. He turned and beamed triumphantly at the others who smiled back in encouragement. For the second time, he'd won. He'd really done something and gotten away with it. He began to wonder what would happen if he tried to murder someone. He used the imprint on his skin, though it was fading quickly, to help the others get answers. On the way out, he was met with cheers and high fives.  
He blanched as he saw his mother waiting down the hall. She smiled knowingly and went up to him, "So you pulled that off?"  
"I'm in trouble aren't I?" he asked, wincing.  
"No. Actually, I'm proud. You clearly took after me" she said.  
"What?" Vincent asked, looking at her.  
"Victor would've never been smart enough to figure that out. It's resourcefulness. Independence. I'm not saying it's always going to work out, considering after more than twice people are going to start getting suspicious, but for a one-time only thing it's not bad" she said.  
"So I'm not in trouble?" he asked.  
"No. Not this time. And by the way, nothing gets past me. I just choose to let you make your own decisions" she said.  
Vincent rolled his eyes, sighing, "Thanks anyway. But did you know about the time we snuck out?"  
"Yeah" she said. "You don't fool anyone sweetheart. You need to work on your stealth."  
He sighed again and thought to himself, 'So she knows of my plans. But The Great Science Test Plan has not been thwarted! There will be a day...and it will rock.'  
The End  
**Family Reunion**

Chapter 1  
"Huh?" I asked, hearing Elie.  
"I said Mom and Uncle Vlad have gotten everybody together for a family reunion and they want us to come" Elie said, "This will be so cool!"  
"Do I have to?" I squeaked, hating the inevitable answer.  
"Yes" Elie said, "For the love of Jareth, you have to do this! I need to get in good with our uncle!"  
"Dracula? Why?" I asked.  
"Because he's never met me!" Elie said.  
I sighed, "You'd be the lucky one then."  
"Nikki!" Elie complained.  
"Damn it Elie!" I said.  
"What?" Logan asked, leaning over the back of the couch.  
"Pack your bags Captian Canada, we're going to Transylvania!" Elie said and ran outside yelling 'JARETH!'  
"What was that about?" Logan asked, rubbing my shoulder.  
"We have to go to a family reunion" I said quietly, mentally cursing every single thought on the subject that had ever been brought up.  
Logan sighed and chuckled, "At least it's not my family."  
I looked up at him, "Oh no, this will be much MUCH worse."  
The proof in the fact, our arrival two days later.  
(Clearly two days later-)  
"Nikki!" Alice yelled, jumping up and nearly knocking me over.  
'Can I go home now?' I asked Edward mentally.  
He chuckled, "Let's soldier on through."  
"No, let me be a coward and go run for the jet" I said.  
"Please, you can face hordes of the undead, homicidal werewolves, all forms of inhumans and sociopathic humans, and you're afraid of being around our family in it's entirety?" Edward asked me.  
"I'd take all of the above before I went in there" I said, looking at the castle, "My last memories in there weren't too plesant."  
"Give it up, he has" Edward sighed and said.  
I scowled, crossing my arms across my chest. Elie pulled me from behind as we walked inside.  
"Nikki" my uncle said, a tone of warmth in his voice, "I was so hoping you'd reconsidered-"  
"I don't do dresses" I said, wanting to storm past.  
"I'll wear a dress!" Elie yelled, still clinging to my side, "My husband will even wear a dress!"  
For lack of anything better to do, I facepalmed and prayed to god this damn reunion would be over soon.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
"Can we go home now?" I asked, exasperated.  
"No" Elie said.  
"Please?" I begged.  
"No" Elie said.  
"Elie!" I said.  
"NO!" she said.  
"Ladies?" Edward asked.  
"Go away you insulting ex-psycho" Elie said.  
"At least I lust after straight people" Edward said.  
Elie jumped at Edward, tackling him to the ground and started beating on him, "Take that back birdbrain!"  
"What?!" he asked.  
"You insulted Jareth and Adam! TAKE IT BACK!" Elie shouted, putting him in a chokehold.  
I was giggling uncontrollably, so happy to have these two back together again.  
"Hey cuz. Oh, Edward insulted Elie's men again, didn't he?" Drake asked, drinking a glass of bloodwine.  
"Yup" I grinned, laughing.  
We watched, and people began to gather around.  
"Edward!" our mother yelled, "Stop trying to beat up your sister!"  
"but....Tanya!" Edward yelled.  
"EDWARD!" Tanya yelled.  
"Coming mother" Edward said.  
Daken busted up laughing along with me.  
Edward turned back to see us and we both yelled, "MOMMA'S BOY!"  
That started a whole new round of laughter, something we were both enjoying. Though I had a feeling between Daken and Jasper, we didn't need to be funny at the way they were enjoying it.  
TBC

Chapter 3  
"It's time we finally got to business" Vladimir said.  
I just glanced to Logan, my look of disdain clear, and almost fully downed the bloodwine in my glass. As close to drunk as I could get tonight meant the farther from murdering him I would be.  
"We have absent family and for one reason. That creature man spawned to the earth" Vladimir began, standing at the head of the table.  
I couldn't stop my smile from dawning. I glanced to Laura who looked back at me with pride. She was proud of Kyle, so was I.  
"By blessing, he is dead. The entire fact is, we still do not have our family. So what remains of his, will be gone as well" Vladimir said.  
I looked at him, "What the hell are you talking about? Okay, we took the guy out, that was a given, but killing his family? What'd they do to us?"  
"They exist" Vladimir said.  
"You hypocritical bigot!" Drake shouted, standing. He wobbled as he stood, clearly drunk. "They are humans, they will be cattle for something someday anyway!"  
"Shut up Drake" I said.  
"No" he said, "Because I am tired of this! I say I should lead our world, not him!"  
"He's not the leader of anything" I said, "Nobody listens to him."  
"Contrary to belief, some people do" Edward said.  
"Some, probably pansies like you" I said.  
A near unanimous snicker rose from around the table.  
"And where do you come in on this anyway? You just have to chime in when we're not asking, don't you?" I continued, happy to finally be able to say it.  
Edward looked like he would blush, and most everyone, minus Bella, started laughing.  
"And another thing" Elie chimed in, "My husband is straight you moron. Call him anything else again and I will pick up a wall and beat you with it."  
Even I started laughing then. Every time my family got together it became threats and comedy. Until I smelled the brimstone.  
"F^%$!" Drake shouted, turning in time to see the slow cloud of brimstone form and become someone very familiar.  
"Damn it. Belasco" I said quietly.  
Logan looked to me, still by my side, "You expected this?"  
"Well actually I expected Satan himself, but ya know, with my family anything goes" I said, and everyone but Vladimir prepared for a fight.  
"Vladimir, what are you doing?" Tanya asked.  
"I've expected you...old friend" Vladimir said, taking a step toward Belasco.  
"Well....there's a plot twist" Vincent said.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
It was instant, the change from the alliance into the brawl.  
Daken lunged forward, his claws coming out. Drake and I circled Belasco, Drake going in for his throat. Belasco deflected him, but he couldn't defelect me. I had changed into my golden pure magic form, something nobody, nothing, could peirce or push away. I was my own will.  
Then, Dracula threw something at me. I ducked in time for my father's sword to fly over my head.  
"Stop this, right now!" he shouted.  
Drake froze where he was, but I didn't. I made the lunge, and Belasco dissapeared from where he stood. I couldn't register where he'd gone, just that he was still here.  
"This is ending now" my uncle said.  
"No. Do you understand, he is not the good guy!" I shouted at him.  
"He is my partner, I have a deal with him!" Dracula said.  
"Wait a minute...did that come out like I heard?" Drake asked. "You made a deal with the devil's advocate?"  
I put my hand on his arm, "Listen, what your father did doesn't affect you, let's just go finish this and worry about him later."  
Drake looked at me, a look I recognized. It seemed most kids had the same grudge against their parents like Daken had had. Like I myself had at one point.  
"Fine" he said.  
The two of us looked at Dracula, and in a blurring heartbeat, the entire family split up. Half to fight Vlad, half to hunt Belasco.  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
There was nothing in my way as I took off after Belasco. I'd deal with Vlad later. He was like a flamin' roach, no matter how hard you tried to kill him, how often, he always came back. Funny, people said that about me too.  
"Nikki, look!" Elie shouted.  
"Foolish creatures, do you really think you can fight BELASCO?!" he thundered.  
"Okay, I know I heard the all caps in there, but did you just seriously refer to yourself in the third person?" I asked, "I thought only Remy did that."  
"Nikki! Do not tempt the evil...thing" Jareth said.  
I rolled my eyes, "Jar, if I wanted to tempt the evil thing I'd start stripping."  
"Hell no you're not" Logan said, glaring at Jareth.  
I leaned over to him, "Babe, Elie is probably the only woman he's ever done. Let's keep that in mind."  
Elie smacked me upside the head and Jareth blushed deeply, "I'd rather not discuss my past relationships."  
"Let me guess, you did that chick Sarah too?" I asked.  
Elie smacked me harder in the shoulder and Logan growled at her. I grinned. I almost expected Belasco to ask in a puny-man's voice if we were seriously bantering among ourselves in the middle of a chase, but we were, and he seemed to be waiting patiently.  
"Are we really going to do this?" Elie asked, slightly sounding scared.  
"Might as well. If it's between Vlad and this guy...I'll handle him" I said.  
TBC  
Chapter 6  
I took the lead, lunging at Belasco. He forced up a shield my claws couldn't get through. Apparently, adamantium could cut through anything BUT magic. I'd just have to fix that. A golden light gently slunk over my claws, coating them in magic and I lunged forward, my claws sliding through like I was spreading hot butter and I caught his arm in a slash.  
He roared, slamming me into the side of the balcony. Elie caught me, steadying me, just as the doors burst open downstairs. The shocking thing was, pansy$^ Edward was leading the fight.  
Vlad picked up a chair and cracked it over Edward's head.  
"Hey! I was gonna do that!" Elie shouted.  
I left her side and returned to fighting Belasco. Jareth was blocking Logan so he could attack, and I lunged forward, my own magical field around myself, my claws sunk into Belasco's back at the same time Logan's sunk into his chest. The combination shock of the severity of the wounds Logan and I combined had inflicted, he instantly returned to his world.  
"Damn it!" I said, "I wanted to draw that out a little."  
Logan laughed, grinning and putting his arm around me, "Babe, we handled it, be happy."  
I sighed and shrugged out of his grip, jumping over the side of the railing. I landed on my feet and picked up a shattered metal support from inside the chair. Vladimir turned in time to get nailed in the face by the support.  
I grinned, "Score one for 'the kids'."  
Daken grinned, his eyes dancing. It had been so long since I'd put myself back in his grouping, even if neither of us were kids anymore. Drake smiled, nodding, and took a bottle of scotch off the table. He took a long drink and walked off.  
"Was that it?" Emmett asked, disappointed.  
"Well...we could always go stir up trouble with the Volturi" I suggested.  
Drake paused and turned back. Daken looked at me, a mischevious glint in his eyes. Emmett grinned and yelled, "LAST ONE THERE'S A CANDY$^!"  
I took off, Daken with me, Drake with us and Emmett last and I heard Carlisle shout, "I hope you're joking!"  
TBC  
Chapter 7  
Thankfully, we went home not too long after that. Carlisle had been sure to stop us before we actually got to Italy.  
I smiled as I walked off the jet, seeing the high snow.  
"Yeah! Two and a half feet of powder! Woohoo!" Vincent cheered, hopping into the snow in an instant. I laughed at the body sized hole where he'd landed within it. Logan carried Tayla up in his arms, all of us looking to each other.  
Claudine just sighed and rolled her eyes, "Go."  
Daken leapt off next, landing in the snow. He packed a snowball and threw it at me. I jumped out of the way, landing in another high pile of snow. Elie shouted, "Hey!" I guess it hit her.  
We looked at each other and I said, "Anyone who wants to go inside, go get to cover."  
Daken and I looked at each other and shouted, "SNOWBALL FIGHT!"  
The icy snow packed tightly in my half-gloved hand and I grinned, nailing Daken in the back. He turned and hit me in the shoulder.  
"You're gonna get it" I said, playfully threatening.  
"Oh am I now?" he asked, "Gonna have to catch me." He took off and I sighed, knowing I'd have to phase to brave the snow. He tripped and I laughed, hiking through the high snow after him, "Remember two and a half feet city boy?"  
Something muffled that sounded like a 'screw you' came from him and I laughed, "By the way, you lost."  
He sat up, but by then I was halfway back to the house.  
The End

**Elie and The Pack (OS)**

"JAKE! SETH!" Elie screamed, jumping out of my red 'Stang and running up to Sam Uley's place.  
"ELIE!" Seth shouted, running over to her.  
Jacob was pretty much her best friend, aside from me, and he ran to go to her too, but slowed when the rest of the pack watched him go. He nodded to her, running his fingers through his hair, "Hey Elie."  
Seth almost tackled her, grabbing her up off the ground and they both started dancing, having the best time, oblivious to anyone and everyone around them. That was so typically Elie. I laughed, "Tell me if she kills anybody!"  
Sam gave me a death glare and I got back in the car, speeding out.  
I was going into Seattle, going to go have some fun with some friends of mine. I pulled up outside the club, not a goth club, so it wasn't my usual style, but hey, every chica had to have a girls' night at some point.  
Amy squeeled, Cathrine, Alessandra, Cindi and Christy all waiting for me. They were vampires, old friends of mine, and I loved hanging out with them when we did. Surprisingly, we hadn't seen each other since the fifties. Last I heard, Alessandra and Marc (yes, my old Marc) were a thing, Cindi and her brother Travis were buying up oil rigs in Texas, Christy had a thing with a nomad named Nathan, Amy a thing with a guy named Zander, and Cathrine had twins, Dylan and Jakob, head over heels for her.  
"You came!" Amy yelled, pratically skipping over to me. I laughed, "Girl, you know I wouldn't miss this."  
We walked inside, and the first thing we went for was the sugar. Amy got a pepsi, Cindi a cow tail, Alessandra a laffy taffy rope and Christy a bag of sour patch kids. The guy winked at me as he gave me a pepsi too. I looked back to Amy, who giggled.  
Amy tugged me out to the dance floor, laughing as we danced to the newest songs. Four different guys approached us, three just joining in and only one asking to dance. We were having the best time! But part of me was a little scared...what did I leave Elie to get into?

Seth was sitting on the floor in his wolf form, his nose twitching as the ribbon tickled it.  
"Hold still!" Elie insisted.  
She'd come into the house, put down her backpack and whipped out six pink ribbons to tie on two of the boys. The entire pack was busting up laughing, their sides aching from their hard laughter. Sam stood in the corner, glowering, Emily trying to calm him down.  
Jacob looked utterly repulsed, but went along with it anyway. He had a bow on the top of his head, one half tied on his back, and another was going to go on his tail after Elie fastened Seth's ribbons. He was happily oblivious to their laughter, wagging his tail and grinning like an idiot. He loved Elie. She was one of his favorite people.  
"Elie..." Jacob whined in wolf.  
"Shut it Jake, be happy like Seth!" she said. That made the laughter harder and Seth grin wider, thumping his tail on the floor hard.  
"Seth! Stop it, you're messing up your bow!" Elie complained.  
Even Sam laughed at that.  
By that time, me and the girls were driving back to pick up Elie, as they all wanted to meet my awsome yet oblivious sister. I got out, my friends following me, but not closely. I swung open the door and saw Seth, almost purring contentedly with the light pink, uber girly ribbons on him. Jakob was almost rolling his eyes, loving Elie, but hating her ideas. The pack were laughing, Sam was glowering and even Emily was giggling, but nobody had a more oblivious look, not even Seth, than Elie. She had this...giant smile and her eyes were almost in those of an emoticon.  
"What...the hell?" I asked.  
Elie looked at me, "HAI NIKKI!"  
I almost heard the 'I can haz cheezeburger' lingo in her voice. I turned, going to hide my face in Amy's shoulder, "Oh just tell me when it's over."  
The End  
**Old Friends (OS)**

I'd made plenty of friends going to and from places over the century, and Chase was no exeption. Maybe I should clarify, Chase was a werewolf. But no ordinary werewolf. He was close to me in different ways than anyone else was, probably because he was an outcast himself too. Last I'd heard from him, he'd lost his pack, becoming a homeless former alpha lone wolf. But now, he'd come back in contact with me. I was surprised, considering Chase had never been the...well, he wasn't exactly...he's a former sociopath, let's leave it at that. He was still sweet, still wonderful, and surprisingly, he was in a complicated relationship with a trueblood vampire. I'd been out of touch with him way too long, mostly considering the last time I'd seen him, he had only believed in death, not...anything else. By the way, I hadn't exactly clued everybody in on him just yet....  
"Hey girly" Chase said, leaning on the door frame as I pulled open the door.  
"Chase" I said, not moving to hug him. We weren't like that with each other.  
A very good looking vampire was walking up behind him. It didn't surprise me the vampire was a guy. He was gorgeous, and part of me hoped Chase had brought him to me for some other reason than showing off, but I doubted it.  
"Nikki, this is Jake. He's the trueblood I was telling you about" Chase said, slinging his arm around Jake. It was pretty clear Jake still wasn't used to the affection.  
I smiled, "Somehow I always knew you'd get a good looking one."  
Jake smiled, giving me a slight smirk.  
Chase rolled his eyes, "You suck."  
"I won't touch your blood with a ten foot pole Chase" I said.  
Jake laughed, "He doesn't taste that bad. A little greasy, but he needs to cut back on the take out."  
I heard Jake's accent, "Londoner?"  
"Manchester" Jake said.  
"And he's from Rpattz's home country. I officially hate you" I said to Chase.  
He laughed, "We'll see about that. You and I need to hang out more."  
Jake almost looked like an awkward third wheel, but Chase put his arm around him and he looked as if he were warming up to all this.  
'Not that long?' I asked mentally.  
'Nope. He's still getting used to the whole werewolf thing, but it's pretty good' Chase thought with a smile.  
'You both do know I can hear you, right?' Jake asked.  
I laughed, "Truebloods read minds?"  
"Not just werewolves" Jake said.  
Chase smirked, showing tooth, and I rolled my eyes. Surprisingly, I'd missed his stupid humor and sarcastic ways. Then again, I really hadn't, I'd had Daken to provide all that.  
"We're hanging around. You want to hang out later?" Chase asked.  
"Sure sure" I said, getting comfortable.  
He looked at me, a familiar cynical sparkle in his eyes. Okay, so maybe we did like each other. It was a different thing to have to stand him all the time.  
The end

**A Game Of Predator And Prey (OS)**

It was times like these that I could've started dancing like a moron to celebrate having some time alone in the huge mansion. Well, kind of alone.  
Logan and I sat on the floor, one of his arms wrapped around me, his hand resting on my back to pull me closer and his other hand on my cheek, holding me close. Our lips were locked in a passionate kiss, and as he pulled me even closer, his chest connecting with mine, that was about the point things-sounded, at least-started going downhill.  
A loud howl/roar tore through the air and both of us sighed simultaneously.  
"Do we have to?" I asked.  
"Probably" he said.  
He moved to pull me up and then I started listening. It sounded like whatever it was...was coming to us?  
"Darlin?" he asked.  
"Do you hear it?" I asked.  
"What?" he replied.  
"Whatever it is....it sounds like it's coming to us" I said quietly.  
"Babe, I don't hear anything" he said. The something sounded like it was outside...and climbing up the wall? That was the point where I was sure, I was not crazy. I had heard that sound a million times in my life and I did not want to hear it again. Logan had begun listening too, trying to identify what it was that the wind, had we been paying attention to that, would've completely drown it out.  
He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door. I knew what it was the same moment he had. A Predator X. I was partly shocked. We destroyed the last ones, how the hell did it...? That was not the point for thinking, not then. But going outside would mean facing it head on, which was exactly what I intended to do, just not with Logan present.  
"What're you doing?" he asked as I shook off his grasp, going for the window. He called my name but I unlatched it and with the grace of a tightrope walker I dove, doing a quick flip to catch the brunt of my decent.  
The creature, huge and not even close to metallic, turned and roared at me. I smiled, beconing to it with my eyes. Any predator could understand a challenge; this was mine.  
He leapt, roaring, and landed in the spot where I had been standing. I loved the thrill of a fight, the adrenline rushing through my blood. It was just perfect. I knew the way to kill it, but today I wasn't getting eaten alive, so I'd settle with the long way. My claws came down, and swipe after swipe, dancing around it, it was clear it was working. Huge, dark red meaty chunks were falling from it's side as I went around it, attacking from all points. The tail was the first extremity to go with a fountian of blood. The left leg next, even more blood. The creature's red meat was exposed anyway, so the blood only added to the look of living carnage the creature was.  
The other left leg, the front one. I was close enough to smell its breath, and it made me want to gag. Flesh, some burned, blood and brimstone.  
"Ugh, lay off the grilled humans" I said out loud, taking a few steps back to clear the air and my assaulted senses.  
The creature toppled to the side, trying to reach with its right side, but I could see that even it was not a monster like it was created to be. It was suffering to complete its task. I walked forward, it's massive jaws snapping at me, and I leaned down. It looked at me, probably surprised at the trust in the gesture, and I touched its head, "I may be a monster by blood, but that doesn't mean I'm one in spirit." My claws went through its meaty flesh, blood vessels severing before the head rolled off, and a few twitches later and the body was still. Silent. It was like a gore ridden graveyard.  
I turned, and unsurprisingly to me, Logan leaned out the window of our bedroom, his shirt off, smirking with a glit of mischief in his eyes. I liked it and he knew it.  
More nimbly than a water strider, I'd scaled the side of the house and was back, perched atop the window sill.  
"You called?" I asked, grinning at him with the same playfulness. His arms encircled me, and the window shut with an audible thump from the force of his closing it, and he grinned, "Did I ever tell you that you make blood sexy?"  
I turned my head slightly, "Really now? I do seem to remember Daken mentioning that once...?"  
He practically picked me up, and he proved what I'd been thinking all along. A game of predator and prey was always worth it.  
The End  
**Nikki and Elie Take To The City!**

Elie stepped off the escalator to go over to me with a warm hug, "Hey!"  
"Hey. You would not believe how lost I got...I hate the city" I said.  
Elie snickered and let me sit down with two slices of city style cheese pizza and a bottle of cola. I missed all that.  
Her friends, some people I'd never met before walked up to us, "Ready to go?"  
I finished off my pizza and looked at her, "I'll tag along. I'll be fine."  
She sprung up, "Great, let's go!"  
I groaned as she pulled me up, my legs already aching from the three or four mile walk. We walked, taking to many preppy stores I never thought I'd have seen in my life. I couldn't even hear my cell phone if anyone called over the music. My ears rung slightly and it didn't feel wonderful carrying my jacket and a canvas bag over my shoulder as we walked. Thankfully, we got off our feet and went to go sit in the giant circle all of her friends had made up on the sixth floor.  
"I've never seen this many escalators in my life" I said.  
Elie laughed, "Me neither."  
I chewed on some taffy and leaned against Elie, tired. "Well we've got to be going" her friends said, all getting up to go off. I half expected her to go with them, but she didn't, "Come on Nikki, we can't miss the train!"  
She grabbed my hand and took to the escalators, getting down to the main level, grabbing a smoothie before we left. We took to the streets, walking several blocks, possibly in the wrong direction (I had no clue anymore) before we hailed a cab. Long story short on that, we didn't make it in time for the train.  
"Why can't we just rough it?" I asked.  
"Because, the train's faster" she said, "Now c'mon Nikki, you can slum it with humans for two hours."  
Two hours...oh boy.  
She tugged me along, making me look for the card I had thanks to Vincent and his friends. I took it out and she made a quick glance at the address, looking down the street and pulling me along after her.  
"Elie! Slow down!" I said.  
"No time, we gotta get there in time!" Elie said, "I want as much time as possible, you'll thank me for this!"  
I mentally began screaming, if I was going to thank her for this, it was probably not a good thing. Then, she made me stop in front of a store, turning me so I faced it. I was instantly greeted with a decal of my husband on the window.  
"Elie?" I asked, "Where are we?"  
"Step inside Wonderland Alice" she said, tugging me toward the revolving door. If I hadn't been scared before, I was now.  
If I had been about to die, I would've lived out the rest of my life in this place. Thanks to my sister, I was facing the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen. I was going to become the biggest geek in the family.  
"Elie...you just dragged me into a comic book store" I said. I hadn't been around this since the eighties! I had no idea...I wanted to act like a child in a candy store and get one of everything.  
"Nikki, are you okay?" she asked.  
I walked over, touching a t-shirt with Deadpool's belt buckle on it and turned back to her, "Elie...it's beautiful..."  
"Oh my god" she said quietly. Well the tables were reversed. I was scaring her now. I practically danced around, getting what I really wanted. There were giant books that I wished I had the money on me to get.  
"Nikki....you're scaring me" Elie said as I smiled like a real moron.  
"Elie...I love you" I said, staring dreamily at a glass with Logan on it in my hands.  
"Nikki, you have a problem" Elie said.  
I turned back to look at her, "Shut up Elie. You have a problem with Jareth too, but I don't point it out."  
She glared at me a moment, "Fine, you have a point."  
We looked at each other with a silent vow. Our husbands would never find out what we spent our money on.  
The End  
**Daken Made Me Do It**

Chapter 1  
"In Boulder, Colorado, 8-year-old Jenny Brooks got ready for school in a way no 8-year-old in that town had ever done before. She took her daddy's gun, went downstairs and killed both of her parents. She hid the gun in her jacket and went down to her school. She didn't take more then two steps inside before she shot everyone in her class and then going around and killing everyone in the school. You're lucky you weren't there, it was a bloodbath" Bobby said, leaning back on the table, "Now we've got her. Apparently they think babysitting a homicidal 8-year-old is at the top of our priorities now."  
"Okay...and what does the professor want us to do about it?" I asked, looking at him. Gathered around the table were Emma, Daken and I.  
"I have no clue. Maybe he thought since you were all former villians you'd read her the riot act and convince her to go to counciling."  
Daken gave him a look that threatened death and Emma rolled her eyes.  
"Whatever" I sighed. I leaned over to Daken and whispered, "The sooner we get away from him the less likely he is to die."  
Daken grinned and leaned over, putting his arm around me, "Can we kill him?"  
"Sure. Later" I said, giving him a sly grin.  
Bobby took no notice, but Emma gave us a disapproving look. We rose and went to go see this little girl. The first thing I noticed was she was definately not the killer type. She looked adorable, wearing a ruffled white blouse and a knee length pink skirt with a barbie poodle on it. She had a pink headband on, holding back pale blonde hair. she had on black mary janes and socks with the same barbie poodle on them were visable.  
"Are you serious? This girl killed...what, two hundred people?" I asked.  
Bobby nodded solemnly. Emma looked like she didn't believe it.  
I walked inside, kneeling by her side. She was wiping tears off her cheeks and out of her red-rimmed brown eyes.  
She looked at me, "Please don't take me away. I was just doing what he told me to do."  
"Who sweetheart?" I asked, holding her pink stick-on fingernailed hand.  
She wiped her cheek and pointed behind her, "He made me do it."  
I turned around and looked at Daken. He looked both surprised and confused.  
"Honey, when did he tell you to do this?" I asked.  
"Yesterday" she said.  
"That's impossible. Daken was home all day yesterday" I said, looking up to see Emma.  
"Here, let me handle it" she said. She put her hands on either side of the girl's head and patched me through. Sure enough, it looked just like Daken, but...I could tell it wasn't. The eyes were irridecent. Not his.  
"You've gotta be kidding me" I said quietly. "Raven."  
Daken growled and the little girl winced, whimpering. I rubbed her arm, "Sweetheart, we're gonna keep you here for a little while, okay?"  
"Okay" she said, "Am I in trouble?"  
"Kind of" I said, "But don't worry. You'll be okay."  
She nodded and Emma sat down to talk to her. Daken pulled me out in the hall, "Mystique framed me? What the hell, since when?" He spoke in a low voice, his eyes darkly intense. Mentally I wondered if he could still kill like he used to.  
"I don't know. I'm not even sure it's Raven" I said honestly.  
"Then who would it be?" Daken asked, looking concerned now.  
"....I don't know" I admitted.  
TBC  
Chapter 2  
The little girl, whose name was apparently Jenny, went off with Em and Daken went outside. It left me to think. Was it really Raven? I could never be sure with every freaky thing I'd faced. But I hoped, for sake of making it easy(er) it was.  
"Nikki?" a young girl named Sara asked.  
"Hm?" I replied.  
"You're upset. Is there anything I can do?" she asked. Empath, right.  
"Don't worry about it" I said.  
"Really, can I?" she asked. Probably eager to be an x-man.  
"Not at the moment. But if I need your help I'll tell you, okay?" I asked, turning back to her.  
She nodded, "Okay."  
She walked out, and Elie ran in, "Okay, okay, I got the best idea ever!"  
"What?" I sighed.  
"We're gonna be like Sherlock and Watson! And I'll even let you be RDJ" she said, nudging me and winking.  
"What? Where is this coming from Elie? Have you been watching TV again?" I asked.  
"UUGH, I mean solve mysteries! We have a case, do we not?" she asked.  
"No, I have to find out who's framing my best friend, that's not a case" I said, "Someone tries that every other week."  
Elie looked at me with puppy eyes, "Best friend?"  
"Guy best friend" I corrected.  
"You said best friend..." she said, looking like she was going to cry.  
"Elie, I didn't mean it like that..." I said. Damn the awkward moments! With Daken these were a rarity! And she wondered why I hung out with guys!  
"Can you make it up to me?" she asked quietly.  
"Oh god..." I muttered, "I know I'm going to regret this...c'mon Watson."  
She grinned, "I love you."  
"Yeah, yeah don't I know it?" I said before grinning at her.  
She rolled her eyes and jogged out, probably going to do something strange. I heard a crash and decided once more, things with Elie's plans I just didn't want to know.  
TBC  
Chapter 3  
"I just don't believe it" Cyclops said. He'd seen the evidence, he knew the alibis, but he also knew I would do anything to protect Daken. That was why he probably saw what I was doing coming, though he still didn't defend himself. I punched him in the face, hard, and my knee jerked up, hitting him in the stomach while at the same time my foot connected with his groin, "Touch him you bs%ard, I'll show you what I can do to you. Every. Single. Way."  
I shoved him back and stormed out. Nobody could keep me there. This was why I was done with the X-Men. Fascist, psychotic bs%ard! I hated him! I knew the Professor was a good man, but Cyclops...I wanted to pitch the bstrd off the side of the island.  
I powered the jet to full speed and slammed on the gas, pushing it as hard as I possibly could. I touched down at home and practically stormed in. Logan was at work. I had to find Daken. I took off my jacket, hanging it up and making sure the door was locked before going up the steps in my socks, rather than get the rest of the house covered in snow.  
I walked to his room, smelling him there, and tossed open the door. I'd planned to storm in and vent to him, but then...he was asleep. He lay diagonally on the bed, some papers from a file spread out everywhere. His hair was still damp from an earlier shower, and he lay on his stomach in jeans and a t-shirt. I sat down by his side, touching his hair gently, stroking it. He gave a quiet snore, turning onto his back. I smiled and gathered up the papers so he could sleep without rolling onto them. Names went past my eyes, Mystique, Mimic...all shapeshifters. He was bent on finding out who was pulling this too. I put everything down on the desk and turned to see him laying on a pillow then, having shifted so he wasn't sleeping diagonally anymore. I pulled his blanket over him and leaned down, stroking his hair again. He made it impossible to be angry. Then, I don't know what came over me, but I started singing Fireflies by Owl City. Just because I wanted to.  
He seemed to fall into a deeper slumber while I sang, and then I lay my head against his arm, holding him. It was about then I realized he needed me too. To do little things that he knew I did, and that was why he was doing the wonderful things he did for me. Staying up late nights helping me work, the quiet times we just spent being as close as siblings, all the times he'd looked out for me and I'd done the same...he didn't deserve anything he'd been dealt in life, but me. Because somehow, I always kept him sane.  
"Nikki, I have a plan! Um, what's going on here?" Elie asked, looking at me laying on Daken, who was fast asleep on his side.  
"Nothing. I just needed a moment" I said.  
"Well, I have a plan. C'mon, we need to get going" Elie said, "This will work."  
"Okay then" I said. She started to leave and I leaned down, brushing Daken's hair back and holding him for one brief moment before I kissed his cheek and left after her. This was going to be interesting, if nothing else.  
TBC  
Chapter 4  
"Dear freakin god Elie" I said, "Why is it everything you do involves a dress? Why isn't Jareth in this damn thing instead of me?!"  
She gave me a look, "Because Jareth had to watch the kids. Did you really want to do that?"  
I thought of the last time Elie's kids and the goblins had started a war on vegetables, and grimaced, "Hell no."  
"Then Jareth is not wearing a dress" she said, and tugged harder on the strings at my back. I yelped, "Elie, I'm small not an elf!"  
"Sorry, you're supposed to look rich!" she said.  
"I have money Elinoria, I don't do 'rich'" I said.  
She started tucking the strings through and I couldn't feel my back. Damn I was going to hate her later.  
"Will you please do this?" she asked more quietly, "You love him, don't you?"  
"Yeah" I said.  
"Then wouldn't you do anything for him? Just like me, or Logan?" she asked.  
"Elie, you're guilt tripping me" I said.  
"No, if I were guilt tripping you I'd be standing in front of you with the puppy eyes going on" Elie said, "I'm just stating facts."  
"I hate it when you're right" I said.  
"Which I never am" Elie said, "I'm just a good persuader."  
I looked at her and she looked at me. "Are you really that oblivious? You can be right...occasionally" I said.  
"Aww, thank you" she said.  
"Elie, we gotta go?" I asked, just dying to get the hell out of this thing.  
"Alright fine!" she said, and sprung forward. She was wearing a gold cocktail dress, zipped up the back, and mine was almost like hers, a slightly lower neckline, with corset like ties up the back. It was so tight it hurt. Then, when Elie wasn't looking, I loosened it just a little. I took a deep breath, happy to be able to, and walked after her.

After walking so much in heels that it made me want to die, we finally had to sit there in this huge mega room, which was a transformed ballroom. I sat down, happy to be off my feet while Elie joined the players in the orchestra. I couldn't believe her. Could she really play? Was this going to blow our cover? Then, they began to play. Elie's violin was strongest, loudest, and as I sat there my jaw dropped. She could play like an angel!  
"Oh. My. God" I found myself murmuring.  
Then a different female violinist tried to outdo Elie. I was surprised this hadn't become the war of the violins. And here I thought Elie would bust out fiddling or something. but it was classical, cultured, and even more surprisingly I was actually still awake. It continued for fourty five minutes. Then, as the final note rung in the air I mentally groaned at having to stand up again. The crowd gave her a standing ovation, but then I knew why this was Elie's plan. The other woman's eyes flashed a pure yellow and I stepped up, blocking her path from the stage, "I didn't know you could play Raven. That a talent you picked up back when you thought you had a chance with my husband?"  
She turned her full yellow eyes on me, the entire room quiet, and Elie grinned, "Oh yeah b!%ch, you got busted."  
TBC  
Chapter 5  
Raven looked at us and the will to fight that I'd seen before was gone. She stepped down and knelt down and said, in the most quiet of voices, "Just do it."  
I looked to Elie. Whatever had persuaded her to fight had been lost.  
"Why did you frame Daken?" I asked.  
"Because I am an oppertunist" Raven said, looking at me, "And my time has gone. So go ahead. Do it."  
I felt the presence behind me, and turned to look. I didn't see anything, but something safe-protective, familiar, waited for me. I turned back to Raven, "You can handle yourself."  
She looked at me, with the most....releaved look I'd ever seen. She stood and backed away from us. Elie ran over to me, "Nikki, what're you doing?"  
"There's someone here. We have to go" I said, starting to walk for the door.  
"Nikki, wait up!" she called.  
I reached the outside, but the cold wintry wind was our only greeting. I'd only felt that presence once in my life before he'd been taken from us. Our father had to have been here. Perhaps not in body, but in spirit. Something inside me warmed as I considered that.  
"Nikki?" Elie asked.  
"Let's go home" I said.  
I knew full well there were things, creatures of myth and legend all around me. People never took the time to look into someone and see if they were human or not. It was just the assumption. But now, today, I could doubt everything. Everything but the bonds of love and family. So as I turned that streetcorner I took it all in. The wind off Lake Michigan, the people clustering on foot commute down the Magnificent Mile. And the fact that while I was here in Chicago, my natural born home, I longed to be back with my family. The people I loved. So I walked, despite the cold and the heels on my feet, toward the train station to get back to where I needed to be. But there was a new strength in me. One that made me want to say something new.  
I am Wolverina.  
Hear me roar.  
The End


	25. Time Warrior, part 1

**(Author's Note- Well, now it's on with collaborations or other Wolverina written stories!)**

**_What If- Time Warrior and Wolverina by Gorvar_**

Introduction: This is my first 'What if' fic so wish my luck.  
This story goes as follows, Time Warrior, aka George Gargan, is a super hero who fought alongside the x-men and his best friend Wolverine, aka Logan or James Howlett.  
Wolveirne has a girlfriend called Wolverina, a former marauder and current x-men. Normally Wolverine and Wolverina are lovers and have a wonderfull relationship, but what if....  
-Wolverina chose Time Warrior?-  
'X-men, intruder alrt, level 5 threat!' Xavier's voice rang through the present x-men's heads. Cyclops, Jean Grey, Night crawler and time warrior ran outside to face the incoming foes.  
'Vhy has Wolverine not shown up yet?' the blue mutant asked before teleporting away to face a incoming feral woman, wearing animal skins.  
'Any ideas Time Warrior?' Cyclops asked, shooting a female version of sabretooth into the air.  
'Im his friend, not his freaking soulmate!' George cried and grabbed his sword.  
When he turned back, he saw a female figure behind him.  
'Oh no you dont!' he crued and slahsed behind him. The woman blocked the strike with her claws. she was only a tad smaller then him, Her marble colored skin was hilighted by her crimson hair with it's indigo streak running down the front simialer to Rogue's. Her black clothing was function and a looker for the eyes of men.  
'what the...?' George uttered and threw her back, he tried to hit her, but she kept dodging and blocking.  
'Hey, i dont have time for games girl!' he yelled at her.  
'Who said I was playin' with ya?" she growled rubbing up against him.  
Time warrior raised his eyebrows and stepped back a second. Ya know, seein' ya like this is kinda sexy" the woman purred.  
'urhghm....who are you?' he asked her.  
"The name's Slasher, don't wear it out" she answered, still purring.  
'What the fuck are you doin'?' the feral woman in animal skins yelled at her team-mate.  
"Yer supposed ta tear 'im apart!" "Well who's to say I don't like to play with my food" Slasher replied, loudly enough so George could hear.  
The feral woman growled and began fighting nightcrawler again.  
"Maybe, just for you, I'll let ya off this time, on one condition" Nikki purred to Time Warrior. "And what might that be?" he asked. "This" she whispered,pulling up his mask so his lower face could be seen and kissing him roughly. "SLASHER?!!!" Lady sabretooth roared,"What the hell are you doing?' Nikki grinned playfully, leaving a dazed George.  
'I'm done here and I ain't leavin you alone with him, oh just wait until I tell Sinister." the feral one started muttering indistinctly while pulling Nikki by her collor. Slasher gave a playful wave and turned to depart beside Lady Sabretooth."'Till next time!" she shouted, the purr still in her voice.  
When Cyclops got to him, Time warrior was still looking where 'Slasher' went.  
'The hell happend to you George,' he cried. George pulled his mask back down and stared at his leader.  
'Urghm...my time powers backfired.' he said calmly.  
'It backfired?' Cyclops asked, tapping his feet.  
'Yeah Summers, it backfired!' George exploded and walked off.  
'Damn....' george thought to himself. ' Thats some crazy girl...'  
TBC

Chapter 2:  
Slasher, also known as Nikki, walked through the marauders camp, her mind elsewhere. Ever since that fight, ever since she kissed time Warrior, her thoguhts allways went to him.  
Hey LM" Nikki chirped to her 'boss' known as lady mastermind.. "Wow, you seem happy" Lady Mastermind stated much to the obvious. "I don't get it" Nikki chatted, "I know I'm supposed to hate Time Warrior, but ever since I kissed him I just cant stop thinking about him." "Woah, you and Time Warrior?" LM asked. "Here I was thinking it was just a rumor." "I wonder if he can't stop thinkingg about me?" Nikki sighed dreamily.  
Back in the X-mansion...he was. George dreamt off to that scene, that small place in history. he kept reminding himself of that scene, even sometimes during his class when hte students were doing tests, he even gave a pop quiz just to remember her.  
'I dunno what yer doin bub.' a voice of a friend said. ' But it aint healthy.'  
George looked back, seeing logan was back.  
'how was your hunt logan?' he grinned.  
'Good.' he replied. ' heard bout a marauder attack?'  
George nodded. ' We're going to attack them tonight.'  
'Good...i been achin fer some practise.' Logan grinned and popped his claws.  
A few hours later the X-menleft in the X-jet, flying towards the marauder camp.  
When the jet, landed, the fight commenced immidiatly. The two groups fought each other fiercly, Time Warrior using time to his advantage, but when he saw Nikki, and she saw him, he freezed time around them. 'Hey...' He said to her.  
'Hello yourself.' she grinned. They walked towards each other.  
'I got a question...' he asked her.  
'which is?'  
'Why?' he smilled  
'These people are my friends, sort of, and i dont have any other place to go to.'  
'No...why did you kiss me?' He smirked.  
'Dunno...' nikki said. ' i just...did.'  
George moved in on her and kissed her deeply. Nikki's eyes went bug eyed, but she returned to kiss passionatly. After the long kiss, George smilled and strayed her hair.  
'what's your name Slasher?' he asked her tenderly.  
'Nikki...yours Time warrior,' she purred.  
'George.' he replied.  
Nikki smilled and kissed him again, more passionate then last time.  
'want me to unfreeze time?' he asked her.  
She placed a finger on his lips. ' Not yet....'  
She grinned as she pulled George to her tent. When they were inside, clothes were throw off fast and passion ensuied.  
outside the tent, time stood still for many hours. When the two lovers came out, both their minds were one, their hearts beating together as one...they fought together as one.  
When time recommoned, it was with great suprisement to all Nikki AKA Slasher switched sides.  
Nikki's claws and Time Warrior's sword proved the victory for the x-men was certain. But in the fight, after he snikt his claws back after winning a fight, Wolverine looked at the couple fighting together...and feeling jealious.  
TBC  
Chapter 3:  
Over the weeks, the relationship grew between George and Nikki. Between missions both held each other's hands when walking through the corridor, kissing each other on the sofa, and a disturbing noise coming from their bedroom.  
During Nikki's stay, she became fast friends with Logan, aka Wolverine.  
she and him trained together alot in the danger room, and monikered the code name 'wolverina' for sharing the same fighting style.  
George was glad his best fiend and his girlfriend got along fine.  
However Nikki became somewhat suspicious of Logn's motives.  
'Your just imagining things hun..' George said tiresome, his energy wasted in the past 15 minutes.  
'I know...' nikki sighed, laying on top of him.  
'Still, i can feel somethings off...'  
George sighed and nodded. 'logan's been acting strange as of late yeah...'  
'You know him longer then i do, any ideas?' nikki asked.  
George shrugged. ' Maybe he's not used to be in such beautifull presence you bring in a room?' he grinned. Nikki smirked and kissed him passionatly.  
'Now i remember why i picked you..' she grinned.  
'Maybe i need to refreshmy memory.' he replied and switched positions, him being on top and kissing her deeply. The giggles and moans that cae from that room angered Logan somhow.  
What was it she saw in him? he wasn't funny, or handsome in particiliar, he wasn't even a mutant.  
Logan smoked his cigar and went to bed.  
The next day, the x-men fought against Magneto and his brotherhood, consisting of Mystetique, Sabretooth, blob and toad. a rather easy group to beat, but still effective.  
'Boy toad, mags,!' Tw cried over, knocking the toad away with his sword. 'You must really be getting deseperate!'  
'Think he couldn't call all of his friends!' Nikki joined in.  
'Thats what you get if yer dont pay yer phone bill Lensherr!' Logan snikt his way through rubble.  
'Cant you people stop bantering?' cyclops shot a optic blast at magneto, who deflected it easily.  
'why not, Spidey does it?' Tw asked, using his powers to stop incoming rocks coming at Nikki.  
'We are not Spider-man!' Cyclops said whilst dodging a blow.  
'Ooooh, seems we got a other Spider-man hater wolverina!' Tw grinned, slashing a rock in two.  
'Wolverine AND Cyclops, gee next time we need to bring Storm and night crawler with us!' Nikki replied.  
'Maybe even Rogue or Gambit, i like Gambit, he's french talking.'  
'Shut up!' Magneto yelled and used his powers to control wolverine's adamantium.  
'Oh, not this shit again!' Wolverine yelled and flew away.  
'Wolverina, can you close in on Magneto?!' Cyclops yelled.  
Wolverina was fighting sabretooth, her claws digging through his skin, yelling her way through.  
'I think she's a bit busy with Sabretooth Sulmmers...' Tw said and kicked Mysterque away. ' Dont worry, i called a friend.'  
'Who,' cyclops asked.  
he got his answer soon enough, when webs coverd Magneto all over.  
'Yohoo, Friendly neighberhood Spide-man here!' a red-blue costumed man said, webbing magneto.  
'You called Spider-man?' Cyclops asked, shooting Sabretooth away.  
'Hey, i got friends outside the x-men to, cut me some slack here.' Tw sighed.  
Wolveirne used Magneto's weakness as a plus and snikt his way in the Blob, hurting him and subdoing him easily.  
'This is fun...toke him down, who's the size of elephant..' Logan grinned, his bloody claws popping back. ' I think i like it.' he grinned.  
'Okay, wolfy gives me the creeps.' Spider-man replied and swinged on, kicking toad down.  
'You get used to him after a while.' Nikki said whilst resting a bit.  
when Sabretooth had enough rest and leaped at her however, Tw leaped in, his sword going through Sabretooth's chest.  
'Mind if i 'cut' in?' Tw asked, conjuring a smile on nikki's face, and a growl on Logan's part.  
'Argh...damn you human!' Sabretooth growled and tried to get Tw, but he kept popping up everywhere.  
'Logan, take him now!' tw cied, but to no avail. He looked around, seeing Logan was nowhere to be found. George panicked he couldn't take out sabretooth by himself, and logan was behind him just seconds ago.  
A punch hit Tw, disconnecting him from his sword.  
He smacked against a wall of a ruined house. He looked up, seeing Sabretooth and Mysteque were grinning at him.  
'Mind if i 'cut' in, sorta speak?' Sabretooth grinned and slashed at George's chest. George let out a cry of pain, followed by a other when Mystetique shot him in the kneecaps.  
'Logan where are you?!' George cried, recieving a other punch in the face.  
Sabretooth sniffed. 'he's here...but he aint doin' anything..' Creed said.  
'Good, means we can kill a x-men.' Mysticue grinned and aimed her gun at George's forehead. George gasped for air, seeing things double.  
The gun was loaded and ready to fire.  
'Goodbye &%#$ sapien...' Mysteque smiled. But when she was about to fire, a web was shot at her pistol and pulled it away.  
'Sorry, but no water guns in the classroom!' Spider-man yelled and swung in, grabbing George.  
Before the evil mutants could retiaate, a whirlwind set in, blasting them against a wall.  
'Good job Ororo!' a blue furred being said when he leaped in and beat both unconcious. ' A most excellent shot!'  
'Thank you Hank.' a african american woman said as she descended from the heavens, her white hair tied in a bun.  
'Urghm guys,' spider-man said, putting Time Warrior down on the ground. ' Time Warrior isn't looking healthy.'  
'George!' a terrified female voice screamed when she saw her boyfriend, his chest gaping with wounds and his voice all swollen.  
she grabbed him and held him in her arms.  
'Call Elixer!' Cyclops shouted.  
In the distance, a short male figure sat in the ruins of a building. ' what 'ave i almost done...' he sighed in shame.  
TBC  
Chapter 4:  
A wounded x-men was common in the sick bay, but most of the time it was a mutant, this time a human almost died to save mutantkind. only by the actions of Spider-man did George, son of his enemy of the scorpion, survive.  
Nikki, aka Wolverina, sat next to george's sick bed, holding his hand and hoping george would wake up soon.  
'You sure he'llbe fine?' Spider-man asked profesor Xavier, both standing in the hallway..  
'Yes, i am certain he will get up and fight again, thanks to your actions mister spider-man.' Charles smiled and shoke peter parker's hand.  
'All in a super hero's day's work.' Peter smiled behind his mask.  
'Allthough, i would fire Wolverine if i were you, normally he had Time Warrior's back, and if i wasn't there, Scorpion would be trashing this place to bits and pieces.'  
Xavier nodded.  
'and i know how many times this mansion got blown up, i got it on my vcr.'  
Xavier chuckeled, indeed it seemed george's friend was a witty one.  
A few rooms ahead, cyclops, as team-leader, called Logan forth.  
'What the hell were you doing logan, you almost got George killed!'  
Logan growled, putting up a cigare. 'Dunno what yer talkin bout summers...'  
'Dont play games with me logan...' Cyclops said ina grim voice.  
'The profesor AND Jean both find your thoughts disturbing as of late...'  
Logan dropped his cigare. ' You been spyin in me head,!' he growled snikking his claws.  
'we didn't had a choice Logan, we all saw you looking at nikki and george...what were you thinking, that you could have her when he's dead?'  
Without a pause, logan nodded. Scott gasped, for the first time since he knew the canadian, he knew now for certain...logan was now to untrustworthy.  
'I want you to leave this mansion Logan....' Scott sighed.  
Wolverine looked down at the ground, the actions of his words sinking in.  
'NOW!' Scott yelled and pointed at the door.  
Logan popped his claws back and left.  
He grabbed th few belongings he had in his room. He stufed themall in a back, but he paused at a picture, a phtograph of him and George in the training room, before Nikki.  
Less then a year ago, he would've gone through hell and back for him...just yesterday he would let him die by two of logan's own rogue gallery because he might had a shot at Nikki.  
He let the picture be and walked through the mansion.  
The many students stood flabbergastered at the sight, one of their mentors was fired because he almost let their history teacher die.  
Whenhe got off the stairs, he heard a voice. when he looked behind, he saw Nikki walking athim. Logan didn't reply, or say sorry. he stood there.  
' I heard something Logan...something i know you wouldn't do to George.'  
Logan didn't say a word.  
'Tell me it's not true.' she cried, letting her tears fall from her cheeks.  
Logan still didn't reply, much to nikki's anger. She slapped him not once, not twice, not even thrice...if it wasn't for her healing facotr, her hand would've been broken on first impact.  
Logan tunred his back and left the mansion,leaving a crying Nikki behind.  
A few hours later, George opend his eyes, seeing a firmiliar face guarding over him.  
'hey hun...' he whspered, much to nikki's delight. she cheered and kissed him deeply.  
'Thank god your allright.' she smiled.  
'Yeah....' George replied. 'Thank god..'  
He looked down and saw a basket filled with flowers.  
'It's from kimberley, your ex-secretary.' nikki said, stroking his hair.  
'god....how..?'  
Beofre he could continue, nikki placed her fingers on his lips and kissed him.  
'You rest now...' she smiled.  
George nodded and closed his eyes.  
'Hows Logan?' he asked.  
Nikki paused, not knowing how to reply.  
'he's fine hun...' she finally said. George smiled and went back to sleep.  
In a bar far away, Logan sat on a bar stool, drinking his sorrow away. He ignored the tv, mentioning how the X-men and Spider-man defeated Magneto in downtown New york. They also mention a wounded x-men, but give no specifics who.  
'I'll get you George...' logan growled. 'Someday..i'll get you.'  
TBC  
Chapter 5:  
A few days later George is still in bed, his legs were almost recovered but a few more days in bed wouldn't hurt.  
Nikki came up and down regulary, in fact if it wasn't for substituting his classes or missions she would be down here all the time.  
This was one of the few moments Nikki wasn't there, when George felt lonely.  
He tried to remember what happend that day, why Logan didn't cover his back. The X-men, espiaclly Nikki, didn't tell him what happend to logan, other then 'He left with no reason.'  
George's sword laid next to him in his bed, another gift from spiderman.  
He tried to ask Spidey aswell what happend, but he shrugged and repeated what the x-men said.  
George closed his eyes a bit, trying to fall asleep, when he opend them, he saw somebody was sitting next to him.  
'Logan?' George asked suprised.  
'Hey bub...' Logan replied, taking a look at George's sword.  
'where you been dude?' George asked positivly,not knowing Logan betrayed him.  
''round...' the canadian replied.  
'What happend back there dude, i thought you had my back.' George asked.  
When George saw the look of Logan's eyes, fixed on George's sword he knew something was off. Then the puzzle pieces fell together, Logan acting weird the past few days, how he allways walked away when George and Nikki held hands...  
'You did it on purpose didn't you...?' George asked dissapointed.  
Logan nodded, grabbing the sword firmly.  
'Because of Nikki?'  
'Dont drag her into this!' logan shouted, aiming the sword at George.  
'What the hell is wrong with you Logan?!' George shouted back. ' Ever since she came here, you been acting all jealious!'  
Logan began gasping for air. ' She was mine George, she was mine!'  
'She picked me Logan, get over it! Dont do anything you'l regret!'  
Logan grinned. ' I wont...'  
The X-jet landed in the hangar, with the first one leaving was offcourse Nikki, wnating to see her boyfriend again.  
'She got it bad...' Cyclops smirked.  
'Well yes, so it would seem.' Beast replied.  
A cry deafend the entire hangar.  
'nikki!' Cyclops yelled and stormed in the infirmary. A shcked Nikki stood in front of the door, her hands on her face. Tears came rolling out at the sight she saw.  
George's sword embedded in his chest, his face all scrambeld up by what looked like claws, and a big hole where his heart should've been.  
Cyclops was shocked at the sight. beast, after throwing up a few times, hit the alarm and sniffed the air.  
'logan....he must've got passed the defences.'  
Nikki stood there, hoping it was not true. Not now, not this. She walked over slowly, grabbing George's cold hand. logan's stench was all over him, the sword, the face....  
Nikki burst out into tears, crying for the lvoe she lost.  
A few days later the X-men, The Avengers and other heores gathered at George's Funeral. Even Kimberley was present with her new boyfriend, a lawer called Matt Murdock, who somehow knew George.  
Nikki was dressed in black robe, holding her baby son Vincent in her arms.  
After Xavier made his speech, Nikki gave her son to Storm and walked off.  
'where are you going?' Storm asked.  
Nikki didn't say a word, she walked off towards the garage. She changed into something more 'suitable', her X-men uniform, and started Logan's Motorbike he left behind.  
she gave full throttle and rode towards the fading sun.  
TBC  
Chapter 6:  
After three months searching in the canadian frozen wilds, Nikki found her destination. A small hut on a cliff.  
She was tugged in warm by animal furs, similiar like her friend Chloe was.  
She walked slowly, trying to make sure every step she toke in the snow, wasn't loud enough to be heard inside.  
When she was in front of the door, she kicked it open and drew her claws.  
A male figure stood up and snikt his claws, but Nikki was to fast for him, in a single swoop she had him pinned down on the ground.  
'Damn you Logan!' she screamed . ' you killed him!'  
'Yer dont understand!' logan cried back and kicked her off. Their claws met each other many times, it didn't take long before they knew, both knew, they were each other's match.  
Nikki was gasping for air, as was Logan. A short cold war toke palce, untill Nikki broke the silince.  
'Why Logan...?' she asked, almost whimpering.  
'Because i had to...' Logan said. ' He was responsible for everything bad happening to me.'  
'Bullshit!' Nikki cried. ' You killed him because i loved him instead of you!'  
logan sighed, slowly nodding.  
'You felt it to darlin, you felt we belonged together, i saw you watchin me in the danger room...me watchin you.'  
Nikki gasped. ' I was merely checking you out!' she growled. ' Your attrective, but i wouldn't dump George, ever!'  
Logan grinned. ' he said the same bout you...'  
'Wh..what?'  
'I gave him a choice...i would kill him if he would keep you, i would let him live of he dumped you...y'know how he replied?'  
Nikki shoke her head. Logan grabbed something from his poucket and threw it in front of Nikki.  
Nikki bursted into tears what she saw...a ring, he was going to prepose to her.  
'He asked me if i would be his best man...yer know how i replied.'  
Nikki knelt down and toke the ring. ' George..' she whispered.  
Beofre Logan could use this moment of weakness to his advantage, webs shot him against the wall of the hut.  
'Didn't your mother teach you not to hit girls!' spider-man swung in, followed by cyclops who knocked out Logan with his optic blast.  
Still it wasn't enough to knock out Wolverine, only thanks to iceman they could freeze him.  
'thats chilled for ya.' Spidey exclaimed, looking over at Nikki.  
'You ok nikki?' he asked, Nikki nodded, stil holding the ring.  
Cyclops laid a hand on her shoulder. ' You cant give up now Nikki....not when your going to become a mother again..do it for him...'  
Nikki nodded, for she knew she carried George's child, thats why she jumped off the X-jet as first that day she wnated to tell him.  
Now her son would never know his father...  
Epilogue  
The story does not end her however. The relationship affected the entire marvel universe and it's super hero community, allow me to elaborate.  
Nikki gave birth 6 months later, calling her son after his father. The Scoprion, aka Mac Gargan, decided to give up his criminal career because of his son's sacrifice he decided to become a hero.  
Spider-man joined the x-men, at first he declinded, but when he heard George vouched for him beofre he died, he inlsited eagerly.  
This was the first step made towards a friendlier Super hero and mutant co-existance.  
Alas 10 years later, Nikki, torn with grieve, dissapeared into the wilds of Canada, leaving her son in care of Xavier. But George jr grew up and toke up the Time Warrior sword, fighting for the people of Earth alongside his brother Vincent against many foes, from those who wanted to rule the Earth or seeking to destroy it.  
where is Wolverine you ask? Some part of Nikki, i suspected the other nikki's of the other universes who picked Logan, persuaded her to let Logan life. Nikki asked SHIELD to dropthe frozen wolverine inthe Artic, nobody has seen or even wanted to find him, ever since.  
The new Time warrior is just like his father and mother, passionate and witty, but yet eager to deal justice.  
I can tell on how the story will further evelop, but that is for a other time.  
Sincerely, Uatu the watcher


	26. Time Warrior, Part 2

**_Time Warrior: Pay Back by Gorvar_ (note: the Time Warrior stories are out of order)**

Chapter one: Daily Routine.  
A dark figure stands on a rooftop, looking down at the busy streets below, this is rightfully called 'The City that enver sleeps' for sure. New york, The Big where the super-heroes and villans are a part of daily life.  
The figure on the rooftop wore a dark costume, his mask covering his entire face. He had a sword strapped on his back and a sword crest on his chest. His name was Time Warrior, former X-men now Avenger.  
Nobody knew if he was a human or a mutant, they only knew when mutants or humans were in trouble, he was there to save the day.  
His name was only know in the Super-hero circles, which was George Gargan...the son of the 'Scorpion'. He was a outcast in the comunity, only a few really triusted him, those being the X-men Wolverine and Spider-man. He had similiar approuches to fighting crime as Frank Castle, as in no rogue Gallery that lives through one fight, but he didn't quite like the guy.  
A gunshot was heard, Time Warrior's cue. He grabbed his sword and concentrated. In less then a blink Tw' was on ground level, weapon drawn. When Tw looked up he saw a large male figure standing in a alley.  
'Hello Time Warrior...long timeno see' the voice saidand came out of the shadows. It was a large Africain American male, he had golden teeth and a large cloak around his neck. Tw gasped for a moment.  
'Mark Rexton?' Tw asked. ' I thought you was pushing up daisies 6 feet under.'  
Mark grinned. 'hell was crowded, so i came back.' The criminal pulled his gun and aimed it at Time Warrior. Time Warrior grinned back and drew his sword.  
'Maybe i wasn't thorough enough...' Yw concluded. ' But i can remedy that problem.'  
Mark threw his gun in the air, multiplying when it started to hover. Mark Rexton was a mutant, one of the worst. So bad even magneto's offered a membership to him.  
The Guns opend fire at Time Warrior, but he sued his pwoers to slow down time and dodged them easily. When he came close enough, he slashed Mark's arm.  
Time resotored to it's normal speed when Mark's blood hit the pavement.  
George stood up and looked at mark...who began grinning.  
'The hell...' Time wariror said before he finally got it.  
A Gun-shot and no victim, mark back from the dead, all alone? Classical set-up.  
He looked around and saw dozens of red dressed figures appear.  
'Hand ninja's?!' he yelled. ' The fuck are you lot doing here?!'  
None answered, for that is the ninja way, and threw their stars at him.  
Time warrior teleported up, seeing the stars hit other 'targets', and landed down again, beginning his masacre on the ninja's.  
When his sword first hit blood, it was green. Undead ninja's. Top of the elite. guys nuts enough to kill their families AND themselves. SHIELD gave out post-it's about them. George grabbed his cell-phone and dialed the pre-set number. The number was dialed on Stark-tower, the New Avenger's Hq. Since Iron man was out of town, George couldn't expect help from him. He only hopes Spidey wasn't out on patrol and Luke wasn't busy watching the game between the Giants and the Lakers.  
More gunshots appeared, hitting more ninja's then actually getting near Tw. Tw grinned, at least the Hand also programmed Mark's lack of accuracy. When Tw killed the last Ninja and incapicitated Mark, he heard a Snikt-sound. He looked behind him and saw a menancing Wolverine.  
'Ah &*$%#...' George cursed.  
'Now yer had yer fill...it's time fer the main course.' Logan grinned.  
'Bring it puchie, lets show those who pull your strings how bad-ass i am.'  
George held a defensive stance as Logan leaped in, claws drawn.  
Chapter two: ass kickery times squared  
George knew getting through to him wouldn't matter. Hydra had Wolveirne under their controle, not even dead could wolverine do anything. He alone killed 200 SHIELD agenents this far, and 4 other super heroes.  
But George prmosed Nikki, Wolverine's Girlfriend, he would try and not kill him...if Logan doesn't kill him first. So far the fight has gone stale, blows fro and back that merely serves as a waming up.  
Only after Tw used his pwoers to knck Logan back, things started to get intresting.  
But this time, he went beserk. His claws snikking in out out, kicking and punching.  
Tw barely was able to deflect him off, even Time powers didn't help much.  
'Time fer a good beatin'. logan grinned and went up a notch. This was George's downfall.  
logan punched and jabbed at the right palces, and in no time George was at his mercy.  
'Sweet dreams kid...' He grinned. A Snikt sound came from his hands.  
George's thoughts went to his family, his wife and children. what would they do when he's gone, many times did she say not to do this stuff, the other heores got it coverd, but he didn't lsiten...he didn't listen..  
A battle cry was heard, as a small female feral form jumpedout of the shadow, blocking the claws. She had long dark hair, a pale complexion and a pretty face. George reconised her from everyhere.  
'Nikki, the hell are you-'  
'shut it!' she cried and fought Logan.  
'what is wrong with you Logan?' she asked during the fight.  
'Nothin's wrong darlin.' he said. 'Hydra just scerewed around in my head more.'  
'Watch it!' George yelled. 'He can kill you!'  
Nikki turned back, this is what Logan needed. He kicked her down and threw her away. His claws were inces away beofre he suddenly stopped.  
'Logan...?' nikki asked faintly. she saw he was resisiting, not wanting to do this.  
Search lights appeared out of nowhere, dozens of SHIELD agents came down from helicopters, tanks, cars...but they only found the two wounded heroes.  
'Sir, we got Time Warrior and Wovlerina...No sign of Wovlerine.' A red haired man said.  
'Got it Dugan...take them to the helicarier and call the avengers and the X-men...' the radio voice responded.  
TBC  
Chapter 3

George opend his eyes. He was in a small gray room, with only one door and a black bird with the intiails SHIELD on a wall.  
'The helicarier...?' George mumbeld. ' &*$%#, something big is going on indeed..' he said and sat up.  
Shortly, a man came in. He had brwn hair, a eyepatch and a grim face.  
'Fury...' George said knowingly.  
'Mister Gargan...' Fury responded.  
'Wolverine?' George asked, grabbing his sword that stood next to his bed.  
Nick Fury nodded and grabbed something from his pocket. A sigare form came out and Nick lighted it when he put it in his mouth.  
'The Hand is behind this..' George said.  
'I know.' Nick said and exhauled, blue smoke came out of his nostrils.  
'So does HYDRA, AIM and several other organisations...'  
George gasped, that many organisations working together?  
'The guy responsible is Gorgon, aka Tomi Shishido.'  
'I heard of him from xavier.' George said. ' Mutant, japanese...Cyrebra lost track of him moments after Xavier found him.'  
Nick fury nodded. 'He's tough as nails, he toke out Elektra before you stumbeld into him...'  
Elektra, things were seriously going to hell for sure.  
'So why me?' George asked.  
'Not you alone....thing is Gorgon has been attacking Heroes and Villans...you saw one of your Rogue Gallery tonight didn't you?'  
George nodded and remembered Mark Rexton.  
'We need your help Gargan, and big time.' Nick said, putting the sigar back in his mouth.  
'We got intel on a Hydra base, i want you and Wolverina to get in and dowload any intel you got, weapons, plans....'  
Goerge got up and put his mask back on. 'where do i sgin up?' he grinned.  
'You allready are...'  
A hour later George and Nikki were stood on a Helicoptor, south of New york. In a small barn, typical, there was a small Hydra base Shield found 1 hour, 3 minutes and 10 seconds ago. The Objective was simple, get in, get intel and get out.  
'You got 5 minutes to complete your objective, after that Hydra boys will show up and your screwed.' the comandig officer said.  
'What if we take to long and the five minutes pass?' Nikki asked. 'whats plan b?'  
She wore dark SHIELD uniform with short sleeves, it was armoured enough to witchstand a few bullets and a jab from a sword. She looked good in it. Goerge wore his old costume, with the only exception his sHIELD badhe that served as a comunicator.  
'plan B is, we shoot rockets and blow the barn up sky high.' the officer said.  
'Lovely...' Nikki sighed.  
'At least you guys have Dentals....' George grinned and sat thight.  
The pilot looked back. ' 10 seconds!' he cried.  
15 seconds later, Goerge and nikki were below the barn, teleported themselves 5 seconds earlier when the helicopter flew above the barn.  
The green costumed HYDRa personel didn't know what to do when Two super heroes jumped and started killing their buddies.  
'This is for Logan you bastards!' she cried as she snapped ones neck.  
'And this is For Pony!' George yelled after he stabbed a Hydra soldier.  
Nikki looked confused for a moment, then carried on. She found the main computer first and grabbed her datapad, concecting it with the computer.  
'3 minutes cover me!' she yelled.  
'sure thing Nikki.' george said ' what's the worst that-'  
Before he could finnish, a woman with a dark uniform appeared, along her 5 hand ninja's.  
'Elektra....' George sighed.  
'Time Warrior.' Elektra replied with a grin.  
Time Warrior went into a defensive stance. 'This is gonna hurt...' he said beofre the ninja's leaped in.  
TBC  
Chapter 4: Get Wolverine  
Adrialine pumped through George's veins when he fought with the first ninja. Despite sending their best, or else they wouldn't accompany Elektra, George easily overpowered them.  
Without losing focus he chopped off a scarlet ninja's head, before disembowling the other with his sword. Two out of four were not getting up.  
In the split second he looked at elektra, doing nothing. She just kept watching the fight, hoping maybe the ninja's could do all the dirty work. George grinned and continued his fight.  
The two others merely costed Time Warrior any energy, he used his time powers to accelerate their age, rendering them into dust.  
'George look out!' Nikki yelled and George dodged the strike.  
It seems Elektra had her fill off waiting and decided to join.  
Despite having no powers, Elektra was fast, way faster then expected.  
'1 more minute!' Nikki yleled and leaped inside the fight.  
Elektra drew her second katana and slashed at her, Nikki barely dodging the strike. Nikki growled and slashed at Elektra with her razor sharp claws. Elektra winced and pulled back , looking at the wounds Wolverina gave her on her arm. She grinned.  
'The hell is wrong with these Hand guys?' Nikki said to Time Warrior.  
'Dunno...' Goerge replied, staying in his defensive stance. ' But if they got her to, they must've got some nifty Mojo...'  
'Mojo?' Nikki asked. ' What's mojo?'  
George shrugged and went into the attack.  
He slashed at Elektra with his sword, but she parried the strike and kicked him back against the wall, Nikki came in second and was able to scratch Elektra again, but she soon followed George' suit.  
Nikki coughed up blood. ' Though...' she managed to utter.  
'No shit sherlock...' George replied and leaned on his sword.  
A ding sound was heard, the information on the datapad has been downloaded. George limped over fast and grabbed the datapad.  
'Nikki, lets-'  
He looked over where Nikki was, and gasped at the sight. A split second before he dissapeared in a green cloud, Wolverine grabbed Nikki.  
'Fuck!' George yelled and saw at least a dozen ninja's poofing around him.  
The ninja's all ganed up on him, but george merely cut them away and yelled. ' Screw you guys, im going home!'  
He used his pwoers to teleport away, and less then 5 seconds later the barn was blown up sky high.  
George came in the helicopter, tired and gave the datapad to the officer.  
'where's Wolverina?' he asked.  
'Wolverine...' George replied tired.  
The officer nodded.  
'Sir!' the pilot said. ' The Omega Base is under attack!'  
'Set a course there!' tthe Officer yelled and looked at George. 'You ready for some more?'  
George sat and drank some water a SHIELD soldier gave him. ' I was born ready...'  
TBC  
Chapter 5: ass kickery squared part 2.  
(lots of cursing ^^; )  
The helicopter hovered above the giant rolling building. George and two other SHIELD agents jumped down on the deck. Beofre they could analyse where they landed, a explosion occured.  
BOOM!  
The helicopter they were on crashed behind them.  
'Shit, fuuuck!' a agent kept yelling. George slapped him and grabbed him by the collar.  
'Be a man!' George said and went in first, sword drawn.  
The agents behind him were nervious, their bodies shaking and their guns trembling in their hands.  
Beofre he blew up, the officer said to find the self-destruct button and get the hell out of there.  
'Why hello there Time Warrior.' a voice said. George reconised the voice, it had a japanese accent.  
'If it isn't Gorgon, sup?' George grinned, pulling a Luke Cage.  
'Im suprised your doing Fury's work.' the voice of Gorgon replied. 'I thought you two dont get along?'  
'We dont, but when he told me i had to kill some ass, i signed up, plus i got a bag of cookies.'  
Time warrior went on first, eventually reaching the bridge. The SHIELD agent punched in a few buttons and the self destruct system went on-line.  
'Well done.' Gorgon said. ' But you forget one thing...'  
The monitors switched on and showed a bandaged Wolverina in the downward most level of the Base.  
'Self destruct sequeince intiated, 10 minutes till self destruct.' the Pa announced.  
'Better hurry..' the voice said, laughing.  
'fuck you you ****** Japanese ****' George yelled.  
The Shield agenst punched in a few buttons and revealed a escape pod.  
'Come on!' one of them yelled and got in the pod.  
'You go, im catching Wolverina!' George said running to the basement level.  
'Goddamnit Time Warrior, you'll get killed!' the Shield agents yelled and shut off the escape pod, fleeing the doomed vehicle.  
George ran through the base like one possed, the hand ninja's barely holding him back. 4 minutes were left when he found the room where Wolverina was caught.  
George looked at her, seeing she was sedated.  
He went inside and cut her of her bounds. When the 'Snikt' sound was heard, George knew who was inside the room and slashed instictivly at the sound.  
'Logan.' George said, looking at Wolverine straight in the eye.  
'George.' Logan replied, his claws being blocked by George' sword.  
The two fought each other for 2 minutes, untill only one minute was left to escape the place. only logan could survive a explosion like grabbed Logan and Nikki and teleported out of the vacinty, in down-town New York.  
Logan punched George and resumed the fight, with a dozen of Hand ninja's backing him up.  
'Bring it on!' George yeleld and kept fighting. His arm growing weary after every kill. It was with great joy Nikki woke up and killed the remaining two beofre fighting Logan again.  
George sat down and rested a bit, before switching again with nikki.  
'Come to your senses Logan!' she yelled.  
'I am!' Logan yelled and kept fighting. He used his beserker rage so much George was knocked back against a wall, Logan claws a inc away from George's nose.  
George looked in logan's eyes, seeing doubt. Sound faded away for a moment, untill he heard...sobbing. George and Logan looked at Nikki who was sobbing.  
'I want my Logan back...' she cried, falling to her knees.  
Wolveirne stepped back, striding over to Nikki. He retracted his claws and sat next to her...and actually held her in his arms.  
'im sorry darlin...' he said. ' Im so sorry...'  
George picked up a steel pipe and slammed it at logan's head, rendering him unconcious.  
Nikki looked shocked at the sight and slapped George.  
'The hell where you doing?!' she yelled.  
'Buying s time, his mind was clear for a few seconds, i toke my chance!'  
George signaled and a small team of SHIELD agenst appeared on the scene, taking Logan away.  
'I hope you know what your doing..' she sighed and followed the Shield unit.  
George sighed and teleported home, it was 3 AM and a school night. He would be poofed in the morning, but he could see his wife and kids again.  
'Seems your boy made it through Cap.' Fury grinned at Captain america, both looking down at Wolverine in a computer cell, specificly designed to un-branwash individuals.  
'Time Warrior is a team-mate, nothing more, nothing less.' Cap said. ' But i am suprised he pulled this off.'  
Both sawa concerned Wolverina looking at the process, hoping the love of her life would be ok.  
'Hydra is on the move again....' Cap sighed.  
'no worries...' nick grinned. ' We got our killing machine back.'  
TBC  
Chapter 6: Avengers Assemble! Hell yeah!  
The alarm rang in the Avengers/Stark Tower. The SHIELD Helicarier was under attack by HYDRA. The uinjet allready flew off towards the Helicariers known locations, in it Iron man, Time Warrior and Spider-man.  
'Isn't nutsy Logan on that ship?' Spiderman asked.  
'Yes, Time warrior caught him last night.' iron man replied.  
'Woah, and i thought i was bust last night...' Spidey grinned. ' how many hand ninja's did you kill for that?'  
'Bout 200 give or take....was fun.' George said, polising his sword.  
'call me next time and we can have some lauhgs, being with Daredevil is to serious.' Spiderman said humeriously.  
'Oh my god...' Iron man gasps as he sees the Helicarier burning in the sky.  
Beeps were heard on the radar, missles shot from HYDRA. Time warrior teleported the three occupants away and inside the carier, where hell broke loose.  
Spider-man barely dodged a bullet coming from a super villan.  
'wait, super villans? Dude we're seriously underpowered here!' Spidey said and started shooting web-bullets.  
'No shit sherlock?!' Time warrior replied and blocked the shots with his sword.  
'All this damage...Fury is going to ask Starktech for weapons again after this for sure.' Stark said and fired his lasers at the incoming villans.  
'Thought you hated fury?' Tw replied, slashing one down.  
' I do, but i love his money though.' Stark replied witty.  
'That, and booze and women, i swear you had more women then Matt Murdock, and belive me i know matt!' spiderman swinged by, kicking away.  
'Not now peter...' iron man sighed.  
The Trio stopped when they heard laughter coming from behind them, when theylooked behind them, they saw Wolverine and Wolverina killing through, the villans actually rnning away from them.  
'Well...at least Logan is awake.' Spidemran said.  
'shut it Peter...' Time warrior and Iron man replied beofre giving chase.  
TBC  
Epilogue: Night's still young.  
Nikki giggeld as Logan went off her after their 'sparring' excercise.  
She never felt this good, noted to the fact she got her lover back after the Hand's involvement.  
Logan gasped for air, his arm around nikki's naked body. He smiled and kissed her deeply.  
'Think we might've made some noise darlin...' Logan grinned.  
'Who cares?' she replied and returned the kiss. ' i got my boyfriend back, thats all that matters.'  
Logan smiled and went under the sheets, kissing Nikki from below.  
Nikki moaned a bit, knowing he was only half way through their 'excersice.'  
The phone rang, much to nikki's annoyince. Logan growled and pikced it up.  
'Who's it?' he asked  
'Sorry Logan, we got a problem.' The voice on the other end said.  
'What problem george?'  
'Ninja, terrorist problems, saving the world and stuff. SHIELD is going to hell and we need your ass kickery on the double.'  
'Got it....' Logan said and shut off the phone.  
'you got to go?' Nikki asked. Logan grinned and got on Nikki, kissing her deeply. 'Not yet.' he wrapped his arm around her and took her.  
A few people in the mansion couldn't sleep because of what came out of logan's bedroom that night.  
The next day logan got out of bed, letting Nikki sleep, and put on his clothes. He put on his uniform and stpped outside, where a quinjet was waiting for him.  
'Y'ready?' logan asked time warrior.  
'I was born ready.'Tw replied and got in the Quinjet.  
He dialed in a few buttons and the Quinjet was on towards Japan.  
'time to say some buddies hello...' Logan grinned and snikt his claws.  
Nikki ran as fast as she could, barely half clothed, and looked as the Quinjet flew away.'Be carefull...' she whimpered and went back inside.  
The end

Part 2

Chapter 1: Checklist  
The Quinjet flew into Canada, where the latest news of the White Dawn came in. The White dawn was a terrorist group of mutants who made magneto's gang look like choir boys.  
Apprenintly Northstorm, a x-men, was ressurected by the Hand and was the new leader after Gorgon left for more 'Bigger and beutifull things.'  
'Drop me off here.' Logan said and Tw nodded.  
He landed the plane nearbye a Canadian town. Rain was pouring by the gallons, but Logan didn't care.  
'you know the plan, right?' he asked to his friend.  
'Sure.' Tw nodded. ' Go kick some &*!.'  
Tw shut off the door and waited for Logan to do his thing.  
Logan entered the local bar, seeing everybody in it died, except for 4 people. The Bar-keep, Northstar and two of his cronies.  
Logan orderd up a beer and sat down next to Northstar.  
'How did you track me down?' northstar asked.  
'You were allways B-list at best Jean-paul, even back in alpha flight.'Logan replied, taking a big sip from his beer.  
'ouch..' Northstar replied. 'I see your SHIELD's lackey again.'  
Wolverine grinned at the rmark, itwasn't even SHIELD who was giving him orders.  
'No bub.' Logan said. ' Im here to give you a chance, the same i got.'  
'Pass....' Northstar said faster then expected.  
'Thats Hyra talkin bub....'  
'Look, i enjoy being the way i am logan, here i dont have to listen to the garbage Xavier made us listen every day.' Northstar exploded.  
Logansighed, there was no chnace bringing him backvoluntarily and got up.  
'Seems im gonna have to force ya then.' Logan sighed and snikt his claws.  
Northstar grinned and whispered something to his cronies, suddenly the entire room was filled with Mutants.  
'See you got yer buddies withya..' Wolverine grinned.  
'Indeed.' Northstar replied. 'And you got none.'  
'Not exactly...'  
The Quinjet flew through the bar's wall, taking out man Mutants in a firey explosion. beforeanyone knew what happend, Northstar noticed the bar-keep was gone, and a other figure was killing his men...  
'Booyah!' the figure yelled and cut a mutant in half.  
'damn, it's Time Warrior, We're dog shit!' a crony said, before being jabbed by Wolverine.  
'You got that right bub.' Logan grinned and focused his attention on Northstar.  
Northstar jumped into action and toke logan outside, slamming against a car.  
'49...50..51..' Time warrior counted. 'Boy you guys have a group pass i take it!'  
Logan punched the senses out of Northstar and grabbed him by his collar.  
'where is Gorgon?!' Logan yelled.  
'Im never going to tell you...' Northstar replied, blood dripping from his mouth.  
'If you do, i promise Jean-paul nobody will lay a hand on you.'  
'Promise, Northstar asked, somewhat hopefully, recieving a nod from logan.  
Northstar paused. 'kiss my-'  
BBeofre he could finnish the sentince Northstar was allready booking a ticket to dream-land.  
Logan looked over to the bar, seeing the last f the mutants being tossed outside.  
'That was fun....' George said when he came out.  
'Waste of a good jet though...' logan remarked.  
'So....next stop?'  
logan grinned and dialled in a number. 'Doctor Weinberg, i need yer help.'  
TBC  
Chapter 2: Not only doctors make housecalls...  
Somewhere on a mountain in the most remote areas of japan, lay a city. That city held the main force of the hand, a order of ninja's who were obsessed with desotrying the world, in honour of the devil, the beast and other synonims.  
The city could only be seen for a few minutes after dawn, hence the hand didn't had many housecalls...untill now.  
The recruits were training inside the walls untill a rumbling is heard.  
Whenthey looked where it came from, the wall shatered and the debris that followed kill many of their number.  
Two giant robots, sentinels to be exact, flew over the city, ridden by two small figures.  
'Oh yeah, now i know how the friggin power rangers feel!' Time warrior exclaimed and orderd his sentinel to fry ninja's.  
'Stay focused George!' Wolverine snarled.  
The ninja's were dangerious foes, as soon many leaped down to take the fight to the intruders.  
'Now we're talking!' Tw said and drew his sword, killing the first ninja.  
A faint 'snikt' was heard when George looked over to logan for a second, and there he was again, logan butchering ninja's.  
However, a large explosion was heard and Logan's sentinel crashed.  
'The fuck?!' Tw yelled, his robot dealing the same fate shortly.  
Everything was dazey, but when he got back up, the ninja's were ready...and so was he...  
TBC  
part 2  
George cut his way through like a explorer would do through a jungle. Sometimes he heard a faint snikt somewhere, and the fall of bodies. When Time warrior finally had enough of this fight, he snapped his fingers and all the ninja's turned to dust.  
'Undead....allways so easy to beat.' he grinned and went to a small house where he belived Logan would be.  
Time warrio grabbed his sword firmly and kicked the diir open. Hundreds of dead ninja's and two green blood xocered figures stood there. The one was female and longer then the rest, who seemed to be male.  
'what the fu....' Time warrior, said reconising Elektra and wolverine.  
'it's a long story bub...' Logan explained retracting his claw.  
'Deep under cover.' Elektra sighed.  
'Allright, short story.' Logan said.  
Time warrior paused. 'I dont wanna know what happend here do i?'  
Logan passed with Elektra in tow. ' Nope.'  
'You know nikki will be jealious when she'll see you with Elektra yeah?' Time warrir said when he closed the door.  
Logan chuckled and grabbed his SHIELD communicator.  
'Shield this is Wolverine, requesting pick-up.'  
'Make it first class, im hungry!' time warrior shouted in the distance.  
A few moments passed when the helicopter finnaly arrived. Elektra's plan was clear, rest then attack all HYDRA foxholes all over the world, it was going to be a other long night.....  
TBC

Chapter 3: R and R.  
A shower was what Logan needed after a day's hard work. He killed over 3000 people, he had all kinds of blood on his tongue and he still finds some blood in his claws. He felt a little less insane then the first one he got de-branwashed, since doctor Weinberg noted that killing people doesn't help one's sanity, 'did you ever see Clint eastwood laugh?' he said. Logan grinned at that remark, espcially since George later noted ' I thought Clint had the same thing Val Kilmer had.'  
A door opens and Logan sniks his claws, he retracted the claws immidiatly when he saw who was in the room.  
'Can i come in?' Nikki grinned and threw off her bath robe, revealing her naked body. Logan nodded and opend the shower door, letting her in.  
When she closed the door, she immidtiatly started to kiss him.  
'I missed you...' she said between kisses. Logan grinned and picked her up, putting her back against the wall. The few SHIELD soldiers who passed by knew better then to enter that Shower room for a while.  
Meanwhile in new York, George entered his house.  
'daddy, daddy!' the voices of children said, running towards their father.  
'Heeey kids!' George smilled and knelt down, hugging them.  
'You brought us presents,' his son Roboert asked. George nodded and gave both of them Video games he bought in Japan.  
'Yaaay, we love you daddy!' his dauhgter marie smiled and kissed him on his cheek, his son merely hugging him.  
George smiled when they both ran off to their Nintendo Gamecube.  
He sighed when he toke off his mask and threw it in his secret compartment.  
'Long day dear?' A female voice asked him, beloning to his wife Kimberley. she gave him a small peck on the cheek. ' your painkiller is on the table dear.'  
George nodded and threw his costume and sword away, wearing his normal clothing when he sat down and drank some of the pain killer.  
'How was your day?' kimberley asked George, washing the dishes.  
'Normal day at the office...yours?'  
'Good thank you.' she smiled. 'Mary Jane came by today, we had a little girl talk.' she smiled.  
'Mary jane, thats a long time.' George smiled. ' How's peter, i haven't seen him since last week?'  
'she says he's fine, been busy with the avengers when you and logan were off doing whatever you two are doing.'  
'speaking of which, did the sHIELD payment get here,' George asked.  
'Yep.' she replied. ' it's on our bank account.'  
'Good.' george said.' I dont want Nick fury to think i work for free.'  
Kimberley chuchkeld and went to sit on her husband's lap.  
'Guess who i saw in the market today?' she asked.  
'Urghm....my dad?'  
Kimberley shook her head. 'Nikki, youknow Logan's girlfriend, she was worried sick about him.'  
'She shouldn't be.' george said. 'I saw him kill a entire city of Ninja's today, and you dont worry about me to much do you?'  
Kimberley sighed. 'Offcourse i do...'  
'Hun...' George said, straying her dark hair.  
'Every time you walk out that door...i pray to god your the one coming back, not some men in a uniform.'  
'Im sorry...' George said and kissed Kimberley.  
'I got used to it...' she sighs.  
George nodded. ' How about i give you your present?' he grinned.  
KImberley grinned back and was carried away to their bedroom.  
'Kids, dont come in the bedroom ok?' George said when he closed the door, recieving silince as a reply since the children were to absorbed by playing Mario Kart  
George lay her down on their bed and kissed her everywhere on her perfect skin, slowly changing green.  
'That's odd...i didn't marry She-hulk.' he grinned.  
'Shut up.' she grinned and pulled him towards her, taking off his clothes.  
'Now i know how Johhny Storm felt like....' George grinned beofre things really got steamy.  
TBC  
Chapter 4: yipy ka ya ye mother-******  
Logan and Nikki were back in Stark Tower, enojying their last hours together before Operation: Whoop-Ass would begin, apperintly George came up with the name.  
'Two in the quarter pocket' Nikki said when she shot two balls in a hole. She was beating Logan....again.  
Ever since the start it was still her turn. Logan growled a bit, he didn't like losing.  
'oopsy.' she giggeld as one of the balls bumped off into Luke Cage's head.  
'Girl!' he yelled, looking back at the offender. She giggeld more and passed by Logan. 'Your turn hun.' she smiled and kissed logan.  
Logan grinned and slapped her behind before it was his turn for a winning streak.  
He enjoyed spending time with her 'outside' the bed-room, playing pool, walking on the street, shopping...as long he was with her, he was the happiest guy on the world.  
'Nikki and Logan sitting in a tree, K-I-S-'  
Shut it!' Logan yelled and threw a ball at Spider-man who happend to be teasing.  
'haha, missed me!' Spidey replied.  
A distinctive 'snikt' sound was all it toke to shut him up.  
'Logan dear, what did i tell you about claws?' Nikki said motherly, her arms crossed and her left foot tapping at the ground.  
Logan growled and retracted the claws.  
'Ouch, short leash..' Spiderman said and crawled away.  
'Damn logan, you got domisticated!' Luke laughed and followed Spider-man.  
'Nosey buggers...' Logan growled, being embraced by his girlfriend.  
'I know dear..' she smiled and kissed his neck. ' i know.'  
That same moment George got out of bed and put on his 'working clothes'. When he straped the sword on his back, his wife woke up.  
'Off to work again dear...?' she asked, still tired.  
'Yup, i'll be home in a few hours.' George smiled and kissed his wife's green forehead.  
'It's 2 in the morning...'  
'I'll be back beofre breakfast.' he smilled and teleported away.  
'Be carefull...' Kimberley whispered and went back to sleep.  
Time Warrior arrived in a secret SHIELD HQ, somewhere underground.  
Wolveirne was waiting for him.  
'Decided to show George?' Logan asked, walking with George.  
'Yup, we dont get to kick Hydra in the nuts every day can we?' George replied. Logan nodded.  
They arrived in a controle room, with giant computers and maps allover the place. Inthe middle of the room, was a red haired man with a moustache..Dum Dum Dugan, Nick Fury's second in command.  
'Hows Nicky doing?' goerge asked Dugan.  
'He's still alive, to bad he isn't here to see the day we knock out HYDRA.'  
'Tell him im making pictures.' logan grinned.  
'Mister Gargan.' Dugan said to George. ' I got word your of Belgian origin correct,'  
George nodded.  
'We need your help at Brussels, Hydra has a big fox-hole there, and we need somebody to monitor our 'volunteer'.'  
George nodded, he knew who this person was.  
'where is he?'  
'Brussel base.'  
George nodded and looked at Logan. ' You'll be allright?'  
'Im fine bub, yer go have some fun in Belgium.' Logan grinned.  
George grinned back and threw a Avenger comunicator.  
'dont be a jerk and call me when you need help.' George said and teleported away.  
A few moments later George was in a helicopter circeling Brussels. Next to him was a man in a green costume, having a tail twice his size.  
'Hello son..' the man, better known as the Scoprion said.  
'Shut it dad...' Time Warrior replied.  
'Cruel..' Scorpion sighed. ' you know im doing this for my grandchildren yeah?'  
Time warrior glared at his father. 'If you were doing this for my children, you wouldn't have attacked their Uncle Peter last month.'  
Scoprion sihged and nodded. 'I'll do my best this time son...'  
'You better.'  
The Helicopter curceled around a small hill just outside Brussels. When the red light went green, Time Warrior and Scoprion leaped off the helicopter and went in straight into the hill, what happend to be a hologram.  
The two kept falling, leaping and holding onto the wall to soften their landing.  
When they reached the ground, a dozen green clothed Hydra agents looked at them with suprisement.  
'Hello suckers!' Scorpion cried and shot acid everywhere, hurting the agents around them.  
'Amerikoanen!' A agent cried in a dutch dialect and opend fire on the two super-humans.  
'T'is tijd dat ut is!' Time Warrior cried and slashed the agents down.  
'Yipi Ka ya ye, mother-*******!' Scorpion cried and followed his son into battle.  
TBC  
Chapter 5: Time Warrior vs Gorgon  
When the SHIELD agents went down, they saw the super-humans cleared out much of the base by themselves.  
'Shield command this is Belgium Team, base is cleared over.' Time warrior said after he toke out the last Hydra agent.  
'Good.' the radio voice said. 'we got word Saint Peter's burg is safe to.'  
'what about new york?' Scorpion asked, his tail enrapped over a captive.  
'No news from there.' the radio replied.  
Time warrior thought for a moment. Wolverine was in the Ny squad, if he didn't reply something was wrong.  
'Take it over from here dad.' tw said and teleported back home.  
Back in a secret SHIELD Hospital, Nikki and a few SHIELD agents are thrown back by the Gorgon. Only 5 minutes ago did he appear, killing evryone he came across.  
Despite nikki's claws, nothing could stop him.  
'Pity you have to waiste your life for Nick fury for nothing...' The gorgon said, rasing his arm to strike down his sword at Nikki.  
Nikki grinned 'I dont think so..' she said.  
Gorgon looked back, and saw a sword penetrating his chest.  
'Knock knock!' Time warrior said and kicked Gorgon away.  
'Bout time you showed up!' Nikki cried, fighting alongside Tw once again.  
'Wanted to make a good intro!' Tw cried, using his powers to slow gorgon down so Nikki could slash him better.  
'Fools!' Gorgon cried and threw of his sun glasses, almost hitting the two heroes.  
'Holy shit!' Tw said, beofre Gorgon knocked him out of the room, nikki following suit.  
gorgon leaped out of the building,nick would have to wait, and faced down the two wounded heroes. Barely 5 minutes and they were allready down and out.  
'you really think you could beat me?' Gorgon grinned. ' I AM HYDRa, i AM the Hand, i Am the devil incarnated!'  
nikki chuckeld. ' and he is pissed...'  
A snikt sound was heard.  
'Time fer a re-match bub..' logan growled.  
TBC  
chapter 6: Endfight  
Logan leaped in, claws first. Gorgon tried to dodge, but got embedded instead. George threw over his sword, knowing it will give asmall edge against the Gorgon.  
'Thanks bub.' Logan said and grabbed the sword. Allready the sword's powers boosted Logan's powers. Allthough not a descentdant of the sword's last owner, Logan could use it's pwoers a little, meaning he could block Gorgon's telepathy.  
'Get him Logan!' Nikki yelled, grabbing her wounded arm.  
'Do it for Norhstar!' George yelled.  
'Im doin this to kick his ass...' Logan thought and slashed at Gorgon.  
The Gorgon tried to block, but it broke through.  
'You think this will bring back that small chinese boy Logan?' he said, putting off his sunglasses.  
'No..' logan replied and used the sword's reflection to cast a mirror on gorgon...who turned to stone.  
'But you'll have to do.' Logan raised the sword and sliced the statue in half.  
Nikki leaped in and pulivirished the rest of the statue.  
Logan looked at his girlfriend, smiling. She smiled back and kissed him deeply. George got up, clining to his shoulder, but was able to catch the sword Wolverine threw back.  
'Thanks.' Logan said.  
'No problem....' George replied and looked down on the broken statue.  
'Sayonara, dumbshit...' Time warrior grinned.  
A small thud on the room was heard.  
'Wow, the hell is going on here?' A famuliar voice said.  
A red figure slided down from the hole in the roof, hanging on a web.  
'The palce is crawling with super-agents or stuff.' Spider-man said.  
'Relax Peter it's over...' Nikki sighed, holding on to her boyfriend.  
Spider-man looked down atthe broken statue.  
'Do i even want to know what happend?' He asked.  
'Best not Spidey.' George sighed and put his sword away.  
'Call Fury..tell him it's over...'Logan said, leaving the room, Nikki, as allways, in tow.  
'Really, what happend?' spiderman asked.  
'As Luke would say..' George paused. ' lots of bad shit.'  
'Oh..' Spiderman sighed and called Nick fury.  
Epilogue  
Logan was stood on a cliff nearbye a large sea. Here in Japan, everything started. The boy being kidnapped, murderd, to draw Logan out and be brain-washed. He just saw the parents leaving, crying over their lost son.  
He kept looking over the sea, hoping the downpour would come soon.  
whenit came, a umbrella popped over head.  
'Hey George....' Logan said.  
'Logan.' George nodded.  
Both men paused talking, they kne each other long enough to expect what the other would say.  
'Come, nikki is waiting for you in the X-jet.' George finnaly said.  
logan nodded. ' I hope i will never lose a child like ichiro did.'  
George smiled and palced a hand on logan's shoulder.  
'your a good father figure Logan....and i know you will be that to for your children someday.'  
Logan smiled and walked back to the car.  
'If you tell any of this to Nikki...i kick your !$*!$.' logan grinned.  
'No worries Logan, your soft side secret is safe with me.'  
'I aint soft!' Loganyelled, going inside the car.  
The Car drove off, letting the cliff be for what it is. For the rest, there was silince..  
The end


	27. Summer Avengers and XMen Style

**Summer Avengers and X-Men Style! By Rednikki (me) and Gorvar**

Chapter 1- Summer at last  
Days ago, Wolverine and his family moved into the newly rebuilt x-mansion from the Avengers apartment. The day had taken forever btu it was finally the begining of summer vacation for all the students and the teachers. Gorge Gargan aka Time Warrior pulled up the car with his family to visit his friends the X-Men, Logan and his wife Nikki in particular, were close friends. Gorge walked into the mansion, it looked just the same as before. Logan sat on the couch watching a game with his sons Josh and Vincent. "Hey Gorge" he said, his eyes fixed on the game. "Hey Logan, how're the Celtics doing?" Gorge asked. "Terrible" Logan said and smiled, "that means a certain psychic sister of Nikki's owes me money." "Hey Gorge, kimberly" Nikki said, smiling. "Hey Nikki" Gorge said, giving her a quick embrace before returning to the game. "Does he alwase do that?" Nikki asked Kimberly. "Prettly much" Kim replied. "C'mon, let's watch something while they're watching the game" Nikki said, leading Kimberly down the hall to the recroom. Meanwhile, in the professor's office, Cyclops and Koris were having a meeting. "Against my better judgement Korvis, I think it would be best if you returned to the Shi'ar" Scott said. "I understand sir, give Rachel my goodbyes" Korvis said. cott rubbed his forehead, wondering how he lost communacation with his daughter in the past few months. Rachel returned from space and not 2 weeks after that fallen for Daken, Logan's son, and she hadn't even told him until she let it slip she had a date tonight with him. "A lot on your mind?" Emma chuckled. ""How did all this happen?" Scott asked. "Time lets things change Scott" Emma said, "You and I both know that."

chapter 2: Bad start  
What happend so far: george ka Time warrior and his family are picking up the howlett's, how long will it take for something to happen?  
George walked through the new Mansion, trying to find any resemblince to the one who has been blown up. Silintly he wondered how Charles would've gathered this much money.  
Sudenly he bumpedin into someone.  
'oh im sorry i...oh, it's you.' George growled at Scott Summers.  
'Gargan..' Scott replid.  
'im not staying here long...just picking up the howlett's and im off.'  
'Good..' Scoot narrowed his eyebrows.  
'So you wont ahve any pesky humans on your turf.'  
'You didn't have any buisiness during the enitre Baby crisis (Read messiah complex) George. You were only ehre because Docotr strange asked you to.'  
Goerge exploded in fit of rage.  
'If it wasn't for the avnegers, the baby coudl've been dead Summers.' He poked Scott in the chest.  
'you didn't stop Caliban getting killed..'  
George punched Scott square in the face, almsot tipping off his glasses.  
'now...you made me angry.' Scott growled.  
Outside, kimberley was meeting Emma.  
'hello miss White queen,i heard muchabout you.' kimberley smiled.  
'same here, logan told me you were a nice person, a former super hero?'  
Kimberley nodded.  
'I quit after the birth of our youngest.' she replied. ' Being a mother and doing part time job, IS a fulltime job.' Kimberley smiled.  
'I can imagine.' emma smiled in return. ' by the way, where is your husband?'  
A large laser boom was shot out of a window, as goerge and scott fell out of it, George -sword on his back, but ableto use it'spwoers- and Scott -with his visor- fighting each other all the way down.  
Logan chuceld when he sat in the car.  
'Hit him for me George!'  
'logan..' nikki nudhed her hisband, looking with authory to him.  
'but...' he sighed, knowing he couldn't say anything to change her mind.  
'Yes darlin..' Logan sighed and walked out of the car, to Scott and George.  
TBc  
Chapter 3  
So far unexpectedly, the day had gone off without any villans or anything else they had to fight. Nikki sat outside, letting the breeze run across her face. Logan was inside with Gorge and their families when he came back. Victor Creed, most commonly known as Sabretooth, watched the house from the trees, his eyes on Nikki the whole time. He was sure to stay downwind so neither she or Logan could catch his scent while he stalked up behind her. "Hiya frail" he growled. Nikki turned, her eyes wide as she stared at Sabretooth. He grabed her wrist and pulled her against him while smiling at her scream. "Nikki!" Logan shouted. "Hey Runt" Creed growled. Logan moved forward, claws out when Creed laughed, "Ya got 2 options Runt, let me get ta know frail here much better or you can watch while I kill her for ya." Logan froze, Creed could kill her, that they were both sure of. Creed chuckled, his claws moving down Nikki's front, she struggled against him, making him laugh. "Frail, ya can't win, ya might as well enjoy this" he growled. "Let her go!" Vincent shouted, leaving his place at Logan's side to leap at Creed with his own claws. Creed snarled at Vincent and threw Nikki aside. "You better learn ta control your kids frail" Creed growled, "Ya never know when sumthin's gonna happen to 'em." 'Not today hairball" Vincent growed back, cutting Creed across his face. Sabretooth roared and glared at Vincent, raising his clawed hand to cut him back. Nikki blasted Creed with her magic before he could get his hand fully raised. "You don't threaten my children" she said in an eery calm. Creed got to his feet and snarled at both of them, "Yer lucky this hurts like hell frail otherwise you and the cub'd be dead right about now." "That's what you think" she smiled and shutting her eyes, snaped her fingers. "Wow, I can't believe that actually worked" Nikki laughed, watching Creed disapear. Logan smiled, he didn't think she could do that so what else could she do? "I have the coolest mom ever" Vincent said. "Kinda like 'Bewitched' isn't it dad?" Daken asked. Nikki laughed and hugged Vincent, "You would be grounded right now if you hadn't saved my life." "So does this mean I'm not grounded for almost getting killed by Sabretooth?" he asked. "Yes and I think you're ready to start training with your siblings" Nikki said, looking to Logan for approval. "If you think he is, so do I" Logan said, smiling at his wife. "Awsome! You guys are the colest!" Vincent shouted, "I gotta go tell Josh he ain't the youngest hero anymore." Nikki followed her son in and Logan kissed her gently, "I'm sorry I didn't go out there, I knew Creed would kill you if I did..." Nikki kissed him deeply, as though nothing had happened, "Don't worry, I forgive you, now let's go before a fight breaks out out there."

Chapter 4: Questions  
What happend so far: George Gargan's family and the Howlett's decided to take a vacation during the summer. When they reached a quiet place, Victor Creed, or a memory from it, has somehow made it back on Earth (Read New avengers, Prophecy) and it hunting thanks to Vincent was Nikki save.  
George watched his children, and Marie, play Mario kart with Vincent. He gave a few pointers sometimes, but mostly kept to himself and the newspaper.  
'So Sabretooth is the father of Vincent?' Kimberley asked to Nikki, who nodded.  
'Well was...this sabretooth is diffrint..he's jsut a memory.'  
'A memory?' Kimberley asked, making some tea.  
'Yes, well it's a long story...' Nikki sighed.  
'Nikki sent Sabretooth in my head, gave it a form, and there he is.' logan gulped a beer can.  
Nikki narrowed her eyes onher husband for a moment.  
'Wait...you send a killer in my husbands head?' Kimberley was chocked.  
'it was to wake him up from a coma.' Nikki placed her hand behind her head.  
Kimberley narrowed her eyes on George.  
'GEORGE!!' She cried out, phasing the howlett family. Somehow the Gargans, except George, never flinched, since they got used to it.  
'daddy is in trouble again..' Marie chuckeld.  
'Yes hunny bunny?' Goerge asked humbily beofre his furious wife.  
'why didn't you tell me you shared bodies with Sabretooth?'  
'Urgh...i didn't want to worry you?'  
'You shoudl've told me!' Kimberley cried outand walked away. ' younever tell me anythng!' she slammed the door behind her.  
Everyone paused a moment.  
'She does that all the time, be back in a moment, Hunny?!' Georgecried out and followed his wife.  
'...you sure she tried to kill the president a few years ago?' Nikki asked Logan, who shrugged.  
George cauhgt up on her and held her hand.  
'you allright Kim?'  
'no im furious!' she cried out. ' you never tell me anthing abut your trips.'  
'It's because i dont want to worry you...' George said calmly.  
'Then stop being a super hero and get a real job!' Kimberley cried out again.  
'you know i cant hun...i got a job to do.'  
'Why not?' she folded her arms. ' I Did, after i gave birth to YOUR children.'  
'I do this so you and they are save kimmy..' goerge said calmldy and placedhis hand on her cheek. ' you know that...right?'  
Kimberley sighed.  
'I know...' She held her hisband in her arms.  
'It's just after you came back...not many people like me anymore...'  
(Read last chapter New avnegers, Prophecy)  
'Our firends do.' George smiled and kissed her deeply.  
'And your family loves you, very much.'  
Kimberley smiled. She let go off her husband and pulled him on the ear.  
'Come on, we got dinner to make!'  
'Yes dear!' Goerge cried out in pain and follwoed his wife.  
Nikki and Logan looked at them from the window, wondering how those two react to each other.  
'She scares me sometimes..' Nikki pointed out at Kimberley.  
'me to darlin...' logan toke a big gulp form his beer. ' Me to..'  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Nightmare and comfort  
The Howletts and the Gargans had to go their seprate ways. It was late and the kids had gone to bed in the mansion, most everybody was asleep exept for 2 couples who had a late night aganda worht carrying out. 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' was turned up in the recroom where Nikki and Logan along with Scott and Emma watched the horror classic unfold. Emma was curled up to Scott, her eyes wide when the TV resounded a loud BOOM! Both Nikki and Emma shreeked as the lights went out. "Scott?" Emma asked, clinging to his shirt. "Yeah?" he asked back. "I'm scared" Emma replied. Nikki was holding onto Logan's outer shirt with a deathgrip as she stayed close to him. "I'm sure it was probably just the storm that knocked out the lights" Logan said, rubbing his wife's back. "Yeah" Scott agreed, "Nothing to worry about." A loud crack of thunder and the snap of a branch outside the window made both women scream again. "Scott" Emma whispered shakily, "Freddy's outside." "Shut up Emma" Nikki said, attempting to sound calm. "Oh like you're not freaked out as bad as I am" Emma shot back. "Let's just go find some flashlights or something" Scott said. "Cyke just take Em upstairs and make this night memorable huh?" Logan asked, smiling while his wife was on his lap. "Logan can't you see they're scared half to death?" Scott asked. "I'm just trying to help" Logan replied. Nikki relaxed against Logan's chest, knowing he'd protect her while Emma and Scooter were blind in the dark, they weren't. Nikki smiled at her husband and whispered so only he could hear her, "You know we vampires like the dark, it tends to be very romantic." "Vampires must not be the only ones that like the dark then" Logan growled softly, giving her a deep kiss. "Where are you 2?" Emma hissed. Nikki giggled softly and whispered, "I don't know about you but we're going to bed." Logan kissed her again, and lifted her up to carry her upstairs. "You know the couple that goes upstairs alwase gets killed first" Emma said. The only response she recived was silence. Logan took Nikki upstairs, and their passion ensued but when Nikki looked out the window she could've sworn she saw someone looking back from the other side. She stared wide eyed at the rain falling across the window pane with the occasional crack of lightning or boom of thunder. Logan kissed her softly, bringing her back from staring outside. "What did you see?" he whispered, running his fingers through her hair gently. "I'm sure it was nothing" she replied and returned the kiss. Downstairs, Scott and Emma were still looking for some form of lighting that would work. "I think we should just take Logan's advise" Emma said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I wouldn't mind that" Scott chuckled. "This is exactly why I hate horror movies" Scott began but his words were lost to Emma as she stared outside at whatever was staring back at her. Suddenly feeling lightheaded, Emma fainted. "This is what I get for insisting on a horror movie" Scott muttered and carried Emma upstairs.

Chapter 6: silint night  
George and his wife were reading a book during the sotrm, there children watching tv. Bob and Mary claim they are watching a cartoon, but in fact were watching 'A Nightmare On Elm Street'.  
George let Kimberley's head sit in his lap, straying her hair while she's reading her own book.  
George enjoyed these quiet evenings. No work, no super heroing, just him, his wife and his children.  
'Shoudn't we tell them?' Kimberley fliped over a page.  
'Tell who?' george asked in a calm voice.  
'The kids...they're watching 'A Nightmare On Elm Street'.' his wife replied.  
'Meh....they'll be fine...' George flipped over a page, strying his wife's green skin.  
'They're 10 and 9 George...'  
George merely shrugged and kept reading.  
Kimberley lowered her book and watched the clock. ' What do you think Logan and Nikki are doing right now?' She asked, resume reading.  
'Is that a retorical question hun?' George grinned and kissed her forehead.  
'Maybe the same we'll be doing later?'  
Kimberley looked up at her husband, issing him deeply.  
'maybe...if the kids aren't to traumatised it is.'  
'im sure they'll be-'  
Beofre he coudl've finished his sentince, the children started screaming at the goriest part of the movie. goerge sighed while he wife chucekeld.  
'I told you so.' she grinned.  
'Shut up..' george replied and resumed reading.  
TBC  
Final Chapter - Fanfiction  
At the mansion, everyone was stirred up because of what was surfacing on the internet. "How did anyone find this out?" Scott asked. Nikki smiled wile Scott read over several boughts of fanfiction on the screen. "Nikki isn't even in the comics with us yet, how does anyone even know she exists?!" Logan chuckled, scooter could be so dense. "Well?! Anyone got an answer for me?!" "Sooner or later someone had to know about me" Nikki said, "It was better fanfics than the paper anyway." "Yes but who is this girl anyway?" Scott asked, "You know anybody that would put this up?" Logan smiled to Nikki and they wached as eeryone departed to somewhere else. "Good thing you got that account online huh? Cyke never expected you to tell your story" he whispered. "Well Cyke doesn't know me that well then, I like being heard about. Maybe one day I'll be as famous as you" Nikki said, smiling and leaning against Logan. He smiled back and pulled her closer, "I wonder if Gorge knows he's on the fanfic boards too?" "I'm sure he does" Nikki replied, her eyes bright as Logan pulled her into a deep kiss.  
Meanwhile-  
Gorge Gargan was on his computer posting the last chapter of the story he was working on to get himself out there. "Ah, finished at last" he sighed. "Gorge! Logan's on the phone for you!" Kimberly called. "Coming dear!" Gorge replied and logged off, smiling, Nikki was online too, after all who could expect rednikki and Nikki were the same person? The End


	28. Origin Of Wolverina

**The Origin Of Wolverina**

Chapter 1  
Febuary 16, 1901  
Nikki was 4 years old and sitting at the paino with her father. "Patrick" said James, "I have no idea as to how you can let her sit there without her learning something. Why don't you teach her to play?" "She's been James," Nikki's father said, "ever since she was 3. She can fight too." Patrick's sister Victoria laughed musicly, "Patrick, se's just a little girl. Why teach her to fight now?" "Vicki," Patrick said, "You know Romulus will come one day, she needs to know how for when that day comes. Besides, I'm sure one day she'll best Dorian Grey."  
2 months later-  
Young Nikki learned fighting and excelled just like her father, but that afternoon would prove deadly. All the O'Mally children had gathered in the parlor, all 20 or so of them. Outside Romulus sent his men in to capture the family. "Boys, take broadsworders" Patrick shouted, "All girs who can fight follow as fore 8s, your mother and I will follow as 2nd 8s." Romulus's men took every one of Nikki's siblings, pulling them along. Her brother William drew blood on the guard who'd captured him. Nikki's mother pushed her into the closet, away from the battles. While Romulus's guards held her mother back, Nikki watched as they took her father and her siblings.  
March, 1913-  
Nikki had departed on the steamer for Romainia with her uncle Vladimir to either royalty or wepondry, she wasn't sure which one sounded better. She'd be 12 in about 2 months, she hoped she'd make it until then what with the roumors of war approaching the boarder. Nikki leaned against the rail overlooking the sea and rubbed her locket. "Hello" a voice sounded. Nikki turned to see a young girl about her age standing there. "Hello" she said timidly. "I'm Brooke" the other girl said, holding out her hand. "Nicole" Nikki whispered. "Do you like the trip so far? My mum thinks it's extravagant, even for us." Brooke said. "Yes, it's just fine." Nikki said, "I just wish there were more children." "As do I" Brooke murmured, "but, I met you. Wasn't that lucky?" "Yes" Nikki said, "It was. Are you headed to Romaina too?" "Yes, silly, were else does this steamer go?" This was the beginning of Nikki's first best friendship.  
Chapter 2  
After the events in the next year, a car crash led to Nikki finding her powers. Brooke and Nikki escaped to America on a boat and many years later Nikki joined Zenith, taking Connor Sparrow as her first boyfriend. When Connor dissapered on a mission, Nikki escaped, becoming captured by Weapon X soldiers waiting for her. After Weapon X, Nikki ran to California and this is where we start this chapter-  
1922  
Nikki walked through the park, seeing the man who sat watching th sunset. His gold and brown eyes watched the slowly darkening sky, his mable-esque skin glittered in the setting sunlight and his golden blond hair seemed to glisten in the fading light. She approached him, sitting beside him on the park bench. "Beautiful, is it not?" he whispered, "I'm Cassius." "I wish I could tell you my name, I don't even remember it" Nikki whispered in reply, letting her emotions come forth making temselves known by the tears now steaming down her face. "Don't cry" Cassius whispered lovingly,"I'll do whatever I can to help you. Come I'll take you home." "I have no home" she whispered. "Then I'll take you home with me if you'll allow it" he whispered. "Yes, that'd be nice" Nikki said, taking his hand and leaving for 'home'.

Chapter 3  
Nikki had spent years with Cassius, eventually they had a son she named Joshua. Hours after Joshua was born, in anger, Cassius killed the baby while forcing Nikki to watch. Only moths after, Vincent Argeneau helped Nikki escape Cassius. Nikki left for London after Cassius had vowed to capture her back. Nikki joined the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where she formed close bonds with Dorian Grey, Mina Harker, and Mr. Hyde, all because of their inner demons and semi-animalistic nature. During a mission Dorian Grey was killed as well as Alan Quartermain, the League disbanded shortly after. Nikki was skillfuly trained in covert espionage and soldering during the time after when she joined the black irish mafia for a few years. After her time with the mafia, Nikki went to many different states, joining the Moors, the Sweethearts, and the I.C. Wanting to find her past, Nikki traveled to Romainia where she met Zander Carpathian. Nikki spent many years with Zander having 3 children with him. Their divorce occured when Nikki suspected Zander of cheating on her. Zander gained custody of their children and Nikki went back to America and joined the Mauruders. This is where this chapter begins...  
2000-  
Nikki had met Victor Creed 3 weeks ago and she could alresdy tell he wasn't too far off from her. Currently Nikki and Vic were sitting in Vic's tent, watching mindless TV. "So, frail, what're you doin' round here?" Vic asked. "Husband divorced me, took the kids, left me with nuthin' left in the world, so I came here. Can't say I don't like it" Nikki said. Vic leaned back snickering, "Ain't that how everythin' starts?" "Yup" Nikki said, leaning back, taking a long drink. "Heh, I'm startin' ta like you frail" Vic said. "Name's Nikki" she said. "Nikki" Vic whispered, "Can't say ya ain't normal...least by my standards." Nikki chuckled, "You ain't so bad yourself." "If only you knew" Vic muttered, "Nik, ya haven't seen what  
I've done, who I am, you don't need ta hang out with people like me." "Vic" Nikki said softly, "All I've seen so far is a pretty normal guy, livin' life. I really can't say if it's right or wrong, I never really knew myself. Don't remember a damn thing before I went to California, so I don't know what kinda person I was before, all I know was I have the rest o' my life ta figure it out."  
Chapter 4  
Several months later, Victor had gone and tired of hiding her secret, she left her tent to confide in new Maurder, Gambit.  
"Remy?" Nikki whispered. "What's wrong Nikki?" Rwmy asked. "I need someone to talk to" she whispered, "I know I can't tell anyone else, Gambit...when Victor was here...before he left..." "Please chere," Remy whispered, seeing her unease, "You can tell me anything." "I'm carrying Victor's baby" she whispered. "What happened chere?" Gambit asked. "It wasn't my choice Remy" Nikki whispered, touching her slight stomach. "When-?" Remy began. "4 months ago today," Nikki whispered, "I know I can't tell anyone else, this place isn't safe Gambit. I need your help too, I need someone to help me get her or him out of here after..." "Chere" Gambit said soothingly, "I'll help you. I give my word."  
Chapter 5  
"Nikki?" Gambit asked when he walked into Nikki's tent. "Vic's comin' back." "What?! How?! When?! Did somebody say somethin'?" Nikki asked. "Leave it to Mystique, she told Vic while they were stuck in the mansion" Gambit replied. "Damn it!" Nikki shouted, "I'm gonna kill her!" It'd been over a month since Nikki'd told Gambit everything, now everybody but Sinister knew. Sinister wouldn't have known if they'd all been murdered in their sleep because he never came out of his little lab. It wasn't too long until Vic stepped into the camp. "NIKKI!!" he roared. Gambit followed her to Victor who was openly fuming. "When did ya find out?!" he shouted. "Leave her be Creed" Gambit said, drawing his cards. "I ain't afrid a' you cajun" Creed said, "Now, frail, why didn't ya tell me? I never woulda' left..." "Save it Creed" Nikki growled, "I know ya woulda' left us. Ya can't play me Creed, I know all your secrets." With that Victor was furious, he pulled her up by the throat and stared her strait in the eyes, "Frail, ya don't know me. Ya never would'a known if I decided anything about you or the pup until I told ya." Vic was running a claw from her temple to her cheek. "Let. Her. Go." Gambit said as clearly as possible while charging the cards in hand. Creed, suprisingly, put Nikki down gently. "Gumbo ya outa know, I ain't takin' her or the pup outa here." Creed said, "You gotta watch her, if Chloe found out..." "Chloe?" Gambit asked. "I didn't know bout her and pup so I got hitched, got a problem with that?" Creed said. "I'm gonna take care of her Creed, not because you told me to, because I'm not letting this baby be anywhere near you" Gambit stated matter-of-fact-ly. "You better make sure nothin' happens ta my pup got it" Creed asked. "Your 'pup' won't ever see you as long as we're alive and breathing" Gambit said. "That can be arranged" Creed threated. "Victor, get out of here. Now." Nikki said. Without so much as a good bye Victor Creed left Nikki and his pup behind.  
Chapter 6  
A few months later-  
Nikki had taken her baby son Vincent to her old friend Brooke (who after the great vampire trials had been turned by a rogue vamp before it compeatly died) for her to care for until Nikki could trust them enough to take her son back. That had been a few days eariler than from where this chapter picks up- "Well Slasher you have your new assignment" Sinister said grimly. "After the loss of her husband, I believe you knew him, Victor Creed, Chloe has joined our ranks. As you should know she is also our spy into this mysterious Romulus charecter. I expect you 2 shall work well hmmm?" Nikki turned giving her a once over. Chloe wore animal skins and by the smell of them, fresh animal skins, a necklace made of what appeared to be teeth, and woven slippers? She couldn't help but stifle a chuckle earning a glare from her new teammate. "Let's just get this over with" Chloe hissed. "Finally, she speaks!" Nikki exclamed sarcasticly. Seeing the battle, Slasher and Lady Sabretooth jumped into the fray. Slasher (Nikki) going for Wolverine. He turned pinning her to the tree behind them. "Listen gal, I ain't up for games today" Logan snarled. Nikki saw this as an oppertunity to have some fun. "Who said I was playin' with ya?" Nikki growled rubbing up against him. Logan took a suprised step back. "Ya know, seein' ya like this is kinda sexy" Nikki purred. "Who are you anyway?" Logan asked, still astonished. "The name's Slasher, don't wear it out" Nikki purred. "%#$ are you doin'?!" Chloe roared, "Yer supposed ta tear 'im apart!" "Well who's to say I don't like to play with my food" Nikki retorted. Chloe growled and turned back to her task. "Maybe, just for you, I'll let ya off this time, on one condition" Nikki purred to Logan. "And what might that be?" he asked. "This" she whispered, kissing him roughly. "SLASHER?!!!" LAdy sabretooth roared, "WTFH ARE YOU DOING?! I'm done here and I ain't leavin you alone with him, oh just wait until I tell Sinister." Chloe started muttering indistinctly while pulling Nikki by her collor. Nikki gave a playful wave and turned to depart beside L.S. "'Till next time!" she shouted, the purr still in her voice.  
Chapter 7  
-The next morning AKA The day my first story took place-  
Lady Mastermind eyed Cloe Creed suspisiously. Her tale of what Nikki'd done seemed...off at most. Nikki'd fought Wolverine more than Sabretooth had ever so why in blue blazes would she plant one on him when he didn't even remember her name? "Hey LM" Nikki chirped. "Wow, you seem happy" LM stated much to the obvious. "I don't get it" Nikki chatted, "I know I'm supposed to hate Wolverine but ever since I kissed him I just cant stop thinking about him." "Woah, you and Wolverine?" LM asked. "Here I was thinking it was just a rumor." "I wonder if he can't stop thinkg about me?" Nikki sighed dreamily.  
At Xaivers Logan couldn't take his mind off Slasher. She'd kised him, boldly too, and oddly enough, he liked the thought of them together. "Logan! come on we need you in the hanger!" Scott shouted. "Comin' Cyke!" Logan shouted back.  
The Maurder camp, after he found out (most of you know the story)-  
The X-Men had arrived not long before. "Hey Nikki!" LM shouted to her returning friend. "We have prisoners!" Stepping into the dimly lit tent, Nikki saw a few of the X-Men, incuding Wolverine, tied in the center of the room. "Logan" Nikki breathed. She darted to the center of the small space and placed her hand on his cheek. Logan's eyes opened to see her looking worriedly at him, his Nikki. Logan maniged a smile and pulled himself up. "Hey darlin'" he whispered. "Still love me?" Nikki asked. "Why wouldn't I Nikki?" Logan whispered, "I have since the day I met you, what makes now any different? besides the obvious." Nikki gently kissed him while udoing his ropes. Logan wrapped his arms around her and kissed her much more pasionatly. "Ew you guys need to get a room" Armor said, watching Logan kiss Nikki. Logan turned to Armor, staring her in the eyes while Nikki caught her breath. "You sure you wanna say that now kid?" Logan asked, "We could be doing a lot different and you wouldn't say anything." Nikki extened her claws and cut the other X-Men's ropes, alowing them to leave. "I know where you can be with me alone" Nikki purred. "Lead the way Darlin'" Logan growled sexily. Nikki took his hand and led him to her tent.  
Chapter 8  
- the next morning, the day Lady Sabretooth found out-  
Logan stared down at Nikki's face. Her marble colored skin was hilighted by her crimson hair with it's indigo streak running down the front simialer to Rogue's. He placed his hand on her cheek, smiling softly at the thought of the previous night. Chloe Creed was walking past Nikki's tent when she caught Nikki's scent mixed with Wolverine's. Chloe peeked inside the tent, seeing Wolverine toching Nikki's face. Logan smoothed Nikki's hair back and her eyes fluttered open. "Hey" she whispered, smiling her special smile to him. "Hey darlin'" he whispered back. Chloe was outraged. She thought Nikki was her friend, but now, seeing her with Wolverine of all people, she knew Nikki was no better than Gambit. Nikki turned to Logan, placing her cool hand on his face. He sighed and brought her closer to him. Chloe growled angrily, Sinister was going to find out even if it killed her. "I'm coming back for you tonight" Logan whispered, "I'm going to bring you to the school with me and we're gonna be together. I'll be here tonight, I promise."  
A begining.  
Now while that was happening, in Forks, Washington, the Cullen family was coming to an end. When Blade had made it so all the dead vampires were alive again, that ment trouble. Edward Cullen turned the love of his life at his home and vampire enemy Laurent, came back. Esme Cullen had died protecting Bella from Laurent while she turned. After Bella had fully turned, Carlisle Cullen took his family and left Forks going to a Chicago suburb. When the Cullens arrived, Carlisle fell in love with Tanya O'Mally, another vampire although she didn't even know it. The Quiliute wolf pack from La Push had moved to the same place as the Cullens in order to make sure the treaty was upheld. Then Carlisle found the painting and the story began.


	29. What if?

**What If- Sabretooth And Wolverina**

Chapter 1  
Sabretooth looked at Nikki's huddled frame, he had been more rough than usual with her. She was crying. Again. Creed growled, he hated that she even saw Wolverine none the less fell for him after the first time she saw him, he was making her pay for that. Nikki only had 1 meeting with Logan before Creed came back to the camp and she couldn't stop thinking about him, even when Creed threw her around. "Now frail I'll be back later, I gotta go play 'good boy' at the manson. If you behave I just might tell runt you said hello" Creed growled and tied her wrists to the bedpost, letting her sit on the ground. It hadn't taken Victor long to get there in his car and he knew runt would ask where he'd been again, but it'd been enough to make runt's girl cry and beg not to be hurt again. Creed chuckled as he sat down to watch the game on TV when Logan came by, his mind on Nikki yet again. Logan's head went up whe he caught her scent, his memory hadn't done it justice and her scent was on Creed. "Where is she?" Logan growled. "Who?" Creed asked, "Your girl? Runt you don't deserve her, she's too good for you." "What do you mean?" Logan asked, his rage coming to the surface. "She's a nice gal, but she's a better toy" Creed chuckled. Logan growled and lept at Creed starting their brawl. Sabretooth growled and slashed at Logan. They kept fighting and fighting until Creed laughed, "You'd do all this for some gal you had 1 day with? She ain't worth it runt." Logan continued to fight, even though Creed was overpowering him. About an hour later Creed dragged Logan into the camp and into the tent, tieing him to a thick pole. "Frail, I've had a long day, c'mere and patch me up. Feel lucky I'm tired tonight, you can sleep" he growled. Nikki looked desperatly to Logan but complied. That night Creed had fallen asleep leaving Nikki unbound on the ground. She crawled over to Logan and soflt kissed him awake. "Nikki?" he whispered. "It really is you" she whispered back, "I thought Creed was lying when he said you were Wolverine but it is you." She untied him from where he was but instead of getting up to leave, he kissed her deeply. "I'm not leaving without you" he whispered in her ear. In the morning fr the first time in months Nikki felt good, she snuggled into Logan's arms and forgot where they were until she heard Creed laugh, "Well, I thought you just might do sumthin' like that with her runt, you alwase wanted her but Nikki, frail I thought I taught you ta behave better than that. Guess I'll have ta punish ya for it." Creed pulled her up and threw her down, Logan moved to protect her but Creed was faster, he grabed a fist ful of her hair and forced her up to eye level, "You EVER do that again frail and I'm gonna teach you a lesson you ain't gonna forget." Logan felt his rage coming through again as he watched Creed throw her down and hit her. Fighting for Nikki would come easy, winning against Creed might be hard with Nikki there too but it was a risk he'd have to take. TBC  
Chapter 2  
Logan pushed himself up from the ground and charged at Sabretooth, knocking him over. Nikki was laying on the ground, her eyes wide as she watched them fighting savagely. "Nikki, get your stuff and run! I'll meet you somewhere!" Logan shouted. Nikki scrambled to her feet, dressed and grabbed her bag. She stopped before she left, looking back to Logan. "RUN!" he shouted and she sprinted away into the forest. Logan couldn't control the rage anymore, Sabretooth hurt her, forced himself on her, and now he was gonna pay for it. Nikki waited for Logan near the edge of the clearng where the mansion's outer fence was, the chill of the air brushing her bare arms, the only clothes she had were the ones Creed had torn up before. Logan knew he had to find her and cover her scent, he knocked Sabretooth unconsious and left to find her. Twigs snapped under his feet as he followed her scent to the mansion. "Are you alright?" she whispered, embracing him. "I'm fine darlin'" Logan whispered, stroking her hair gently. He lifted her into his arms and carried her inside. Creed awoke later, his head throbbing. He cursed, if Nikki were here... "Runt" he growled, "I'm gonna get her back and I'm gonna make ya pay fer takin away my toy." Meanwhile at the mansion, everyone wanted to meet Logan's new girlfriend although Nikki knew Logan wanted to be more than that. She sat on the couch with him, her eyes watching everyone's every move, she didn't seem to trust anyone but Logan. "Is this Nikki?" a soft female voice asked, "Hello, I'm Ororo Munroe, you can call me Storm if you like." Nikki looked at Storm with awe, she hadn't seen someone smile at her in a long time. "Hi" Nikki whispered shyly. "Logan, the Professor wants to talk with you" Ororo said. "Thanks" Logan said, he took Nikki's hand gently, knowing she'd need time to adjust to this place and led her down the hall. She slunk in beside him, marveling at everything on the way there. Inside the office they were greeted by Emma Frost, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Collosus, Beast and the Professor. "Hello Nikki, are you having a plesent stay?" Professor X asked. "Yes" she said softly. She hadn't left Logan's side once. "Come, sit" Hank slid out a chair for her. Emma quickly scanned her mind, sock crossing her face as she saw what Nikki'd been put through, the pain she suffered and how much love she held for Logan. Everyone smiled warmly at her and she gave a small smile back. "Nikki, would it be alright if I read your mind?" the professor asked. "You won't like it but sure" Nikki replied. The Professor linked everyone in the room as her read her mind. He severed the connection between them all and they looked to one another. "Nikki, by all means, stay" The professor said. "I understand you have a healing factor but just to be safe let Hank check your wounds in the medbay." "Charles how do you think she'll ever trust a man again?!" Emma shouted, tears springing to her eyes, "The poor girl was put through the worst possible things anyone could've ever suffered and you think she'd trust us not to hurt her?!" Kitty leaned on Peter, crying also and Nightcrawler placed his hand on Nikki's shoulder, "Noone should've had to go through what he did to you." Logan held Nikki close, stroking her hair and whispering to her. "I never thought Creed could be that heartless as to hurt and angel like you" Logan whispered. "When he dragged you back, I thought I lost the only person in the world that cared about me but I didn't" Nikki whispered, "Logan, more than anything in the world, I need you. Now and forever." Creed stalked up to the mansion, his amber eyes narrowed. "I told you I'd get you back" he snarled and put his hand on the front door. TBC (A/N yes, a cliffy but I'll get ch.3 up later.)  
Chapter 3  
Sabretooth stalked through the halls, looking for runt and his frail. "Nikki!" he boomed, "Get out here Kitten, I don't got all day!" Nikki and Logan heard Creed's booming voice in the Professor's office. "Kurt, 'port Nikki to my room and keep her hidden at all costs" Logan growled. "Logan please" Nikki pleaded, "Don't go, he'll kill you." Tears formed in her eyes and began to stream down her cheeks. Logan brushed them away and kissed her softly, "I promise I'll be back, just trust Kurt." Nightcrawler teleported away with Nikki and the rest of the team went to face Sabretooth. "Shadowcat, stay here in case Creed gets past us" Cyclops warned. "Hey runt!" Sabretooth called, "Where's frail? I wanna see the look on her face when I tear you apart!" Creed lept at Logan and the brawl started. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler teleported into Logan's room with Nikki and her bag. "Here we are" Kurt said, "Home swwet home for you and Logan." Nikki blushed, her eyes traveling the room and resting on the Muramasa blade. "The sword, what's that for? Logan has claws" Nikki said. "The Muramasa blade can kill anthing, even Logan" Kurt said. "Anything? We have to get the sword to Logan, he can kill Creed once and for all!" Nikki said and grabbed the blade. "Nikki, I cant let you go down there, if Sabretooth get's ahold of you there's no telling what he'll do" Kurt said. He took the blade from her hand and sat her down, "I'm going to help the others, stay here, I'll be back." Downstairs, the battle was terrible. It was mostly down to Sabretooth and Wolverine, Logan didn't have much strength left he'd already fought Creed twice in the past 24 hours. Sabretooth laughed and strck Logan hard, letting him fall. "Had enough Runt? She really ain't worth it is she?" Creed chuckled, "Too bad I want her back." Logan struggled up, "She is...worth...everything." Creed laughed, "Too bad runt, I woulda thought you'd given up by now so I could take her away and fight ya another day but looks like it's come to this." Sabretooth was about to deliver the killing blow when he gasped and roared. Nikki thrust the blade through Creed's middle and he roared in anger and pain. "Frail...THAT'S THE LAST MISTAKE YOU'RE EVER GONNA MAKE!" Creed reached behind him and Nikki twisted the blade. Creed roared and gave a weak wimper-like sound and dropped to the floor. Nikki held the blad in one hand and raced to Logan's side. Dropping the blade, Nikki held his face in her hands, "You alright?" she whispered. "I'm healin'. Slowly, but I'm healin'" Logan whispered hoarsely. "I killed him for you" Nikki said, her eys meeting his. "I woulda done the same if I hadn't fought him twice already" Logan chuckled and coughed. Nikki kissed him deeply and forgot even why she'd been so afraid. Now she had Logan, now she was happy.  
Epilogue-  
"Nikki, you showed corage in the face of danger and faced your deamons at the same time, if you'd like to stay we'll welcome you to the team as Wolverina or you can go, which ever you decide" The Professor said. "I'm staying, I have Logan and I'm happy now, what more do I need?" Nikki replied. "Then it's settled, welcome to the X-Men Wolverina" Cyclops said. Logan smiled and looked at Nikki, "I've got my own quetion for you too darlin'." Logan got down on one knee, taking the box from his pocket, "Will you marry me?" Nikki was stunned, "Yes." That was how on one of the many earths in the omniverse, Wolverine and Wolverina found each other. The End


	30. Messiah CompleX

**Messiah CompleX: Wolverina, TW, and a whole lotta trouble**

Chapter 1  
The X-jet had landed at the warzone just minutes ago, but it felt like a lifetime to Nikki. Wolverina had seen more war than anyone ever should have, but seeing this, the mass murder, all at once was too much. Cyclops led them into the hospital and the scent of pure newborn's blood struck her. Nikki gasped, how could anyone do this? Emma stated only two babys had been born that night, but how many died? By the scent it couldn't have been two. Nikki leaned against her husband Wolverine's shoulder. "Darlin' you okay?" he whispered tenderly to her. Days ago she never thought anyone could kill mere children because of what they could be, her own children were mutants, did that mean they were targets too? Her soft sob was enough answer for Logan, he looked to Scott telling the 'fearless leader' they'd be outside. Nightcrawler followed them out. "Nikki, are you alright?" Kurt asked. "No, how could I be Kurt? The Maruders killed innocent children! A while ago, I would've been the ruthless killer! How do you think I am?!" she shouted finnaly collapsing in sobs against Logan. "Elf, she's upset" Logan whispered, "Nothing we can do can change that. You weren't there when I first met her, she was like them, but she changed. For me, and I know she's different from them, she wouldn't've done anything like this." Kurt looked at his friend, Logan's arms were wraped around Nikki and his eyes showed the pain of seeing her cry, how could Logan know this about her? "Logan, I know you've told each other everthing, and I belive she wouldn't, but how do you know?" Kurt asked. "Elf, I love her. We've got a connection noone else has, how can't I know?" Logan said. "Logan, Nikki okay?" TW asked jogging over to them. "She will be" Logan said, stroking her hair gently. "Good, we've got some Maruder butt to kick!" TW exclamed.  
Over to you Gorvar!  
Chapter 2: A little help from old friends

A few hours before

Doctor Strange sat medidating in his own room in his house, the other Rebel Avengers doing whatever it was they were doing. suddenly he felt something, something powerfull, something rare.  
In his mind he conjured up a spell, to any Avenger closest to his house.  
'Avengers Assemble!' Doctor strange shouted. In less then a blink, George was there, in his Time Warrior persona.

'Im here doc.' George said.  
'I sensed something..' Strange said, turning about.  
'If tis is about the cheese in the fridge...i found it like-'  
'This is not the time for joking George!' Strange shouted. ' I felt a mutant baby being born!'  
George gasped, a mutant, After Wanda's crazy no baby was born for months carying the x-gene.  
'Where?' George asked.  
'it's in a small alaskian town, i will teleport you there immidiatly, there is a lot at stake on this George.'  
George nodded. ' Do i have back-up on this one?'  
Strange stood up and grabbed a book. ' no, the others are all out, i haven't seen Logan for days, Spider-man has been acting perculiar lately, Luke is still acting to paranoid because of the skrulls...so no, you'll be alone.'  
'Understood, doing your thing doc, i'll take the baby to the X-men.'  
Doctor Strange nodded and casted his teleportion spell on George.  
'God speed Time warrior..' he sighed.

When George arrived at thre scene, he felt like he was in a Vietnam movie. Hosues burning, mothers weeping over the skeletons of their children. Something bad happend, something evil.  
Time Warrior looked around, only seeing dead children, no adults.  
he heard shouting, and crying of a infant.  
George teleported away and drew his sord and slashed it instictivly.

When he popped up, he killed a man wearing white robes...a purifyer.  
'The Hell?!' George shouted and retracted his sword.  
'It's the mutant lover, shoot him!' a other onre shouted and opend fire on Time Warrior.  
'Jezus, you guys are more fucked then i thought...' George sighed and used his pwosers to rewind the bullets, killing them instanly. When George looked back, he saw a pregnant woman, looking shocked at the ground.  
'you allright miss?' George said, strapping his sword to his back. The woman nodded.  
A sound of jet engines were heard. George looked up and saw a firmuliar looking jet landing nearbye. George ran up to it.  
When he arrived, he saw a small group of X-men, Amongst them Logan and nikki.  
"Logan, Nikki okay?" TW asked jogging over to them. "She will be" Logan said, stroking her hair gently. "Good, we've got some Maruder butt to kick!" TW exclamed.

'Marauders?' Cyclops asked.  
George nodded. ' And purifyers, I killed a few of em a few minutes back..they're off after children.'  
'They must be after the baby.' Night crawler nodded.  
'Thats what doctor strange said.' George replied.  
'how come Doc knows, and yer the only avenger 'ere?' Logan asked holding Nikki still.  
'I was the only one around, and he 'felt' it happen, i think Wanda's magic is starting to fade.' George said.  
'We got three possibilites here..' Cyclops said.  
'The marauders have the baby, or the Puryfers got them first, or the baby somehow got away...'  
George sniffed in the air. ' Somebody influinced time to get here first...'  
Logan sniffed to. ' Cable...' he growled.  
'Seems we got work to do Summers.' Tw grinned.

TBC

(up to you nikki ^^ )  
Chapter 3  
Sabretooth draged his claw along Nikki's face, licking the blood from the wound. "This'll only hurt for a minute frail" he growled in her ear. "NO!" Nikki screamed, bolting upright. She was back in the jet, that happened 8 years ago, so why was she still afraid? Victor was dead, she shouldn't still panic every time she saw his face, heard him growl. A shudder freely escaped her while she curled up against Logan. "What were you dreamng about, you only fell asleep half an hour ago?" Time Warrior asked. "Sabretooth" Nikki said, trying to sound calm. Logan growled softly, almost a purr, when she came closer to him. "Logan, you got it bad" TW chuckled. Nikki smiled. "Nikki? Are you alright?" Kurt asked. "I'm fine Kurt" Nikki whispered, "I just wish I wasn't so scared of him any more." Logan brought her closer to him still, "Darlin' you're one o' the bravest women I know, you went through hell before and you survived Creed hurtin' ya like that. It's all the more reason I'm gonnna protect ya an' take care o' you, none of them ever did." "Logan, pull her any closer and she's gonna be in your lap" Scott said from the front of the jet. Logan grinned, ajusting his arm around her so se was impossibly close to him. "Logan" Kurt warned. "What Elf? She's iresistable" Logan said, making Nikki giggle. "You're not so bad your self" she purred, pulling herself on his lap. TW whistled and Kurt stared at the couple as Nikki leaned close and kissed Logan passionatly. "My god, between the outfit and the antiques you'd think she never was royalty" Emma said up front. "Em, Nikki didn't choose royalty, she choose this" Scott said. A serise of cheers came from back, including Warpath's increadibly loud whistle. Nikki kissed Logan like they'd never see eachother again, and their teammates seemed to enjoy watching. Nikki pulled away and both of them looked to the other with unbridled fire in their eyes. "Nikki, where is the Maruder camp located?" Scott asked. "Should be close, I haven't been there in over a year, how would I know?" Nikki shouted, turning back to Logan. "Okay, Nikki and Logan are in love, we get that, but what's up with Warpath?" TW asked Nightcrawler, "His hand keeps going up the alien chicks leg." Kurt looked seeing Logan wasn't the only one with his woman now. "When do we land, they're not as obsene when they're fighting?" Kurt joked. Logan broke his kiss with Nikki to look at Kurt, "Well Elf, if ya don't like what ya see, turn around." Nikki laughed and kissed him softly, "He's right though, we're almost there. We'll continue later. At home. In the bedroom." Logan smiled at Nikki and Emma shouted, "Will you two stop thinking so loud, I don't want to see that! Or hear it!" Over to Gorvar!  
Chapter 4: Big game tracker

Time-warrior stepped of the X-jet first, walking around the mansion.  
'George...is that you?' a bald man asked when he walked over to George.  
'Hey Proffesor.' George smiled. ' Heard you went to space recently, why didn't you take me aswell?'  
'You were not aviable at the time.' Xavier smiles and shakes his old friends hands.  
'Good to have you back.'  
'It's good to be back...how are you holding up with the baby?'  
Xavier shakes his head. ' Cerebra cant seem to find the child, but beofre it went offline, it seems Cable is indeed in this timeline.'  
'So i figured...' George sighed. ' This baby means a lot to the mutants, how come you think it's born with a gene?'  
Xavier shoke his head. ' I dont know, maybe Wanda's magic is fading...'  
'Thats what Doctor strange said, he's the one who alerted me with the birth of the child...'  
'Doctor Strange knows?' Xavier asked, recieving a short nod from George.  
'I was the only Avenger present at the time, if we're lucky we might get some back-up from my team-mates.'  
'Im sure Scott wont like that...since this is a mutant issue.'  
'Scott can kiss my ass.' George replied. ' Im only here to save this baby, not to hear him rant this is a mutant only problem, if i could i would ring every super hero i know and ask for their help, even Iron man's Avengers , i would...'  
'So, what are you going to do now?' Xavier asked.  
'im teleporting after Cable, try to find out where he's going....say profesor, do me a favor and try to contact Doctor Strange for me, ask him if he finds some of my team-mates...'  
'I will.' Xavier nods.  
George nodded back and teleported away.

Some time passes

George followed Cable's trail for a few hours, teleporting everywhere, From Alaska to canada. Along the way he found out Lady Deathstrike has been foloiwng Cable aswell, seemingly in employment of the purifyers.  
When he got to Canda, George got a phone call. He picked up his cell and saw Logzn was ringing.  
'George.' George said.  
'George, where ere ya now?' logan asked on the other end.  
'Canada, some cliff somewhere, wait im activating my comunicator...got your Doctor Strange thingy there,' George asked.  
'Yeah, i got it bub.' logan replied.  
George pushed a button on his belt, which started to bleep.  
'See it?' he asks.  
'Yeah.' Logan replied. ' Found a trace of Cable?'  
'Yup...but im not the only one following him.' George replied.  
'who is following him?' nikki asked in the background.  
'Logan's girlfriend Deathstrike...'  
A growl was heard from the background, but it wasn't Logan or Nikki.  
'Is that x-23 back there?' George asked. ' The hell is she-'  
'long story, protect Cable and the baby at all costs.' logan said and the line went dead.  
'I should've let Spider-man handle this...' George growled and kept walking.

Up ahead George saw Cable surroudned by Deathstrike and her cronies.  
Cable was seriosuly wounded, he wuldn't put up much of a fihgt, espcially with the little baby in his arms.  
George drew his sword and slowly crept in. A hand patted him on the back, George looked back, seeing Logan and a small team.  
Logan put his finger near his lips, making a faint 'shhh' sound. George nodded and pointed at the Reaver ahead.  
logan nodded, rasing his hand in the air, with a sudden jolt he snikt his claws and leaped into combat, follwoed by his team.

'Yuriko!' Logan shouted and stabbed a reaver down.  
'Time to die racist bastard!' Time-warrior shouted and teleported aorund the group of enemies, stabbing and slicing his way through.  
Nikki growled and slashed her way through, followed by x-23.  
Logan finished off his prey beofre barking roders.  
'X, Hezipah, Nikki, someone get to cable!' he shouted.  
'Fuck's sake Logan, im busy!' Nikki shouted, twisting a Reaver's neck.  
'Jesus, this is more bloodier then our fight in Japan with Elektra!' George shouted, using his powers to stop the bullets the reavers are shooting and rewinding them, hitting them back.  
'Yer tellin me.' logan replied, running after Cable.  
'Cant ye stay focused, this is serious, we are fighting child murderers here!' a werewolf shouted, clawing her way through.  
'Wolfsbane, if your rolling with me, expect Banter!' george shouted, decipating a reaver.  
'Everybody keep moving, i'll finnish this up!' goerge shouted.  
'How dare ye!' wolfbane growledand leaped in a bunch of reavers.  
'how dare ye wear those clothes, claiming to be god's servants, look at what you DID in the lord's name.' She growled harder.  
'You killed Children, you killed babies!'  
'Religious fanatics..' George sighed. ' why couldn't it have been friggin Ninja's or Undead,!' George asked himself.  
'They ran out, stay focused!' Nikki shouted running after Logan.  
George teleported away, fighitng alongside a large indian american and a sort of alien chick, called Hezipah.  
'You two go, i'l finnish this up!' george shouted, blocking a bullet.  
'Thank you George Gargan.' hezipah replied and leaped off, Warpath in tow.  
'Caliban stay here to help friend Time-warrior.'caliban said, punching a Reaver down.  
'Appreciated!' George replied.  
When George looked over to Logan, he only saw x-23 fighting Lady deathstrike,no sign of the mutant team, Reavers, or let alone Cable and the baby.  
'This is going to be a loooong day...' George sighed. ' At least we got banter.' he smiled re-assuringly.  
'Hey Religous nuts, you in league with Jehova's witnesses, i like your books, very good illustrated!' George slashed through.  
'kill the mutant- sympathisant, he is not worthy to be a child of god!' one of the few remaing reavers yelled.  
'Dude, if Spiderman were here, he would totally web you up beofre you could finnish that sentince, so i'"ll just stabyou.' George grinned and stabbed through the reavers head.  
' Remind me to send a postcard to Jehova's witnisses when this is over, ok Caliban?' goerge asked, recieving no reply.  
'Caliban?'  
TBC

Chapter 5  
"Caliban?" Time Warrior asked. Caliban lay bleeding on the ground nearby. "Start the party without us?" Mystique asked shooting her way in, "Nikki, did you forget us?" Nikki snarled and lept at Mystique, barely dodging several bulletts. "'Course not Mysti, the party's just gettin' started!" Nikki growled, backfliping over Scalphunter to kick Mystique hard. "Miss me?!" Lady Sabretooth shouted, leaping at Nikki. "Not on your life furball!" Nikki shouted back. Scalphunter shot at TW's sword, but Tw turned his sword at the last minute, backfireing the bullet. LS and Wolverina were locked in an all out grudge match. Nikki's eyes were a deep burgundy none of her teammates had ever seen, her eyes were much lighter when she had her rage. Nikki bared her fangs and twisted her position so LS was trying to escape the hold of her claws insted of Nikki trying to escape hers. "Nikki, how ya doin' over there?" Logan shouted over the shouts of the Maruders and the Purifiers. "Just fine sweetheart!" Nikki shouted back. LS roared, fed up with Nikki's twisting away. "Get over here ya oversized gun an' help me!" LS shouted to Scalphunter. Wolverine knocked Scalphunter back, away from Nikki. "If ya want sumthin' done right" LS muttered and kicked Nikki hard in the side, knocking her off balance. "Sorry ya had ta die fer Wolvie ta get the point a' how it feels ta loose the one person ya love the most" Ls growled, pulling Nikki up by her hair. "Wolverine!" she shouted, "Back down an' mebbe I'll let ya keep yer gal." Logan stopped in midstrike, Nikki, they had Nikki. Scalphunter joined Omega Sentenal near the edge of the battlefield, a bomb poised to blow. "LOGAN!" Nikki shouted. "I've got you Nikki!" TW said, teleporting her out of LS's grasp. Nightcrawler got to Wolverine, but not before the bomb went off. "Logan! Kurt!" Nikki shouted. A small clooud of brimstone appeared not too far away, Logan and Kurt droping from it. "Gorge" Nikki gasped. TW took her hand and teleported to Kurt and Logan. Nikki ran to Logan's side, her eyes filling with tears. "Go..check..Kurt." Logan whispered horsely. TW went to Kurt's aid while Nikki stayed at Logan's side. A laugh was heard from the edge of the clearing. "You thought you could escape me little sister" Mystique said sinisterly. "I'm not your sister!" Nikki shouted and lept at Mystique. "If you arn't then why are we so simaler?" Mysti asked coyly. "I'm nothing like you" Nikki growled. "That's what you may think" Mystique said. TW grabed Mystique and teleported her away, back to the battle and droped her on Lady Sabretooth. "Thanks Gorge, she's a real psycho" Nikki said, inwardly wondering if Mysitque was right. "Anytime, let's get them back to the jet" TW said. Over to Gorvar!  
Chapter 6: Home-coming.

Time warrior carried Nightcrawler on his back with Nikki and Logan in tow. He used his sword as a walking staff to navigate through the snow. When he got to the jet was supposed to be however, he ony found dumbstruck faces.  
'Urgh...where's the jet?' George asked.  
'Gone...' Warpath muttered, holding his dead friend Caliban in his arms.  
'Cable toke it when we were fighting..' Hezipah replied, trying to soothe Warpath.  
'We lost the baby to....boy this day sucks.' George sighed and gave Kurt to X-23.  
'Any reply from HQ?'  
'Naye..' Wolfsbane shook her head.  
'So we are freezing here, without the baby, half the team unconcious AND some marauders might still be out...' X-23 remarked.  
'Lucky for you i got buddies.' Time warrior grinned and grabbed a small totem from his belt.  
'Your going to ask doctor Strange for help?' Nikki asked, holding Logan still. ' When he's still a bit...y'know..'  
'Doc might've gone nuts, but he asked me to find this baby, so he isn't thatnuts anymore. lets hope he wont pull a Wanda...'  
George threw the totem down, when it hit the ground however, the group was in a libraray, whith thousands and thousands of books.  
'What in the name of....' Warpath gasped.  
'skarelshna....' Hezipah muttered in her own tongue.  
'Where are we?' x-23 asked.  
'This is Doctor strange's home, allthough im usprised he was able to re-build it so fast...' Nikki explained.  
'Well, he Is the Sorcerer supreme...' George said. ' Lay the wounded down, i'll go see for any potions Doc left behind.'  
'What about....Caliban?' Warpath asked, still holding his dead friend.  
'lay him down to...' George sighed and went to look for potions.

Meanwhile on a undisclosed lcoation..

'Good to see you here Charles, it's been a wile.' Doctor Strange said to his old friend Charles Xavier, who appertnly doesn't need a wheelchair anymore.  
'It has been indeed Stepehen.' Xavier smiled and shoke hands.  
'I heard about the baby, i send someone of my team as soon as i could.' The doctor explained.  
'I know, Goerge has been a great help this far.' Xavier replied. ' Allthough we did lose contact with him, along with Logan and his team.'  
Doctor Strange nodded and closed his eyes, a small moment later he smiled.  
'They're in my sanctuary...they are save there.' Strange said.  
'Thank god...' Xavier sighed of relief.  
'Your going to need more help in finding this child Charles, if she is the key to the survival of the mutant race...'  
'We need more heroes then just mutants, i know.' Charles interupted. ' But who would help us?'  
Stephen grinned and mentioned at the three figures who appeared behind him.  
Charles smiled when he saw these faces...there might be hope yet.

'Damnit Doc....' George growled, going through every drawer in Strange's room, trying to find medicinal potions.  
'any luck?' nikki popped in.  
'Nope....' George sighed.  
'Well, logan is awake and walking, Kurt is still healing and Caliban...' Nikki paused, recieving a nod from George.  
'when i find Wanda, im going to hurt her so bad...' Nikki growled.  
'Leave some for me.' George grinned and kept on looking.  
Nikki sighed and leaned on the wall. ' Im worried George...'  
'About,' george asked, still looking.  
'This baby...this searh for it....is one child worth all this death and destruction?'  
George paused, then looked Nikki straight in the eyes.  
'I belive so Nikki...' George said. ' If i have to belive Wolfsbane there is something, or someone, who has a plan, if i have to belive Peter, he cares, if i have to belive all of this is worth it...i will.'  
Nikki sighed. ' Still people died...children died, this is getting worse then Stamford every hour....'  
George nods. ' it's for these children im fighting for Nikki, i wont let their death's be in vain.'  
'and i wont let Caliban's murder be in vain aswell.' Nikki replied.  
Footsteps where heard, both heroes prepared themselves. But when they lookeed outside, they saw it was Logan.  
'Somethin i miss?' he asked, holding a bottle of wine in his hand.  
TBC  
Chapter 7  
Nikki smiled at her husband and TW gave Logan a questioning look. "Why-?" Tw asked. "What? Can't celebrate handin' the purifiers thier ass?" Logan asked. "Now I'm wondering that if we're celebrating a tie than why wine?" Nikki asked. Logan smiled at Nikki, "Darlin' WE can't celebrate ourselves?" Nikki giggled, blushing. "What's going on?" Scott asked. "Whadda ya think Summers?" Logan asked, "I'm gonna go celebrate with my wife." Scott looked at Logan and was abou to speak when Emma walked in. "You don't wanna know" Emma said. Nikki smiled and TW got the sence he'd be hearing it in a while. "Gorge?" Scott asked, "Will you trade rooms with us? We might be noisy tonight." "Okay..." Tw said, wondering what's up now. Nikki and Logan left and Scott showed TW to his new room. "Emma?" Hank asked, "Weren't you supposed to sleep in the room next to Nikki and Logan?" "Were, Hank, were" Emma said, sauntering off after Scott. Tw relaxed in his room, thinking of his wife back home when a soft thud! woke him from his thoughts. Then he realized it, the rooms were soundproof, but knowing Nikki and Logan soundproof wasn't gonna cut it. "Oh, come on! She tricked me! Dammit Emma!" Gorge said angrily. Gorge could hear something from the room next dorr, but it wasn't what he'd expected. Nikki smiled at Logan, they hadn't been together long and they'd already worn eachother out. "You ok darlin'?" Logan asked. "Was Mystique right?" Nikki asked. "What do ya mean?" Logan whispered. "Am I her sister? Logan, I know ya got her scent, am I related to her?" Nikki asked. Logan took a breath, taking in Nikki's scent, comparing it to Mystique's. "I can't tell, you smell sweet and exotic, she doesn't smell anything like you" Logan whispered. Nikki kissed Logan passionatly, they fit perfectly together, like they were made for each other. Logan purred softly, "Ya do know I'm 4 years older than you right?" Logan asked. Nikki laughed, "I love ya, I couldn't care less. Beside I was married to a guy that was 266 years older than me anyway." Tw laughed, they were so perfect for each other, plus he had Logan's soft side to use against him now. Over to Gorvar!  
A few hours later, the x-men were called together again. Forge send a message saying Cable came to his palce at Eagle plaza to repair his time travel machine. But at that moment Bishop came and shot Cable down, intending to kill the baby. Everyone in the room gasped when Forge elaborated, at that moment the marauders came in and kidnapped the baby.  
'Shit....' George sighed.  
'Knowing the mrauders...they probebly wouldn't hurt the baby...yet.' Scott said.  
'Great, now sinister has it...' X-23 growled.  
'Not fer long...' logan grinned and looked at George. 'George, how many folks can yer lift off?'  
'Urghm...Seven people, depends on where we're going.' George replied.  
'Muir island is the safest bet.' Nikki said, holding her husband.

George remembered what those two were doing just a few minutes ago, so he cant stop imagining how they did it.  
'Allright, grab your team, we're moving in 5 minutes.' George said.  
'Me and the rest will follow with the X-jet.' Scott replied and called the rest together.

A few minutes passed as George prepared himself to teleport. Wolveirne, Wolverina, Warpath, Hezipah, Wolfsbane and x-23 were ready to depart.  
'hold on guys, you might feel a bit uncomfortable...' george said and closed his eyes.  
In less then a blink later, the group sat in the middle of a underground complex, surrounded by Marauders.  
Logan snikt his claws and stabbed one down.  
'guys let lsoe, if you hold back your dead!' Logan shouted, before he got a bullet in the head.  
'Find the baby!' George shouted, cutting his way through.  
'LOGAN!' nikki yelled and clawed her way to him.  
'you allright?' she asked her husband, holding him up.  
'Kill....shit....' he muttered.  
'Gladly.' X grinned and slashed her way through.  
Scalphunter aimed for Hezipah. 'Goodnight Kitty cat...' he grinned, beofre Warpath loomed in front of his lense, throwing a knive.  
'Oh shi-' Scalphunter said, getting a knive through his shoulder.

The marauders outnumbered the X-force and Time Warrior greatly, but the X-force fought on like they were possesed, soon wolverine joined in again, clawing his way.  
But however, the X-force was surrounded again.  
'Give it up, your surroudned and over-powered..your history.' one of them said, grinning.  
'He's right...we're fucked.' Nikki growled.  
'Not necesarily....hey bad guy, i got two words for you!' George shouted confidentily.  
'what are you saying,' wolfsbane asked.  
'The human has lost it...' Hezipah sighed.  
'shh..let him speak, we're drawing time...' Warpath said, knives in the ready.  
'Which ones, human?' the marauders asked again.  
'These two....AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!'

Then the wall behind them colapsed, showing three figures came out of it. one swung through and sued webs to knock out marauders, while one large one grabbed debris and smashed his waythrough, the third one used many kung-fu like moves, immobilising his foes. The X-factor members used the distraction as a advantage and fought back.  
'Did i miss the party?!' Spider-man swung by.  
'Nope, not at all!' Time wariror cried, slashing his way through.  
'Sup Homies?!' Luke cage yelled, using a pillar as a club.  
'you invited them?!' logan asked Tw.  
'why not, they're team-mates, plus it was what Doc wanted.' George replied.  
'Friendly neighberhood Spider-man here to save a mutant baby!' spiderman said, using his webs to ensnare marauders.  
'Didn't you save Luke's kid to?' iron fist asked.  
'Yeah...think it's a running gag.' Spiderman replied.  
'The other one being Iron fist smashing the floor?' Tw asked, rewinding bullets to their owners.  
'I only did that once!' Iron fist excalimed.

wolsbane and Hezipah jumped around, killing anyone in their way.  
'no wonder why George banters so much...' Hezipah says.  
'Aye.' Wolfsbane nods.  
'At least we can be serious.' nikki grins, slashing Scalphunter down. ' aww my nails!'  
Wolveirne grinned at his wife, beofre continuing.  
Despite the help, the Combined forces were slowly losing ground.  
'Danny, do your thing!' luke cried.  
'what thing?' Iron fist asked, dodging strikes from a mauraduer.  
'The ground smahsing one!' Spider-man said, ensnaring a mutant female.  
'I only-' Beofre he could continue, x-23 comes in, slashing the female down.  
'Just smash the damn floor!'  
'Allright allright, sheesh, kids these days..' Iron hand sighed and smashed the floor, crumbeling the enemy mutants.  
'Good job Danny.' Luke smiled, punching a marauder knock out.  
A mutant known as Vertigo was powering up a attack, untill she got swooped up and got eaten by a monster. she cried horror and terror untill the beast bite her in half and swallowed her whole.  
'What the fuck is that?!' Wolverine yelled.  
'Oh shit...im going to get nightmares from this for sure...' George sighed.  
'Avengers...take that mother down!'  
So the avengers, including TW, leaped in and fought the beast.  
Logan and Nikki were stunned, these humans were fighting alongside mutants, and beating a mutant eating monsters. Wolveirne snappd back to reality soon.  
'Nikki find the baby, go!'  
Sure thing hun.' she purred and followed the baby's scent.  
TBC  
Chapter 9  
Nikki silently ran along the wall in Sinister's lab, memories from her past rushing back. The only time she'd ever truly seen Sinister were when she joined and when she was nearly killed by Lady Sabretooth. Chloe Creed carried the child in her arms, her eyes filled with hate for the little creature. She'd planed to give Victor a son, but Wolveine had killed him when she was 2 months pregnant with their daughter. Little did she know, Sabretooth had a son, Wolverina's son. Nikki watched Chloe carry the baby in her arms, a few times Chloe looked like the baby was the worst thing she'd ever seen. Nikki hung back, watching as LS handed the baby to Mystique. Gambit looked guilt ridden at the child, but LS smiled wickedly. "Hello Runtett" she whispered. Nikki caught her words, "Let the child go Mystique" Nikki growled, coming form her hiding place. "Chere" Gambit whispered, looking at his 'friend'. "Yer gonna wish I was in a better mood Runtett" Chloe snarled, "I just wanna get this kid outta the way, can't ya just let us? Ya can tell yer boyfriend some sob story whlie you're helpin' us." "Why would I let you do that?" Nikki asked and swung her foot around in a powerful kick, "and second, he's my husband." Chloe growled and Mystique looked at Gambit, "Well? What're you waiting for? Kill her!" Gambit looked at Nikki, the same Nikki he'd helped, the same Nikki he'd befreinded a long time ago. Mystique looked exasperated as she placed the baby down beside Rogue and went after Nikki. "You know sis, it's not nice to spy on your older siblings" Mysique said. "I'm not your sister, Logan and I both know that" Nikki growled. LS took Gambit by the arm, "They're gonna try ta ambush us, we gotta get out there" she growled. "You go, Gambit catch up" he said, charging a handfull of cards. "Mystique! Let Gambit handle Woverina non?" he asked in his 'sexy voice' the one that alwase won Mystique over. "Fine, but I'll be back for the body" She said, following LS out. "Gambit?" Nikki asked. "Chere, you really 'tink Gambit gonna hurt you after all I done for you?" he asked. "'Course not, I just figured while Mysti was around we'd put on the act, now let's get them outta here" Nikki said. "Ah, mah head feels like sumthin hit me hard" Rogue said, then Nikki noticed the baby toched Rogue and was perfectly fine. "Chere?" Gambit whispered. "Remy!" Rogue shouted. "Ya know, I'd like to stay for the love fest, but we got a team to go help here!" Nikki said. "Who's she?" Rogue asked. "Names Nikki, I go by Wolverina, married Wolverine, I'll tell ya later, let's go!" Nikki said, taking the baby and going back toward the battle. Over to Gorvar!  
Chapter 10: end Game

Time warrior jabbed his sword in the Beast's hide, it roared and kicked George off.  
'Hit it harder Luke bellowed, slamming a other debris on the predator's head.  
'You keep going on like this, you'll run out of debris Luke!' Spiderman commented.  
George spat out blood, and looked at the Beast.  
'How come it isn't eating us?' George asked.  
'because it eats mutants…' logan snarled and leapt in.  
'Logan, the hell are you doing?!' Iron fist yelled, seeing Logan disappear in the Beast's mouth.  
George grinned. 'Cease fire!' Cyclops yelled, also knowing what Logan is doing.  
A moment later the beast fell down on the ground, and a small cut in it's stomach became larger, logan creeping out of it.  
'Nice job Logan.' George said, pulling his friend up.  
'Im goin to need a shower after this one…' logan replied.  
'Spider-man, woah, that was cool, can you invite us again next time Cyclops?'  
'No…' Scott replied.  
'Logan!' A female voice shouted, Wovleirne looked back and saw Nikki running. They held each other and kissed deeply, not carrying for the wooting. Everyone stopped when they saw Gambit and Rogue, carrying the baby.  
'Here is the baby sugah..' Rogue said, giving the child to Scott. Scott nodded and grabbed his communicator.  
'professor, we have the baby.' He said.  
'Understood.' Xavier said, appearing less then a second later, with doctor strange and Cable at his side.  
'Cable!' George yelled and grabbed his sword.  
'Easy George, Cable is a good guy.' Doctor strange said.  
'He's here to take the baby to a safer place.' Xavier said.  
'Are you kidding me?' Scott asked ' We been all through this, all of this, losing Caliban, dozens of people died…to give the baby to him?.'  
'Post apocalyptic areas beats this world by a dozen Cyclops, that's kinder garten!' spider-man said , swinging by.  
'It's for the best Mister Summers.' Strange said wisely. Emma came behind Scott and placed her hand on his shoulder. ' it's for the best darling…' she said.  
Scott sighed and gave the baby to Cable.  
'I'll promise nothing bad will happen to her.' Cable said.  
'You better…' Scott replied.  
Cable nodded and disappeared in a brilliant flash.  
'Noooo!' a voice shouted behind them, Bishop came in, guns swinging and aimed at cable and the baby, before his bullet could hit his target, it went back and went through Bishop's head. Everybody looked at George, who put his hand back down.  
'Nice shot mon ami.' Gambit said. ' Gambit thinks you be excellent for this job, non?'  
'Start learning to speak in the first person Gambit…it starts to get REALLY annoying.' George replied, putting his sword back.  
'So…I guess that's a wrap?' spider-man asked, hanging upside down.  
'Dunno man…this place is to trippin fer me…I call it quits.'luke sighed  
'I second.' Iron fist said and followed luke outside.  
'Im going home to my wife before my nightshift starts…' George sighed and teleported away.  
'I'll urgh….' Spider-man paused, then walked off.  
'Thank you for your help Stephen, we couldn't have done it without you.' Xavier said, shaking his hand with Doctor strange.  
'It was no problem Charles, it was the least I could do.'  
Doctor strange smiled, before he walked off, teleporting his team-members back to New york.  
'Everyone back to the X-jet.' Scott ordered. The X-men complied and followed their leader, including rogue and gambit.  
The X-men packed up and left, leaving dead bodies and ruins in their wake

TBC  
Chapter 10: Kick assery  
TW jabbed his sword in the creature's side, it roared and kicked Gorge back. "Hit it harder!" Luke shouted, pummeling the beast with debris. "You keep it up, there won't be any debris left!" Spidey commented. Gorge spat blood and looked at the beast, "How come it isn't eating us?" "Because it eats mutants..." Logan snarled and lept into the creature's mouth. "Logan what the hell are you doing?!" Iron fist yelled, seeing Logan dissappear. "Cease fire!" Scott shouted, knowing what Logan had planned. A moment later Logan cut his way from the monster's stomach. "Nice job" Gorge said, pulling his friend up. "I'm gonna need a shower after this" Logan said. "Can you invite us again next time Cyke?" Spidey asked. "No..." Scott replied. "Logan!" Nikki shouted. She ran to him and kissed him deeply, ignring the wooting. Everyone stoped when they saw Gambit and Rogue with the baby. "Here's the baby sugah" Rogue said, handing the baby to Scott. Scott nodded and picked up his com, "Professor we have the baby." "Understood" The professor said, appearing with Cable and Doctor strange. "Cable?!" Tw shouted, drawing his sword. "Gorge, Cable is one of us" Professor X said, "He's here to take the baby to a safer place." "Post apocaliptic aternate realities suddenly seem so much safer..." Spidey said, earning a glare form several of his teammates (including Nikki). "It's for the best Scott" Doctor Strange said. Scott sighed and handed the baby to Cable. "I promise I'll take care of her" Cable said. "You better" Scott replied. Cable nodded ad dissappered leaving the X-Men and the Avengers to pack up for home. TBC.  
Epilogue: Family  
Gorge spent his night at home with his wife and 2 kids before going to the tower that morning. Gorge walked in to see Logan and Nikki playing with their children, 8 year old Vincent, 9 year old Alesha, and the 3-month old twins Holly and Gabrielle. "Hey Gorge" Logan said, pulling himself up. Nikki smiled at Gorge as he walked in while she held her daughters. "Logan, hey" Gorge said, "This Vincent?" Vincent smiled up at Gorge from the movie he and Alesha were watching, Vincent was the son of Sabretooth and Nikki, even though Nikki had never loved Creed. "Hi Mr. Gargan" Vincent said, smiling. Gorge walked off with Logan and let the others relax. "So you moved the family in here until the mansions rebuilt huh?" Gorge asked. "Yup, can't let the family stay somewhere else while Nikki and I are here" Logan replied. "So, you're quite the famliy man Logan, I thought you didn't want Nikki to see your soft side" Gorge commented, inwardly laughing at Logan's puzzled expression. "I love her Gorge, her family is my family now. Aron's truning into a teenager now, staying in his room, not listening and trying to be like his big brother. Nikki needs this place now too, both of us do, the last thing I want is for our family to be on their own. Laura walked in, smiling at Gorge and Logan. "You guys should talk somewhere other than the kitchen, everybody comes in here" she said, a smile crossing her face for a minute. "Tell Nikki I'll be in there in a minute" Logan said to Laura, she nodded and left the room. "Remember when I told you I hoped I'd never loose a child like my friend did?" Logan asked, a hint of guilt in his voice. "Nikki's daughter Andrea died because she was living with me." Gorge noticed Nikki standing in the doorway while Logan held his head like he had a headache, she looked at him with her own guilt showing. "Logan...you weren't even there" she whispered, "It wasn't your fault..." The tears starting in her eyes when she looked away seemed to hurt Logan, "Darlin', don't cry" he whispered, walking over to her and holding her. Gorge looked at them, and knew he'd blame himself too if anything happened to his family. Fin


	31. The Question

**The Question: A Wolverine and Wolverina Story**

Chapter 1- Callie  
Nikki was making lunch for her kids when her daughter asked the question that had been on her mind all day, "Mom, can we get a dog?" Logan had walked in and looked at his wife, expecting her to answer. "IF it's alright with your father" Nikki said, a hint of knowing in her voice. "Maybe" Logan muttered, "Not right now." Nikki came over to her husband's side, "This wouldn't have anything to do with Callie would it?" she whispered. Callie was Logan's childhood dog, a cute little puppy he'd gotten at Christmas when he was 12, the thing was Logan remembered everything, including Callie. The groundskeeper's boy killed Callie and Logan thought the only dogs he'd have to deal with were a wolf pack now and again. "A little" he answered, Nikki giving him a soft smile. "You like dogs hunny, I'm sure she'll only want 1" she whispered. "Fine, we'll get a dog" Logan sighed while his daughter jumped up to hug him. "Thanks daddy!" Alesha shouted. "Dad, you caved" Daken said, "What's next? When she decides to get a car you buy her a Lambo?" Nikki laughed, "You know you might like the dog." "Not in a million years" Daken muttered while his little sister pranced up to Pixie's room to tell her about getting a puppy. "So what happens if our enemys decide to attack again?" Laura asked. "We'll take the puppy over to Stark Tower duh" Vincent said, looking at her like she'd grown a second head. "Now I'm afraid, they're arguing about fights and the dog" Logan whispered to his wife. "I wouldn't worry if I were you" Nikki said, smiling the smile she got when she had a brilliant plan. Now Logan was scared. TBC  
Chapter 2- Vampire Kisses  
Logan knew when he looked down at Nikki while she slept in the 'Avengers apartment' that he needed to convince her he was ready. *For those of who didn't make it to my first Estella story before the gitch caught it, Logan wants to be changed by Nikki but she doesn't want him to be like her.* Logan ran his fingers along her cheek, needing her to relize she wasn't a monster like she thought she was. Nikki turned, waking up to Logan. "Hunny?" she whispered, "What's wrong?" He knew she'd expect an answer so he decided just to say it, "Darlin' I know you don't want me to be like you... but you're not a monster. I know that vampires live forever, I want to with you...Darlin' let's face it, I'm not gonna live for eternity like you would the 'factor can barely keep up with me now." Nikki bit her lip, then finally said, "I'm not planning on outliving you." "What's that supposed to mean?" Logan asked. "It means, no matter how old we get together, the day you die I die too" Nikki said, her eyes grim. Logan kissed her, a plan forming, she'd nearly slpied up so many times that he knew what he had to do. He kissed her just the right way and she felt her control slipping, she knew she couldn't stop, didn't want to and her fangs slid down in her mouth as they did often (mostly accidentally). Logan felt her fangs coming down, now he knew he was onto something, running his hands down her skin just like she liked he kissed her neck, smiling as he heard her purr. Nikki could barely resist, she loved what he was doing and didn't want him to stop but she couldn't bite him, even though his scent sang to her in ways no other scent ever had. Logan kissed her again and she pulled back, "Once" she whispered. He nodded, unable to say anything while her eyes swirled to silver, overtaking the green. Nikki kissed his neck softly and hesitantly bit in. Logan relaxed against her, he knew she needed time to think but he needed forever with her, like it should be. Nikki felt everything he did in a rush, she could tell at least he was enjoying this. All she could worry about was if she couldn't control hersrlf...then he let go of her. She kissed the wound softly and kissed him, worry in her eyes. "Did I hurt you?" she whispered. "Nope" he said, pulling her into his arms, "I liked it, we should do that again." Nikki snuggled close against her husband and al she could think at the moment was, 'Me too.'  
Chapter 3- Blood ties!  
The Avengers were asleep when the unexpected 'visitor' came. He slid through the shadows of the appartment making his way to the room where her familiar scent was strong, Nikki, Wolverina, so many aliases she'd gone by since then. Cassius hadn't known, no one knew, exept for himself and now Nikki would. He'd been preparing for the inevitable confrontation and know it was time. Nikki woke up from another memory gone bad, the only thing that could help at this hour was to get out of bed. Pullpng the blanket over Logan, she slid on some clothes and left the room. She didn't expect when his foot swept out from the shadows to catch her off ballance. Sprawling on the floor, she looked up to meet the gaze of her attacker. "Hello Mother" he said, stepping forward to remove the mask from his face, his short, spiky blond hair the same gold as his father's. "Joshua?" Nikki whispered. Josh was inwardly astonished, she remembered him! "Who else could it be?" he said, "I've been waiting in the wings far too long, and you're going to pay for abandoning me." "I didn't abandon you" Nikki almost pleaded to her son, "Cassius almost killed you, I thought he did, that's why I never went to find you." Tears were falling from her eyes while she stared at the son she thought she lost, the whir of helicopters drew close and Josh cursed under his breath, turning to the window. "Nikki I thought I heard you out here" Tw said, "Who the-?" Josh gave his mother a parting glance and lept from the window. Nikki rose unsteadily to her feet and went to the window to make sure he son hadn't jumped away only to hurt himself. "Nikki?" Gorge asked. Nikki collapsed in tears just before the rest of the Avengers came into the room, including her husband. "What happened?" Logan demaned, taking Nikki in his arms. "Somebody showed up some kid with claws" Gorge said. "Logan" she gasped, "Josh is alive."  
*To recap, Nikki Howlett aka Wolverina moved her family into the 'Avengers apartment' after the Xaiver Instatute was destroyed for the umpteenth time and late last night her son Joshua who she belived long dead returned to get revenge, but his revenge was short-lived thanks to the apperace of Gorge Gargan aka Time Warrior, Josh esaped leaving his mother fearing for him* Chapter 4- On My Own  
Josh scaled the buildings in downtown New York, searching for just a telltale sign of Amanda or Aiden. "What took you so long runt?" a female voice asked. Josh looked up, seeing Amanda, talons, fangs and all, a pure echo of her brother. "What'd you expect Mandy, he's the son of Wolverina he was bound to go off on his own sometime?" Aiden said. "Manda, Aiden" Josh said swinging through the window into the room they'd found. Amanda Creed, the little sister of sociopath Sabretooth and his best friend, and Aiden, son of this vampire dude called Laurent and a were gal called Terri. As much as Josh hated to admit it, Amanda and Aiden seemed perfect for each other and they clearly showed it. "Were were you anyway?" Amanda asked, concern in her voice. "Where do you think, I was tracking my mom" he said. Aiden moved in front of Josh, "She's been worried about you, the least you could do is show her you care." Josh growled, pushing aiden aside, "Ain't that what YOU'RE here for?!" "Josh" Amanda said softly, "I know everything's been a bit rushed lately, running from them and you finding your mom..." "Mandy" Josh said, "It's not that I don't care, I'm just...nt exacty what you'd call happy right now." "Mommy forget you exist?" Aiden asked, putting his arm aroud Amanda's shoulders. Josh had half a mind to tear his throat out right then. "No loverboy, she didn't forget about me, I really just wish I could forget you exist for just 1 day" he growled. "Awww, Joshy's got a crush on Mandy how sweet" Aiden said mockingly, crossing the room to face Josh, "She's MY girl claws for brains." "At least I have a brain mutt" Josh shot back. "Boys quit it!" Amanda shouted. Aiden laughed at Josh's experssion, "Aiden, shut the hell up" she said. "Burnt by your girl, must be a sad day in Aiden-land" Josh said.  
Meanwhile back at Avenger's apartment------  
Nikki sat back, her mind only on her son. He was alive! After all this time he was alive, and yet she didn't know anything about him. "Darlin', You okay?" Logan asked, wraping his arms around her and letting her relax against him. "I'm terrible" she muttered. "Why? You're the best girl I know" he whispered. "I don't know anything about my son, for all I know he could be married! I should've gone to find him years ago, even if he'd really been-" "Darlin' relax, everything's gonna be alright, I promise." he whispered, interupting. "You promise" she whispered. "I promise" he whispered.  
*previously, Nikki Howlett (Wolverina) disovered her son she belived long dead to be alive and full of resentment and hate. Josh secretly decides to go back to get his revenge in full, hoping it will win the heart of Amanda Creed, his only love.*Chapter 5- Revelations  
Josh approched the building where he'd confonted his mother last night, unkown to him Wolverine was awaiting his arrival. "So kid" Logan asked, "What do ya want with Nikki?" "My name ain't kid, it's Josh and what's it to ya?" Josh asked. "I don't take well to anybody goin' after my girl" Logan snarled. "Well then, looks like I'm gonna have to take you out first then huh?" Josh asked, a smile crossing his face. He lept at Logan, his claws out, ready to fight. Logan hadn't been expecting that, but quickly doged Josh's attack. Josh clawed at Logan, Logan barely fighting back, trying not to hurt the kid. "Now what do ya think of me?!" Josh growled, pinning Logan back and grabing the Muramasa blade. "Kid, Josh, you don't know what you're doin' with that thing" Logan said. "Oh yes, I do" Josh said, his voice exactly like Sabretooth's used to be. Nikki wandered the apartment, looking for Logan when she heard a sound like meatal on metal outside. "Logan" she whiapered, running to her lover's aid. Josh heard running footsteps, pleased with himself and deciding to run he left leaving Logan in the alley. "Logan?" Nikki said, coming out the back door, "LOGAN!" She saw him, cut by the blade in several places, bleeding. "Oh god" she whispered, backing up until her back was against the wall. "GORGE! LUKE! SOMEBODY!" She ran to Logan's side, taking his face in her hands. "Nikki, what's going on?" Gorge asked walking outside, seeing her holding Logan and crying, "Stay here, I'm getting help." Nikki ran her fingertips across Logan's bloody cheek, ragged sobs tearing from her chest. "Nikki, let me take him inside" Luke whispered. Gorge held Nikki's shoulders while Luke picked up Logan and took him inside. "Nikki, shhhh, it's okay, Logan will be okay" Gorge whispered. Nikki continued sobbing while Gorge held he by the arm and led her inside. Josh watched from the tree near the street, she wasn't like he thought she was, she was afraid of loosing Logan and maybe she'd been afraid of loosing him too.  
Chapter 6- Reunion  
Nikki sat at Logan's side while the others debated what to do. They patched Logan up, but he seemed far from recovered. "Maya?" Nikki asked. "Yes, Nikki?" Echo replied. "I'm going to go find who did this to Logan, can you take care of him?" Nikki's voice full of worry as she asked. "Sure" Maya said, and her face suddenly changed to worry for her friend, "Don't do anything too drastic Nikki." "I won't" Nikki said softly. She approached Gorge who sat, combing his fingers through his hair with consern evedent on his face. "Gorge?" she asked softly. "Hey Nikki, how ya holdin' up?" he asked, obviously forcing a smile. "Okay, but I wanted to ask, can you help me?" Nikki said, looking him strait in the eyes, which was something she rarly did. "With what?" he asked confusedly. "I want you to help me find who did this to Logan" she said, her voice turning cold, "You're Logan's friend so I wouldn't ask anyone else, I don't think I could take anyone else." Gorge smiled, "Sure, where to?" "I'll meet you there, I have some unfinished busniess to take care of" Nikki said, smiling. "That's code for, 'you don't wanna know' huh?" Gorge asked. "Sumthin' like that" Nikki replied, walking off to face her son for the possibly last time. Nikki arrived at the wearhouse she knew they'd be in, her son's scent was strong here. Nikki honestly didn't know much on how to be what she was, a crossbreed, so learning what she could from movies helped and proved worthy. IF you've ever seen the movie Van Helsing you'll know exactly how it looked as she jumped from brick incline to brick incline on the side of the wall, using her wolf strength. She slid in the window and faced her son. "Mom?" Josh asked, suprised to see her. "Josh" Nikki said, "Did you go after Logan?" Josh's heart started pounding, he was in for it, "I was going after you, Wolverine got in the way and what's it to ya? It's not like you care about anyone anyway" he said. "Josh, that isn't true. I didn't know you were still alive, and I do care about people, I came after you so I knew you were alrght and I love Logan" Nikki replied. "Love?" Josh asked strickenly as he watched Aiden appraoch from behind his mom with the blade he'd turned on Wolverine. "Mom turn around!" Josh shouted but it was too late. Nikki spun around to face her adversary and the blade tore into her. "MOM!" Josh screamed, but not before his claws came down with an audible 'snikt', just like his mom's. He lept at Aiden, "Why do you alwae take everything away from me?!" he shouted, "Amanda, my home, my lfe and now you're gona try and take my family?! I don't think so bub!" They cut and clawed at eachother for a while before Josh struck Aiden down. "C'mon man, I wasn't gonna kill anybody" Aiden said. "You could've, you better thank god I can still hear her heartbeat or else you woulda been dead by now. Here's what I'm suggesting and it's an order, you're leavin'. Now. You leave Amanda with me, pack up and get out of state before I change my mind and kill you" Josh ordered grimly. Aiden ran, and while he was running, Josh took the blade in one hand and pulled his mom up and left for Avenger's apartment. TBC  
Chapter 7-Recon and an apoligy  
Josh tried to carry both his mom and the blade but to no avail. Then a bright flash made him jump back, Nikki's hands were glowing! "Holy crap!" he shouted. "Holy crap what?" Gorge asked, making Josh jump again. "Is that supposed to happen?" Josh asked, pointing to Nikki's glowing hands and the rapidly healing wound. "That's the Muramasa blade right?" Gorge asked. "Yeah" Josh replied. "Then no" Gorge said. Nikki gasped and the glowing faded a bit, "What the...? How the...? What's going on? Gorge, when did you get here?" "Nikki, I'd like to know how you're doing that too" Gorge said, looking a bit startled. "Well dad alwase thought I was a wiccan" she muttered, "Wait! Logan! We have to get back to Logan!" Gorge took her hand and made her lean back against him, "I'm not taking chances" he said. Josh went with them, suprised that even though he figured he wasn't an only child that as soon as Mr. Gargan and his mom left the room, his brother came up to him. "I wondered if she was gonna be able to bring you back here" Daken said, "Well looks like Spider-man now owes me 50 bucks." Nikki ran into the room where Logan was and placed her hands on either side of his face. "Nikki what're you doing?" Gorge asked. "I've seen Stephen heal people, I can do this" Nikki replied and shut her eyes. The glow started again and Gorge watched in awe as her hands dissapeared in a brght muticolored glow. Nikki focused on healing Logan and she could feel everything so strong. He loved her, that she knew, but it was like she was in his head with all the love she could feel directed to her. The glow died down and Nikki opened her eyes and smiled, Logan opened his eyes to see her. "Missed ya" he whispered, caressing her cheek, "Bein' stuck in my head kinda gets lonely." To Gorge's suprise, Logan got up and stood, then deeply kissed his wife.  
Epilogue- Cadie  
Gorge teleported into the Avengers apartment to see the kids playing with a shaggy brown and white cocker spaniel. "Hey Uncle Gorge!" Vincent shouted, Alesha mearly looked up from the dog, Aron nodded, Daken smiled over and Holly and Gabrielle cooed. Josh sat seeming out of place with his family, then Nikki and Logan came in. "Hey Gargan" Logan said. "Hey Gorge" Nikki said, smiling happily. "Uncle Gorge meet Cadie" Vincent said, sratching the dog's head, "Cadie meet Uncle Gorge." "Well he wouldn't let them name her Callie 2 so Cadie it was" Nikki chuckled. Life was normal for the Avengers now, at least until next time. Finis (it's italian)


	32. Roadtrip!

**Nikki, Logan and Sal on a Roadtrip! (for Gorvar, FF, and Nel)**

Chapter 1  
"Are we there yet?" Sal asked again much to Logan's annoyance. "NO! We're not flamin' there yet!" Logan shouted "Just shut yer trap an' maybe we'd all keep our sanity." Nikki laughed in the seat next to Logan "Honestly you 2" she chuckled "You're like fire and ice." "Well I'll be your fire since Logan can't seem to stop being so cold" Sal said. Nikki sighed and eaned back. "Can we dump him on the side a' the road?" Logan asked. When Nikki gave him that look he shrugged and said "Just a suggestion." "Here's another suggestion" Sal said "Turn on some decent music." The muscled Quileute boy reached forward turning on the radio. "That's better" he said smiling to Nikki with his now shoulder length black hair in his face. Nikki laughed as he patheticly tried to blow the hair from his eyes, still leaning forward. "Will ya sit down?!" Logan shouted. "Yer crowding us." "Well now we know who she should've married" Sal said "At least I don't smell like a wet dog." "When ya come in from the rain ya do ya wolf mutt" Logan mumbled loud enough for Sal to hear. "Ouch, that hurt Logan" Sal said "right in the heart." Nikki looked at Logan "I'll make him behave" she said "Sal, would you please stop, Logan doesn't like it." "Sorry for this Nikki but Logan how do you like me now?!" Sal yelled farting loudly. "EWWWWWW!" Nikki said. Logan growled and turned to Sal. "If ya do that again I'm gonna kill you myself" he said. Sal chuckled and leaned back listing to the blasting Static X on the radio.  
Chapter 2  
Nikki looked at Logan while Sal snored loudly in the backseat. "Let's pull off and get some sleep" she said. "Here" Logan said "a hotel." "What if it's like the movies where the ghosts kill everybody?" Sal said suddenly making Nikki jump. "What- How long were you awake?" Logan asked. "I never fell asleep, I'm just good at that" Sal said. "By the way, did you 2 know it's kinda disturbing listening to you 'talking'." "Why'd you say it like that?" Nikki said. "Because he was talking to you and you were erm... you know you could give a guy fantises like that right?" Sal said. "Hey, I was only kissing him!" Nikki said. "and you'd have to be dreaming to even think it." "Well you're not Frosty the ice queen, you don't know what goes on in my head." Sal said. "I'm gonna kill you if ya don't-" Logan began. "If I don't what?" Sal asked. "You 2 are driving me insane" Nikki said "Let's just get a room and go to sleep." A Few Minutes Later- "I can't believe this had to happen to us" Logan said. "Nether can I" Nikki said. "Can't you take the couch or something Logan?" Sal asked. Logan growled "If anything matters, shes MY wife and this is MY bed with her tonight so you do yourself a favor and GET OFF IT!!!" 2 A.M.- "C'mon baby, let's ditch this loser" Sal said in his sleep. Logan had refuse to let Sal sleep near Nikki and he was paying for it. Sal's arm snaked forward and Logan wanted to 'snikt' Sal right where it hurt. On the bright side only 6 more hours until they could leave again. Nikki cuddled closer in her sleep and Logan prayed to god Sal didn't. 8 A.M.- "Rise and shine lovebirds" Sal's cheery voice woke Logan up then. Logan opened his eyes and saw Sal stroking Nikki's hair and saying something. "I'm up, I'm up" She mumbled. "Do you have something better to do?" Logan asked Sal. "No, Do you?" he asked back. Logan sighed and layed back down, today was going to be a long day.  
Chapter 3  
Logan had been in the car, drving through pouring rain listening to Sal chatter away like a teenager, for 7 and 1/2 hours. Nikki had been smart and brought her ipod and Logan glanced at her again. 'Sorry' she mouthed, biting her lip. Sal chuckled noticing how annoyed Logan was at him. "Ha" he said. "What're ya talkin' about now?" Logan asked, annoyed. "You really hate me don't 'cha?" Sal asked. Logan knew this was a trick question, if he answered the truth Sal'd use it against him and if he lied he'd be stuck with the mongrel chatering like a teenaged girl the entire way to Madripoor. "It's complacted" Logan said. Nikki turned to face both of them and smiled lightly, "I knew you 2'd get along eventualy." Sal laughed and sat back, letting himself relax. Nikki was much more reaxed as well, she wasn't worring about thouse two fighting again. Logan felt better knowing Sal'd shut up and Nikki was happy with him. "So where are we going anyway?" Sal asked "All I heard was Bobby yelling 'Road trip!' at the top of his lungs." Nikki laughed and replied "Madripooor, people say The Hand are terrorizing lowtown." "Kina close to home isn't it?" Sal asked. "My uncle's home yeah" Nikki said "but nobody worries about anything in Romainia exept vampires coming at night." Sal laughed "America's so much more diverse, here we have to worry about were-wolves and ghosts too!" Logan laughed with them suprising Sal. "So you do care what I say" he said making it sound like an accusation. "Maybe I do and maybe I don't" Logan said "Depends on how bad you've annoyed me today." "God, here you 2 go again" Nikki complained. "Hey, we're not fighting" Logan said "We're just having a spirited debate." "Well don't let 'debate' go rotten or we won't catch 'de fish'!" Sal blurted "I've got a million of 'em!"  
Chapter 4  
The rain had gotten worse and like everyone else who'd decided to drive that day the trio pulled over to wait out the storm. "So" Sal said "What's your middle name?" "Nicole" Nikki said. "Nicole Nicole" Sal muttered. "Wrong" Nikki said "Nikki isn't my first name, like Logan isn't Logan's first name either." "Woah" Sal said "So you guys are under alias?" "No, it's just what I've been called and I liked it so I kept it" Nikki said "My real first name is-brace yourselves, my father decided the name- Jade." Sal and Logan both looked at her. "I never saw you as much of a 'Jade'," Logan said "but I like it. It's beautiful." Sal looked between them and sighed "I guess I'm the only one here that has a terrible real name." "What? Sal isn't a terrible name" Nikki said. "Like you I hate my first name so I guess I too used a short version of my middle name in a way" Sal said "My full name is White Salamander Angel. My parents liked me to experiance a real Quileute life so they named me that." Nikki looked at him. "You didn't live back when I did, did you?" she asked. "Why? What year was that?" Sal asked. "I was born on May 14th 1896, I'm about 4 years younger than Logan" Nikki said. "I'm close second then to you Nikki my birthday's July 16th 1896" Sal said "Same year, same age just a different month." "Hey" Nikki said "Age is mind over matter, if ya don't mind, it don't matter. -Satch 'Are We There Yet." Logan and Sal laughed and Logan put his arm around Nikki, "When did you watch that?" "Thank Alice's G.N.I." Nikki said. "What's G.N.I.?" Sal asked. "Girls night in" Nikki said. "Well I think I can tell ya, my name tops Nikki's" Logan said. "My name's James." "Well, here's to age like vampires and names we hide" Sal said rising his soda can.  
Chapter 5  
Our heroes stoped for the night on the side of the road, that was 3 hours ago. Sal had wolfed out to go hunting and Nikki and Logan were left alone. Sal walked back into 'camp' wearing nothing but the underwear he'd tied to his ankle. He hoped nobody was watching while he dressed in the clearing and headed to the car to unload for the 'camp out'. Unsuprisingly Nikki and Logan had snuck off somewhere and Sal had been left with almost nothing to do exept a) cook b) pich the tents and c) start a fire in the firepit. A small blue car rolled in and Sal sat up. "Hey!" a voice called "Sal right? It's me, TW, remember? I came to visit you guys a while ago. So dare I ask where the lovebirds are?" "How'd you know I was stuck with them?" Sal asked. "Stuck?" Tw said "Last I heard you're Nikki's best friend." Why're you up here?" Sal asked "We're headed to Madripoor, so..." "Dugan called me here to 'watch' Wolverine" Tw said "The only report that idiot's getting is a post card from us on vacation." "Oh, if we were I'd be so happy" Sal said "Unfortunatly we ended up going after the hand in Lowtown. Hoo-ra." "Tw, that you?" Nikki asked emerging from the forest. Sal laughed under his breath catching her scent, Logan's scent was strong on her. "Have fun?" Sal laughed while Logan came into camp "So, Time Warrior, you stayin' with us?" "Yup, guess so" Tw said "What time do we make s'mores?"

Chapter 6  
Sal and Tw had stayed away from Nikki and Logan's tent that night. In the morning Tw woke up to a loud explosion. "Wha-What the hell just happened?" he asked Sal who was awake and alert, growling in the direction of the explosion. Nikki and Logan came out and stared in the same direction. "Estella" Nikki growled. Estella had tried to kill Terra, Sal's little sister, she'd made Sal admit he felt somthing twoard Nikki, and she'd made Nikki nearly turn Logan. Tw had been there when Nikki and Sal had gone after Estella last time, but he'd never seen her before. Estella came floating in mid-air to land at their makeshift camp. She was beautiful, with long brown hair and glowing white-blue eyes. She laughed as Nikki stepped protectivly in front of Logan. "Hello Wolf, Leech" Estella said in a musical voice. Sal stepped up beside Nikki and snarled low in his chest. Nikki crouched, ready to spring, and with feline grace, Nikki lept at Estella fangs bared, claws ready, a killing strike. Estella stopped nikki in mid-air and stared at her. Estella's power was like that of Jane of the Volturi, she could cause pain with her mind. Nikki cried out in agony and Logan redied himself to strike Estella. Sal wolfed quickly and lept at Estella, making her drop Nikki. Logan caught Nikki and she cringed when he put her down. "Darlin' are you okay?" Logan whispered, stroaking her face delicatly. "It hurts" Nikki weakly whispered, pain evendent in her voice. Sal struck Estella quickly, easily, and he looked back at Nikki. Her silver-green eyes were wide in pain while Logan held her close and touched her hair reassuringly. "Y'know 'Stella ya really screwed up hurtin' her" Sal snarled still trying to maintain control. "Wolf, I'm doing you a favor" Estella said "I could change your world if you just let me." Sal roared in anger and lept at her, wanting nothing but for his friends to be safe, away from Estella. In mid-strike Estella dissappeared. Sal stood, turning human again. The tattered remains of his clothing hung loosely from his body. "Is she alright?" he asked. "I'll live" Nikki said. "Next time, I'm killing her for what she did to you" Sal said. "I promise."  
Chapter 7  
Logan had let Tw drive and Sal sat in front, turned ariund so he could watch Nikki. Estella could cause pian in the mind so it spread to the body and it was never just in one place. Logan held Nikki gently and occasionaly toched her hair or her cheek, but when she tried moving almost at all, she yelped in pain and everyone winced. Sal felt like someone was tearing his heart in two every time Nikki cried out in pain and Logan felt like he'd give anything to make her feel normal again. Tw wasn't sure what he could do, all he knew was he was worried about his friend. "I stopped at the mansion before I came" Tw said. "How are the kids?" Nikki asked. "Great, Holly and Gabrelle are beautiful" Tw said. Holly and Gabrelle were Nikki and Logan's daughters. Sal had come the day Alice had brought friends up to Xaivers to protect Nikki from Blade the day Nikki found out she'd have a baby. Nikki smiled and moved so she was in Logan's arms, she didn't even whimper. "The Volturi are close to Madripoor" Sal said, reading the computer. "They're just outside Lowtown, I guess they're expecting us." "That's a suprise" Nikki muttered. Logan chuckled, happy she felt better, and it was obvious too. Nikki had her arms crossed across her chest and her wavy crimson hair fell just the way it normally did, indigo streak promanant. Sal laughed when Nikki rolled her silver-green eyes at the mention of the Volturi. Unknownst to Nikki, her uncle Marcus was a leader of the Volturi with an iron grip on them, or so he thought. The Volturi had secretly plotted aganst Aro and Marcus and were planning to attack Lowtown in order to covertly take out any vampires in the town that presumed a threat to killing Marcus and Aro. That ment the Cullens and the O'Mallys, the remainder of them anyway. Knowing Nikki, she wouldn't let that happen.  
Chapter 8  
Nikki and Sal had spotted the wolf at the side of the bridge and Sal had sent her and Tw to check it out. "Why'd they choose us?" Tw asked "I didn't want to do this." "Neither did I" Nikki said "I wasn't about to let Logan go out here after what happened with Phaedra and Lazaer and Sal'd probably get us killed so it's up to us." "I hope if they fight, Logan wins" Tw said boredly. "Why cant we just be in Madripoor already?" Nikki asked "It was so much easier when Sal was a shy kid, now he can be annoying but we still care about 'im." The wolf reared up on it's back legs, it's bright yellow eyes staring at them like enemys. "What are you?" the wolf asked. "Okay, talking wolf, girl in red jacket, anyone see a brothers grimm story in our near fututre?" Tw said. "I'm Nikki and this is Tw, we're mutants" Nikki said. The wolf leaned close and snifed her, leaning Tw's way he scrunched his nose and quietly asked Nikki "What did he eat today?" Nikki laughed and turned to Tw. "Who are you?" Tw asked the gigantic black wolf. "I am known as Dark Wolf" the wolf said. "Okay then, we'll just be leaving" Tw said. "No you won't" Dark Wolf said "once anyone sees me, they do not live to tell the tale." He drew his claws up to show them, his claws were red with dried blood. Tw drew his sword and Nikki 'snikt'-ed, "Then bring it on" Tw said.  
Chapter 9  
Nikki lunged first, atacking from the side as Dark Wolf predicted. "Forget what Nikki said" Sal said "I'm going out there." Sal wolfed, shredding his clothes and lept at Dark Wolf. He hadn't been expecting the other wolf to try and help Nikki and Tw but between Tw with his sword, and Sal, gladly letting Nikki step back, Dark Wolf was outnumbered and outgunned, he liked those odds. Much to Sal's suprise Dark Wolf sent him flying through the air, landing several yards away on a pre-broken windshield. 'What did he do here?' Sal thought. Tw fought, using his sword as best he could. Nikki tried as hard as she could but couldn't beat Dark Wolf. Finally annoyed to his limits, Dark Wolf threw Tw back and proceeded to Nikki. "NO!" Sal shouted as hard as his lungs would allow, even through wolf form. Nikki backed up aganst the rail seperating a fall into the water below from the bridge's edge. With a roar of rage, Logan lept, claws bared, onto Dark Wolf's back. Sal pulled himself free from the twisted metal of the car wreck he landed on, and charged at Dark Wolf. Nikki saw her chance and plunged her claws into Dark Wolf's chest. Letting out a cry of pain and rage, Dark Wolf batted Sal back, threw Logan off and proceeded to leap at Nikki. Sealing the gap between them in seconds Nikki ducked, making Dark Wolf fall over the edge of the railing, into the water below.  
Chapter 10  
Logan and Nikki sat close in the back while Sal drove. Tw looked at all 3 of them and wondered why they were so off about everything. "He said something" Nikki said "He asked if I loved you so much why was I hiding my past from you. I just want to tell you, I'm going to tell you everything." Sal looked over his shoulder and turned back to the rainy windshield. "What are you hiding from us then?" he asked. "Not much" Nikki said, "I really don't call it hiding, more like just never saying." Logan looked to Nikki and he smiled softly, "I want you to tell me, but not now okay? Maybe later, after Madripoor." Nikki looked around the car, noone was looking at her exept Tw who was actually smiling. "What?" Nikki asked. "Why is everybody so serious here?" he asked "So Nikki didn't give her full pst, big whoop, happens all the time. I've never heard Sal's past before anyway." "My past ain't exactly happy" Sal said staring into space. "I had 2 brothers, Seth and Bear Claw, and my sister Terra. Same story as usual, mom was always gone, didn't have much there anyway, then she just up an' left when I was 9. Dad was evil, drove Seth suicidal. B.C. stayed, protected us. Worst part was, Seth was my younger brother, he was 2 years younger than me. Terra's 9 now, B.C. died a couple of years ago, car crash. Terra lives with Jake's family now, I don't want her alone with my dad, he'd probably beat her to death. Jake and the pack cared for me and Ter all my time in La Push, they've been a second family to me. I just wish I could'a made things better." Nikki leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Sal. "I'm sorry" she whispered, "I know how you feel, I wish I could've saved my father when he was killed." Tw looked at them and relized that Nikki and Sal weren't very far apart in life and that ment Logan was closer to them both too.  
Chapter 11  
After the boat ride across to Madripoor, Nikki, Logan and Sal were left to continue on (Tw had been called back by the Avengers to do some heroing.) They'd stopped at a hotel in Lowtown and rested the night, exept Sal had no rest. Logan was a monster, as Sal thought, for when he entered the hallway he herd Nikki's scream. Dashing to her rescue Sal found that Logan was a vampire just like her only with an uncontrolable bloodlust. He'd torn out Nikki's throst and her blood ra down his face as Sal backed toward the door..."Yahhhh!" Sal shouted as he lept up in bed. "Huh? Wha-? Crap! Oh, thank god." "What the bloody hell are you doing?!" Nikki shuted annoyedly from the doorway seperating the rooms. "We're trying to sleep in here! Don't you know it's flamin' 4 A.M.!" Sal jumped from bed and threw his arms around her, kissing her happily. That woke Nikki up. When he put her down to clutch her to hs bare oven-hot chest, Nikki finaly asked "What was that about?" Sal looked down the few inches at her and she was staring at him, her eyes full of confuision. "Sorry, I thought you were dead. I thought Logan had..." he said trailing off. "Had what?" Nikki asked. "Killed you" Sal whispered, "I thought he'd been turned and he killed you when you stayed close to him. I didn't want that to happen to you so I ran in and there you were, and I felt like it was all my fault because I could've protected you..." "Doesn't anybody know it's 4 in the morning?" Logan asked when he steped out into Sal's room."I'll be there in a second hunny" Nikki said softly. "Night Logan" Sal said. "Night wolf" Logan said tiredly. Nikki turned back to Sal, "We'll talk more in about 5 hours 'kay?" she asked. "'Kay" Sal said, "Night." "Night" Nikki said an headed back to bed.  
Capter 12  
Nikki, Logan and Sal had left that morning and now were at the Princess Bar, Logan's pride and joy of Madripoor. They were talking when Nikki's phone rung, it was Alice. "Nikki!" she shouted "The Volturi are about to be overthrown by Demetri and Jane! You need to help Marcus and Aro! It's up to you, we couldn't possibly get there in time!" "Where?" Nikki asked. "Lowtown, Madripoor" Alice said. "Ali" Nikki said a bit of fright creeping into her voice, "That's where we are." The sound of a muffled scream could be heard then Alice yelled "Why the hell didn't you tell me?!" "I said that before I left dummy!" Nikki shouted back, "I'm trying not to be snippy with you but you leave me no choice, WHAT"S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!!!" Alice took a breath and whispered, "Nikki, you have to save Marcus and Aro. All the vampires on earth are counting on you now." "No pressure huh?" Nikki said "See ya." Sal and Logan were both staring at her. "We have to save the Volturi" she said. "Great, more fun" Sal said sarcasticly. "We need a game plan" Nikki said. "I have a plan" Logan replied, "It may be farfetched but I don't know much about vampires exept what I've seen in movies, well that and some you." Nikki laughed and kissed him on his cheek, "I'm glad to hear you're paying attention." "Oh, get a room!" Sal shouted, "It's bad enough I have nightmares about you two, but this too?! I can't believe I came on this trip! What was I?! Psycho?! You love him, I know that, but being in the same room with both of you is too much! Estella wasn't making me say that Nikki, she just took the words out of my mouth, like I would've eventualy said anyway. I really do..." Nikki looked from Logan, whose arm was wrapped protectivly around her, to Sal, whose eyes were wet with unshed tears and he mentally kicked himself for saying that he loved her. "Sal" Nikki whispered, "I do love you but you know I can't live without Logan, I love you like a brother or a pet, I'd cry if something happened to you but... I don't love you like that." Sal looked at her, her eyes were full of pain. "I don't mean to hurt you" he whispered. "You being like that does hurt me Sal" Nikki said, "When you're, for lack of a better word, broken like that, it hurts me too. Hey, we're both alke, somewhat obviously too." Logan pulled Nikki close and kissed her softly. Sal laughed, "I'm an idiot" he said, still laughing, "I know you love him, let's put this soap opera aside for now and let's go save the Volturi."  
Chapter 13  
Marcus and Aro sat peacefully in their thrones, talking softly of days long past. Jane stepped into the room with Demitri and Felix positioned at either of her sides, "Hello, Marcus, Aro."  
"Drive!" Sal shouted to Nikki. "Okay, don't say I didn't warn you" she said, stepping on the gas. They pulled up outside the hotel before 5 minutes were over. "How'd you learn to drive like that?" Sal asked. "She was in the Sweethearts" Logan said. Sal gave him a confused look. "A racing gang? In N.Y.C.? Ever heard of 'em?" Logan said. "Less talky more savey" Nikki said. Logan smiled, taking waking behind her to an advantage.  
"Jane! Demitri! Felix! Caius!" Nikki shouted. "In here love" Caius's velvet voice drifted through the half open door. "Marcus! Aro!" Nikki shouted. Felix grabed Nikki from behind and pulled her back by her wrists. "NIKKI!" Logan yelled. Both Logan and Sal doubled ver in pain while Jane used her powers to cause jolting pain through them. "NO!" Nikki shouted. She 'snikt'-ed Felix right were it hurt and took her advantage to handle Demitri. Jane turned to Nikki, ready to fight. Nikki could indure any kind of pain Jane could give, the only pain she couldn't handle was Logan in pain. Caius stepped near Jane while Marcus knew how much Logan and Nikki loved each other, Marcus's power was to sense relationships, and theirs was strong. Nikki and Jane had begun fighting hand-to-hand. Nikki pushed Jane back and went to Logan's side. Sal was handling the pain but Logan was still trying to shake it off. "Go help Marcus and Aro, I'll be right there" Nikki said. By instinct Sal lept at Caius, battle ready. Nikki stayed at Logan's side until they were both ready to fight side by side. Nikki freed Marcus and Aro and went to help the boys finish off Jane, Caius, Demitri, and Felix. "Nikki O'Mally?" Marcus asked. "It's Nikki Howlett now" she said. Marcus turned to Aro and his eyes teared up, "She's my neice." Aro went forward to gratefuly hug Nikki. "Wow, you guys are big huggers huh?" she joked. "Thank you" Aro said, "We owe you our lives now Mrs. Howlett. May I ask, how are the Cullens, I havn't seen them in such a long time?" "They're fine" Nikki said, "I believe I owe you a great debt myself, you both helped me catch a killer who'd murdered many innocent vampires in cold blood."  
In the morning Nikki and Logan had gladly learned everything down to the fact that Nikki and Sal were half cousins. After they'd left, Nikki vowed to find everything out about her life, and her family.  
The End


	33. Time Warrior, part 3

**Time Warrior: The End**

New York City, the year 2231.  
You can say this place changed alot in the past 200 years and it did, flying cars, bigger buildings, heck they even have robots...and super-heroes.  
The Avengers still excist and are being led by Iron Man, who is secretly still Anthony Stark but who's brain waves paterns are infused with the suit (since the organic tony died a long time ago). Thor is still a part of it, as well as Spider-man the 8th and many others...  
The X-men disbanded a long time ago, since there was no reason for them to excist anymore. Mutant schools are richely filled with students, with Xavier's institute for gifted youngsters being the largest.  
Super Villans how-ever are still a threat.

'Give me all your money!' a man demands wielding a crowbar. He wears a pink hat and a green overal. He stood in front of the bank and allrready make swift work of the guards and has one hostage.  
However he forgets one thing....Time Warrior.  
'Hello there Wrecker the 5th, how are you today?' a calm voice asksfrom above.  
The Wrecker looks up and sees it'sTW, Ny's oldest active super hero, he wears dark armor and mask and a long sword strapped against his back.  
'Stand back, i have a hostage!' the Wrecker cries and shows a young girl, barely 8 years old held at crowbar point.  
'Are you sure my friend?' Tw asks again with a grin.  
'What are you on, offcourse i'm...' But when the wrecker looks again he sees the girl wasn't there anymore.  
When he looks up again Tw allready drew his sword and leaped down.  
Despite his heritage, the wrecker's crowbar was not as powerfull as Time Warrior's sword.  
With merely one slice the crowbar desipates into nothingness and one punch the Wrecker is Knocked out.  
The crowd cheers and smiles at the time-manupilating little girl, who was in captivity earlier, ran back towards her mother and turned back to wave at him...but he was allready gone.

'Are you allright?' a voice asks Tw, but the question went ignored. Offcourse he isn't allright, what is he going to do from here on? He has nobody to turn back to, no job, no family, he only has this left.  
'It's your aniversery isn't it?' the voice asks. Time Warrior nodded and toke off his mask.  
'It's best you shut up now.....' George replies and switches clothes.  
'Where are we going?' the voice asks tirelessly.  
'To see some old friends...'

A hour later a knock awakens a woman from her sleep, she's used to sleep during the day and doesn't expect any visitors.  
'Who on earth...' she asks herself as she gets up. she puts on her night robe, since she doesn't wear anything while she sleeps, and goes to the front door. She opens the door and gasps before she could even utter a sentince.  
''George...?' she asks.  
'Can i come in Nikki?'

TBC  
Chapter 2

George looks at the building from afar and lets out a long sigh. It's been years since he last saw Logan. He and his wife Nikki backed off from super hero-ing after the birth of their last kid, something not even George could do...  
He changes into his normal clothing and walks towards the small house in down-town NY. He knocks on the door and a while later a young woman opens.  
'George...?' she asks.  
'Can i come in Nikki?' he asks and waits for a reply.  
The poor girl was still in her night robe, probebly still asleep from her night with Logan. Nikki nods and lets him in.  
George looks around and sees the house is very dark, little to no light comes inside and the windows are lit shut, despite that the house seems very clean.  
'Nice place.' the Time Warrior says.  
'Thanks.' Nikki replies and closes the door.  
'Where's Logan?'  
The woman shrugged, despite being his wife, 'The Wolverine' was still on the move, having his own adventures here and there.  
'Here and nowhere.' she grins. ' Coffee?'  
George smiles and nods, looking at the family pictures.

Thanks to Wolverine's healing factor, and Nikki's powers as a vampire, the couple is still alive today to see their children become grand parents, and their children to be grandparents, and so on...the name of Howlett will remain for a long time it seems.  
George looks back and sees Nikki brought him some coffee, ever being the polite guest George nods and glady takes the cup.

'How long has it been?' his host asks and beckons George to sit down.  
'100 years give or take....' George complies and takes a sip of his cup, Nikki folowing suit.  
'How is your family doing?' she asks, but then bites her own tongue. How dumb could se be. 'Sorry..' she appologises, but George merely grins.  
'It's fine....last time i checked in the papers, my great grandchild passed away as a father of 2 and grandfather of 3.' he replies and takes a other sip.  
'Ever since Kimberley died, you dont care much about your family do you?' she asks. George nods, he wasn't even at his own children's burrial.  
'Time Warrior is the only thing that keeps me going Nikki...' he says, letting the mug be for a moment.  
'Whilst you and Logan had kids, and Peter Parker had kids, then Luke had a other one....i was the only guy left in the New Avengers...'  
'You blaming us George,' she replied sharply. 'we wanted to spend more time with our family, and Stark had things coverd with his team during the Skrull thing.'  
George nods, and remembers he had to come out his wife was a Skrull.  
'I still dont know if Kimberley was a Skrull before or after you-'  
Here she went to far.  
'She was a Skrull when i first met her Nikki.' George interupted.  
'You of all people should know that!'  
George counts to 10 in his mind and lets out a long sigh. 'Sorry...'  
Nikki smiles. 'It's nothing, i do this to help you unwind...did it help?'  
George nods and grabs his mug, taking a large gulp of the coffee.  
A moment of silince passes untill Nikki came up with something. How her youngest grandchild becomes a super hero and joins the X-men roster, how her granddaughter finally found a fiancé enctr...to which George only nods. Then they go through memory lane, how the Fantastic Four disbanded after a showdown with Doctor Doom, how Ny was quireinteined during the 3th World War and only few super-heroes survived, and how Frank Castle was the one to get those responsible shortly before he died.  
How the Hulk finnaly got the better of Banner and jumped off into the forbidden zone, and finally how humanity, learning it's lesson, became anew and thus creating wondefull cities and new technologies. Spider-man was responsible for the latest, since after he shut down the Ny shield, Ny became a capitol for the new start.  
Time Warrior was there, like allways, and helped the humans, and mutants, survive the war. It was after this he realised he was the only super hero, the ones from tjhe 20th century, left.  
'You allright?' Nikki asks.  
George awakes, 'Yes, im fine, been thinking.' he smiles.  
'Why did you came here George?' she finally asks.  
'I dont know Nikki...' he sighs. ' But...i think im quitting.'  
Nikki gasps, quitting? After all these years?  
Then the door opend and a small and hairy individual entered the house.  
'George, what the heck ere you doin' 'ere?' Logan asks.

TBC  
'Home sweet home...' Logan thinks to himself as he walks back to his little home and his lovely wife. Unlike the other women he met during his long (very long) life, Nikki was something diffrint. First of all she didn't die like the others, second she had this aura around here...something that made him stop this super hero shit.  
He reaches for the door and opens it, then a smell hits his nostrills.  
He immidatly knows they have a visitor...a unwanted one.  
'George, what the heck ere you doin' 'ere?' Logan asks.  
George gets up and replies. ' I didn't come here for trouble Logan if that is what your after.'  
Logan snorted and drew his claws, him and George are not best pals.  
'Logan stop it!' Nikki cries, but to no avail.  
Logan leaps towards George and tackles him through the wall of the house.  
George kicks him off and draws his sword, teleporting both outside.  
Nikki gets out of her chair and looks at the giant gap in her wall.  
'Men...' she sighs and calls 'Damage Controle'.

'The hell where you doin' with my wife!' Logan yells at George. Both are on a rooftop 150 stores above ground level.  
'I just came to talk Logan, nothing else!' George cries, maining a defence stance.  
'Like how you did with Kimberley?!' Logan yells and lunges towards George, his former friend.  
This went to far, George impaled his sword through Logan's chest and kicked him off. Logan backed away a bit and let his healing factor heal the wound.  
'Shut the fuck up Logan, you have no right to lecture me!' George yells and teleports behind logan.  
'Kimberley was my friend to Jerk!' Logan yells and slashes with his claws, knowing George would do a trick like that.  
'Argh!' George yells and looks down at his chest. Blood...it's been a while since he last saw blood, let alone his own.

'Allright...' George says calmly, throwing his shirt away. ' No more mister nice guy.' George holds his sword in a offensive stance.  
'Bring it bub..' Logan says and sniks his claws.  
George lets out a powerfull cry and charges into logan, cutting his way through with Logan (barely) blocking each slash.  
Then George holds his hand open and shoots a ball of energy at Logan, knocking him off the roof, with George follwing the falling former x-men.  
during the fall, both keep fighting each other, slashing and punching untill the ground floor came up fast.  
Whilst Logan hit rock bottom, George teleported himself down next to Logan's body.  
Bystanders were shocked at the sight, and some even gasped when Logan got back up. The Canadian merely stretches himself and looks back at George.  
'Your getting slower bub..' he says.  
'Same to you Logan.' George says, putting his sword away.  
Logan grinned. 'Beer?'  
Time Warrior nodded and smilled. 'Would be nice.'

TBC  
A mysterious man passed by a large building, minding hid own buisiness. He came up with plans, plots, and everything else. After many years he found a way to stop his suffering. Over 130 years he planned and waited, untill everything was in place.  
suddenly he heard people gasping and huddeld around in a circle. When he pushed some away, he saw a short man with claws out of his hands lying down on the pavement. It seemed the little fellow fell down.  
But then the man opend his eyes and got up. More supringly a other man just popped up out of nowhere.  
'Your getting slower bub..' the smaller man sayed.  
'Same to you Logan.' the other one replied, putting his sword away.  
Logan grinned. 'Beer?'  
Time Warrior nodded and smilled. 'Would be nice.'

The stranger's eyes went wide open when he saw George. That man was resposible for his demise, and that of his partner. But soon justice will be served. He grinned as he saw the 2 men leave.

'So....hows yer crime fightin' goin'?' logan asked after he toke a gulp from his beer.  
'Fine i guess...didn't have a challenge for months now..' George replied.  
He played a bit with the straw in his cola.  
'The only guys that might be a challenge were those 'Hulk's Legacy' fellows....' Tw said.  
'Those goons who immitated Banner?' Logan asked.  
George nodded. 'They're all in the prison Reed richards made....' George said and toke a sip.  
'Even so they were barely anyhing....Old Frank and Mark Rexton...those two were recurring villans i barely handeld.'  
Logan nodded, he knew these two individuals very well.  
Old Frank was a elderly mutant that could controle the dead and had a obsession with the number 13, while Mark was a large mutant that could duplicate all sorts of weapons.  
It's been over a 100 years since Tw beat them both at the same time.  
'So.....you gettin laid much?' Logan asked nonchalant.  
'After She-hulk i had my fill...' Tw replied, not wanting to relive the several nights he shared with the original she-hulk's dauhgter.  
It was merely a series of one night stands with no strings attached.  
'That was 82 years ago...she probebly is a grandmother by now.' George said and toke a sip.  
'Your not the only one who misses her bub...' thr former x-men replied.  
'I know....' George said. ' i know...'

Then a explosion occured outside which shook the entire building. George and Logan ran outside to see people running away from the sky scrapers.  
When the heroes looked up they saw the number '13' burning in each and every one of em.  
'Comes firmuliar much?' Logan asked, snikking his claws.  
'Old Frank....' Tw grunted and drew his sword

TBC  
A explosion occured outside which shook the entire building. George and Logan ran outside to see people running away from the sky scrapers.  
When the heroes looked up they saw the number '13' burning in each and every one of em.  
'Comes firmuliar much?' Logan asked, snikking his claws.  
'Old Frank....' Tw grunted and drew his sword.  
A second later a manical laugh is heard, followed by large numbers of zombies.  
'Zombies...?' Logan asked.  
'I know...to old skool...' Tw nodded.'Ready?'  
'You got that right bub!' Logan grinned and leapt into battle, followed by his old friend.

'Fools.' the Stranger said. ' After so many years i can fianlly hve my revenge, this is the tip of the iceberg.' he grinned. 'Mark?!'  
A larger shadow appeared out of nowwhere, he dwarfed the stranger three tiles in size and muschle.  
'Yes Frank?' Mark asked, he was undoubtly undead but his skin still had some hints on his african americain nationailty.  
'Go down there and give our friend a home-come party.'  
Mark nodded and leaped doww from the rooftop they stood on.

The fight downstairs went well, despite not having fought many years, Logan allready surpassed Tw by kills.  
'Just like the good old days, huh logan?!' George yelled, slicing of a undead's head.  
'I never felt so alive untill this moment!' Logan screamed with joy, the dog finally came lose it seemed.  
Suddenly the large figure landed and look at Tw.  
'Heya Rex love what you did with your new make over.' Tw grinned.  
'Im going to kill you Time Warrior!' Rex yelled and drew his gun.  
'Oh crap..Logan get down!' Goerge yelled and dugged.  
Rex threw his gun in the air, where it multiplied and opend fire on Tw, but only hit zombies. After the bullet rain, almost every zombie fell.

'Piss poor job bub!' Logan grinned and slashed his way through the dead bodies, revealing not a scar.  
'My turn!' Tw said and used his pwoers to reverse the bullets, sneding them back to their 'owner'.  
Dozens of bullets embedded Rex's body, but none of them actually hurt him.  
'What the...?' George asked himself. ' New trick?'  
'No...' Rex grinned. ' But this are!'  
Suddenly the guns fired again, but these bullets were something else. They ere more dark then the previous ones. George raised his hand to stop the bullets..but they just flew through!  
'Nooo!' Logan yelled and jumped in front of George.  
The sound of the bullets hitting Logan's adamantium was horrifying. Not one time did he yell or scream...  
George was shocked when he saw his old friend drop to his knees, then on his flatside...Logan was gone.  
'See that as a warning Time Warrior!' Rex yelled and dissapeared.  
Moments passed when finally SHIELD arrived and toke Logan away in a stretcher.  
'No pulse...' the medic on the spot said and looked down.  
'Logan, Logan?!' a female voice screamed when she saw her husband.  
George did not dare look Nikki in the face, but teleported away.  
'It's all my fault...' George said to himself.

TBC  
Nikki walked towards the bar she knew Logan allways went, he and George went back a long time, so she knew those two would talk things over after a fight and a beer.  
She smilled knoiwngly her husband had a good time. But when the ground started shaking, and the number 13 popping up everywhere, she began running.  
When she turned over the last block, SHIELD was allready there, cleaning up dead bodies and debris.  
'No pulse...' A SHIELD medic on the spot said and looked down.  
Nikki gasped for air, she felt something stabbed her heart....  
She pushed aside the Shield personel and tears evolped when she saw him...  
Dozens of bullet holes went through him, and no signs of Healing factor kicking in.  
'Logan, Logan?!' a she screamed when she saw her husband.  
The Shield men gave her time to grieve and made a barrier around the site of the fight.  
She held her husband in her arms, sobbing. Logan was gone. After 400 years, James howlett was no more...

Three days later, many people come to his funeral. Mutants, Super-heroes and friends came to honour their respects to a great X-men, Great avenger and a the best Father, Grandfather and +husband one could wish for.  
George stood in back, wearing dark clothing and sunglasses.  
'There was nothing you could've done...' A voice said. At first Goerge thought it was the pestering voice again, but when he looked behind him he saw it was Spider-girl, the great-granddauhgter of peter parker. She was known as a detective in the super hero comunity.  
'How do you know Mary?' George asked, 'you wasn't even there.'  
Mary parker nodded. ' I wasn't, in fact i toke out those Hulk guys again when the quake happend...but i 'recieved' some news about those bullets that killed wolverine.'  
George blinked. 'Go on...'  
mary grinned. 'Those were bullets were adamantium coated and had a internal clock in them...they could automaticly change their speeds despite the outsideworld does to them...in some ways, somebody knew you were going to be there.'  
George thought for a moment, adimantium was rare, even now more so then 200 years ago, but he knew somebody who might have a idea who might've found a ore somewhere.  
Then a slap crushed George's face, he knew from whoit was from...the Widow.  
He looked at her, black mourning clothes, dark mascare, tears...and yet still beautifull.  
'It's your fault!' she cried, slapping george more. George said nothing, and allowed himself to be slapped again, and again, and again...untill Nikki fell in his arms.  
'It's not fair...' she sobbed.  
'I know nikki....' George said. ' i know...'  
a moment later Iron man arrived. With Logan gone only he, Thor and George were the only 'old' heroes left.  
'I found out old Frank is trying to make a rep for himself.' Stark said. the Armor looked like the original one, but now it housed Tony's brainwaves.  
'He's busting out super-villans from prisons all around the world...'  
'And yet nobody knows where he is...' Nikki growled, her sorrow replaced by rage.  
'I might..' George said, turning his back to leave.  
'Where are you going?' mary asked.  
George looked back and replied.  
'Gonna make this thing a draw.'

TBC  
George held his sword close to a young man'sneck, he came to this place, a small house just before the Forbidden zone, for information.  
'A few days ago somebody killed a friend of mine..' Tw said with a grim voice. 'He used adamantium bullets....i want names.'  
He closed in with his sword, the young man shiverd in fear.  
It's been a week since the funeral, and George looked for every contact he knew tofind out whichmerchant still had adamantium left in their inventory. This guy, This Robert Fox was the only one left. Supringly it was due to Feral, AKA logan's and nikki's son, George heard about this man.  
'i...i...i' Robert stammered.  
Tw punched the man.' Names!'  
'The name was Frank!' he finnaly said. ' He was here with a large guy and a woman!'  
A woman? George tought through all the possible women who wanted Logan or himself dead.  
'How did she look like?'  
'She has blonde hair, curly, was called Phaedra i think.'  
Phaedra, George heard of her, Logan told him about her once, she was the one who reserected Logan when he was cauhgt by the Hand. But he killed her...  
Then it hit him, Old Frank reszrected her, just like what he did to Rexton.  
Frank merely did Phaedra a favor. She knew how to kill wolverine.  
'Any idea where they are now?'  
the man shook his head. ' They come here for the ore, pay me and go, thats all i know...'  
George looked back and saw one stash of adamantium left.  
'Question, do they still need adamantium?' George asked, to which the man nodded.  
If Frank has been freeing convicts, and knowing the prisons left are made from adamantium and/or vibrinium...he would need all the adamantuim he could get.  
'You know when he shows up?'  
'in..in...a hour today.' the man said. Georgemade a gesture and told the man to run, he did.

George waited in the dark for a nhour, medidating. He first thought to call the avengers, or the X-men, or even Nikki. But he didn't, he had his own agenda, this was hIS rogue gallery, nobody else's.  
When the door opend 3 figures came in, a smaller man, a larger man and a woman.  
'Where are you Robert, we're here...'  
Before Rexton could say naymore more, he was decapitated by a sword coming from nowwhere. Frank and Phaedra looked shock to see the sight.  
'That 1-1 bub....' George grinned, coming from the shadows.  
'Gargan!' Frank yelled and used his powers to summon a small number of undead.  
'Retribution day Frank, i'll make you pay what you did to Logan...you to Hand-lady!' he pointed his sword at her.

The ensuing fight with gruesome, body parts flew around, heads, arms, legs, spleens...untill George calmed down and saw everybody was dead, except himself.  
He knew something was off, they died to fast. Before he could come up with anything, the house blew up.  
In the distance Old Frank, Mark Rexton and Phaedra grinned at the sight.  
'That toke care of buisiness...allthough we lost the last shipment of adamantium...' old Frank said.  
'who cares, we got James howlett, and got enough adamantium left for at least 2 more prisons, and with the other super heroes in mourn who's left to-'

Then a hand bursted through Phaedra stomach, she gasped when she saw it and fell down on the ground. The two men looked behind and saw a Dark haired beautiful women growling, showing her teeth and licking the blood from her hand.  
'Who the hell are you?' Mark said, grabbing his gun.  
'The name's Wolverina..' she growled. 'And im going to kill you all!'

TBC  
Then a hand bursted through Phaedra stomach, she gasped when she saw it and fell down on the ground. The two men looked behind and saw a Dark haired beautiful women growling, showing her teeth and licking the blood from her hand.  
'Who the hell are you?' Mark said, grabbing his gun.  
'The name's Wolverina..' she growled. 'And im going to kill you all!'

Nikki never felt so much alive, after years behind a stove, doing the laundry, cleaing up the house...she was here again, on the field of battle, killing those responsible for the death of her husband, and apperintly her friend.  
Her children told her not to go, let George handle it, but she didn't listen, this was her fight aswell, and since she had many children and grand children, her point in live is done, honour must be upheld.

When Old frank summonded more undead to the slauhgter, Nikki grinned and leaped into battle, she cut them through like knive through butter, these undead were remains from the Third World-war, and sometimes there was a firmuliar face Nikki saw, just miliseconds before she cut it open.  
After she killed every dead person in the vacinity, she turned around and saw Mark Rexton aiming his gun at point blank range at Nikki's head.  
'Die bitch!' he shouted before he drew his hands on the trigger.  
But before it happend his arm flew cried in agony, but this was what Nikki needed.  
She prepared herself and dig her hands deep in Rexton body, tearing it all up.  
She gasped for air when he morbide work was done.  
When she looked behind her, she saw George leaning on his sword, his costume somewhat burned away, and a grinning Old Frank.  
'You really think you can stand a chance against :me now Time warrior, even with your little fiety friend here, your doomed.' he said.  
'How you mean?' nikki growled. ' I killed everyone, you dont have anyone left!'  
Frank grinned and whisteld, out of nowhere hundreds of figures appeared, not undead but real life super villans, amongstthem the wrecking crew, Doctor Doom, and even a rusty Ultron.  
George gasped for air, he couldn't beat all of them, even with Nikki.  
'nikki, lets get out of here!' George yelled and prepared to transport them out of there. He grabbed her hand, but then she let gojust a milisecond before he went away. It only lasted less then a eyeblink, but it toke ages for him.  
he looked her in the eyes, shaking her head when she pulled her hand away.  
'Nikki!' Time warrior shouted in the distance he was now, seeing all matter of lasers and flying bodies at the site he was just now.  
15 minutes later the fighting turned down and George teleported back to the site.  
when he saw there he saw many dead villans, and a small female body, lying in a puddle of blood. Her body was completely ravaged, who knows what they did to her...  
'G...george,' she asked with mucheffort, coughing up blood.  
'Im here Nikki...' he said, kneeling next to her, holding her up.  
'How bad..' she asked.  
George smilled re-assuringly. 'You'll live....'  
'Shit..' she said. 'im a goner...'  
George held back the tears. 'Why, Nikki?'  
Nikki coughed some more, gathering the few energies she got left.  
'Because...if logan's gone....i dont want to live anymore..' she gasped for air, grabbing George's chest.  
'This..is my 'noble suicide'....' she continued.  
'Tell my children i.....'  
George felt her hand going limp, as her eyes with dull. George looked down and put her on the ground softly, closing her eyes.  
'I will...' George said and stood up.  
Now 2 friends were dead because of him, now 2 more people were wiating for him in the after life.  
'Frank.....Im going to kill you!' George cried, raising his sword into the air.  
George walked over the rooftops, teleporting from one place to a other. He was searching for something in the buildings Frank put his signature 13 on. A lead, a clue, something.  
Even so, George couldn't keep Nikki out of his head. Nikki Howlet, born may 14, 1896 , died September the 4th 2235 by a army of super villans.  
She had 8 children, who hate George even more because they lost both their parents to him, and 16 grand children.  
He swore revenge, and he will get it no matter the cost.  
Finally after hours of searching George found a small trace of suspicious dust in one of the buildings.  
Adaantium dust it seems, knowing adamantium is a hard nut to crack, something very pwoerfull was used to obliterate it.  
another piece for the puzzle.  
First pheadra, then Adamantium, then freeing all the villans and killing two of George's only friends?  
Something big was happening,or else old Frank wouldn't hve shown up after 130 years.  
Georgr looked down and found something else, a blue print, to what seems to be a giant robot...Sentinel perhaps.  
Then it hits George, Frank's plan was coming together.  
It seems Frank was gathering supplies and men to build giant robots, presumibly 13, hence he asked Pheadra to summon more dead people...to build these robots.  
George grabbed his phone and called Iron man.  
'Stark here.' the voice on the other end said.  
'Tony it's me.' George said. 'we got trouble.'

'Finally...' Frank grinned. 'My plan is coming together.'  
Frank looked down from a cliff to see his plan coming to fruitatio, giant robots were made of adamantium and vibranium, the two most pwoerfull metals on the planet.  
Allthough he lost two of his puppets to get this far, he didn't care.  
Mark Rexton and Pheafra were merely pawns, and he had no intetion bringing them back. He was using lots of energy to keep these legions of undead in check.  
'Thank god for World war 3' he grinned. 'I never would've gotten this many people.'  
The villans onthe other hand were harder to controle, despite the promises made for world domination, power, money and women, these lot were to unruly, something had to be done, there was to much at stake.  
'Boss, the last robot is done.' the Wrecker said, carying his signature crowbar.  
'Good...' the eldery mutant said. 'Now we wait for the 13th to attack...'  
'you nuts?!' the wrecker yelled. 'Iron man could've found us by then!'  
'We follow my plan, and my plans says the 13th!' Frank yelled.  
'Screw your plan!' the wrecker said and drew his crowbar.  
Frank then raised his hand and summoned two of his minions to stop the wrecker. Alas the power of the crowbar erely obliterated them into dust.  
'Is that al you got?' the wrecker grinned.  
'no...' Frank said. 'Not by far.'  
Suddenly the wrecker couldn't move anymore.  
'what the...' Blood began streaming from his eyes and mouth.  
'The dust you inhale is from my undead, who i still command, your days of traiterious thoughts are over wrecker!' Frank yelled, and with his power Frank killed all the living around him, raising them as mindless undead.  
'now we wait for the 13th.....and i will have my revenge!' Frank yelled triomphant.  
On the 13th of September, the city was well defended. all the civilians were relocated to the space stations in orbit, while only the army and the super heroes stayed behind.  
Not to long ago one of those robots was able to destroy 5 cities the size of new York before it was stopped, so how were they going to stop 13 of them?  
George stood on the watch tower, his mind going through all sorts of thoughts. He didn't her Iron man landing behind him.  
'Well, this is it...' stark said. 'Judgement day, if i still had a body i would piss in my pants right now...'  
George barely blinked.  
'So my humour DOES have wasted away...' iron man sighed.  
George looked down. 'This is no laughing matter Tony, people died.'  
'and many more will die today George, thats a fact, you know i even asked SHIELD to give us more men and release the villans they still got left to help us?'  
George smirked, he remembered the last time Shield did something similiar like that.  
'We got contact!' Stark said and flew off. George grabbed his binocilours and saw giant figures dooming up ahead.  
13 of them as predicted....  
George looked up and saw Thor was preparing the aerial troops.  
'Thoust shant no fear on the field of battle!' he shouted. 'Thoust shall know bravery and valor!'  
The air units, shield troopers, heroes and villans alike, nodded.  
The Villans in perticuliar, because when they saw the footage Shield's satelite showed them what Frank did to the villans he helped escape, they were eager for payback.  
'For the wrecking crew!' a former member yelled.  
'For the Thunderbolts!' A symlbiote yelled.  
George sighed, so there was honour amongst thieves.  
He drew his sword and prepared for what was about to come.

Two hours later blood was on goerge's voice, most of it his own.  
The 13 robots were harder then the last one a couple of years back ,despite the efforts of shield's satelite lasers, they barely made a dent.  
The defenders were having heavy losses., the undead soldiers were having more, but the 13 robots merely marched through, stoming and killing their way through every street.  
A undead came behind George, but he merely behaded him.  
'Stark, status?' George asked in his comunicator.  
'We're being screwed all over, i haven't got word from thor in 10 minutes!'

George nodded, there was at least something he could do.  
Then a green villan came towards one of the robots and shot radio-active beams at the robots leg. George gasped what he saw, the leg ctually froze for a second. Beofre the villan could cheer however, he got flattened.  
George had a idea.  
'Tony, hold on, i got a plan.'  
The robots kept marching on, destryong much of the city. Despite having heavy losses the heroes fought on.  
'Dont know...it's risky.' Iron man said via the comunicator.  
'It's our only chance Tony...think yu can pull it off?' George replied.  
'I'll try....Good luck george,Iron man out.'  
Iron man then shut off the comunicator and sounded the order to fall back.

Frank chuckeld on top of the largest robot, seeing the heroes retrat.  
'Yes, you cowards, run!' he screams with joy, shooting lasers at the fleeing warriors.  
The 13 robots came together and marched in one line, making sure none of the straglers survived.  
However, they cameat a open spot, where one small figure was waiting for them.  
'Hello Frank!' George yelled.  
'Hello George, how are you?!' Frank asked, using a microphone.  
'you know, same old same old!'  
'So i see you gave up life, want to join your friends and wife huh?!'  
'Boy, you have no idea....' George grinned and he raised his hand.  
Gathering enough energy to do what he was doing toke time, he hoped Frank wouldn't get suspicious.  
'What are you doing, if you try to use your pwoers, forget it, my robots are speilly made to be un-affected by your meagere attaks- Frank grinned.

'I'm not focusing on the robots...' Georg grinned back. Then the ground started shaking, as slowly it began to dissapear.  
'Urghm George, im beginning to feel faint here...' The annoying voice said.  
'Shut up and keep going!' George yelled.'We've only got one chance!'  
The voice stopped for a bit. 'It was a pleasure knowing you George.'  
'Likewise ...'

Frank didn't belive what was happening, the ground under them dissapeared, asswell as the buildings around them, only Time Warrior remained.  
'Shoot him down!' Frank orderd, and all the 13 robots opend fire on George. Despite being hit by lasers and bullets, he kept going on. His chest was more perforated by bullets then cheese has holes, his legs were weak and barely was able to support him.  
for five more minutes he continued untill he finally caved in.  
By that time Frank and his robots were inthe forbidden zone, frozen in their last moments.

A while late,r iron man flew through the forbidden zone. The plan was simple, pulling back everybody so the Robots would be in 1 line, then then they would be teleported to the radio-active forbidden zone.  
Then iron man would try to pick time Warrior up...if he was still alive.  
'Any word?' the voice of Spider-girl asked on the comunicator.  
'nothing may....' Tony sighed. 'not one bleep....'  
Then his rdar pointed something out, adamantium.  
'Hold on!' tony yelled and flew towards the site.

Whenhe got there, he saw the robots were all frizen up, the radio actibity did it's work. Old Frank laid dead in his death-pit, his eyes wide open. His old frail body couldn't have sustained the radio-activity for long.  
Tony kept hovering over the site, untill he found one body.  
He landed enar it and picked it up. Mutation was allready kicking in, George's skin was slowly turning green. But gathering from hi breathing, he didn't had muchtime left on this world.  
'George...can you hear me?' Tony asked.  
George opend his eyes, staring at Iron man.  
Despite the mask, George noticed Iron man, if he stil had a voice, smilled.  
'Your plan worked...you stopped Frank.''George smilled and nodded. His head turned left and daw three firmuliar people coming at him.  
Two of them he saw die recently, but the third....the third one made him smile.  
Logan and Nikki held each other hands and waved at George, as if he was coming home. They were shouting, but George couldn't hear them.  
He looked at the third figure....her long dark hair,her face smile...the love of his life...Kimberley. she smilled and reached out her hands towards him.  
George tried to reach his arm, much to tony's amazement.  
Tony looked at where Goerge was looking...but saw nothing.  
'What are you seeing George?' he asked, ut whenhe looked backto George, he was allready gone.  
Stark laid down george's body and closed his eyes.  
'Go to them...' he said, and placed George's sword on his body, his hand grasping the sword.  
With a final salute, Tony used his hand-laser to burn George's body up, and let his ashes roam through the Forbidden zone.  
'Goodbye old friend...' Tony said and flew off.

The End


	34. Dark Time Warrior pt1

**Dark Time Warrior by Gorvar**

It's been over two months since i last my wife, and 13 hours when i lost custody of my children. My fingers are tightly grasped around the neck of the bottle, brining it to my mout. Sweet liquor, how do I praise you.  
My mind goes back to the funeral when I see my dead wife's picture on the floor.  
Everybody I knew or barely knew was there.  
New Avengers, Mighty, Every possible X-men team, heck even the Thunderbolts were there.  
After the funeral my life has gone through a negative spiral. Lost my wife, my job, my super hero status, and now my children. I know they're safe, their uncle is raising them now…  
The only thing I have left is this bottle of whiskey…which is almost empty.

'You should stop drinking George.'  
'You should stop being dead…' I reply to my wife. She stands in front of me, looking at me with pity.  
'Don't do this to yourself George…please?' She helps me get up.  
'I'll think about it…'  
'You don't need to think about it, yourkilling yourself!'  
'So…thought you would be glad if I did.'  
'Not like that Hun..' she holds my hand. I hear a car door slamming outside, footsteps heading my way.  
With a small smile, she disappears. Typical.

There is a knock on the door, strange, I thought I wouldn't have any visitors anymore. Especially since I start throwing bottles around.  
'Who is it?!' I ask out loud, getting up. What do you know, I don't topple down.  
'Open up George.' Is all I get. It was a male voice. Somehow I recognised it.

I go to the door, opening it….and behold the Director of SHIELD, Tony Stark. Him and I go back, we both were New avengers. Back then I didn't think highly of him, with his girl friends, his cars, buildings, money, booze…sweet sweet booze.  
'It's been a while.' He says. He wears his typical tux with below I suspect his extremis suit. I look behind him, seeing his always persistent Shadow. Karrie Gabriel, Scarlet Talon, Tony's fiancé and from what I hear best agent, we teamed up a few times.  
'Can we come in?' she asks friendly.  
I simple nod, letting them both in.

'Sorry if the house is a mess…' I go to the table, sitting down on a chair.  
'My god….George, it looks like you didn't clean for months.'  
'Two to be exact…' I admit, drinking the last bit from the bottle. 'why are you here?'  
'We're here to get you out of this miss George.' Tony sits down.  
'Why, I love it here, in fact I was going to try suicide in my bathroom, you shouldcome, have a few laughs.' God I'm drunk.

'Snap out of it George, this isn't like you!' Karrie slaps me in the face. I'mstunned for a moment…then I get back to my full conscience.  
'Thanks…needed that.' I admit. ' Wait…getting me out?'  
Tony nods. ' We need your help George.'  
'Help?'  
'Look, your rogue gallery is on the loose and it costs Shield, the avengers and even the Thunderbolts a hard time to get them back in jail.'  
'So…you can handle them just fine.?'  
'True, but the world still needs a Time-Warrior, in public or in secret.'  
'Secret?' he got my attention, the sneaky rich $##…I want his moustache.  
'Yes.' Karrie jumps in. ' There is something brewing in Europe, something our SHIELD agents cant get to in time.'  
'how you mean?'  
'When we get to a suspicious location, it looks like they vanished, we found 75 abandoned Hydra bases, where up to where we come in had activity going.'  
'Activity?'  
'Drugs, Weapons, Dirty bombs, you name it.'

'Sounds like a good James Bond movie…why does this involve me though?'  
'Our Forces cant get there in Time, but you can, we need Time-Warrior to investigate this matter before something bad happens.' Tony points at me.  
'Didn't you hear….i quit being spandex when mywife died, it's because of THAT THING!'I point to my disregarded sword in the corner. 'I lost my family!'

'You lost your family either way George, look around, there is nobody here, you didn't have human contact in the past 12 hours.' Karrie points out.  
'Plus they mortgage doesn't get paid, and your brother in law might need some money to raise your children…' Tony quietly states.  
He has a point, off course He would've checked my financial status first before thinking of knocking on my door.  
'How much?'  
We give you 100 million dollars if you do this for us…'  
I blink. ' 100 million, you ARE desperate!'  
'We are George, we already lost 25 agents on this case, we cannot afford to lose more if something is about to happen.'  
Deep down I start to think…

I cant let the world suffer because of my current condition. Think they know? Think they know sometimes I hear my wife talk to me, appearing before my very eyes? Of the nightmares I have every night?  
Off course they do, but they still ask for my help. The world still needs me.  
Sorry kim, seems your going to have to wait for me a bit longer.  
'I'm in.'  
'You are?' Karrie blinks.  
'I am, lets go.' I get up and grab my sword. 'I want a new costume, my money, all of it, deposited on my brother in laws account.' I grab some personal things, baby pictures, wedding day pictures, my hero lines ups.  
'what about your house?'  
'Sell it, demolish it, don't care.' With that I step out of the house, into the ship. Not once I look back. Not once.

'All right mister Gargan…' one of their shrinks tells me. ' How are you feeling today?'  
'I only talked to my dead wife's hallucination twice today. 'I put on my new costume. It's not like my former one, like I asked.  
'No jokes please .'  
'Who said I was joking?' I slip on the gloves and my mask. It covers my entire face, sort of like spidey's, but it's black all over, the only things not black being my eyes, white, and the SHIELD emblem on my shoulders and belt.  
'Hmm…you seem more depressed then Wolverine when he was brought to me…and he killed over 300 SHIELD agents and 10 super heroes.'  
'He didn't lose his wife two months before and his children 2 days ago.' I slip the sword on my back.  
'You have a point…' The doctor writes it down on his notepad.  
'Hows my report Doc?'  
'You should be in a asylum.'  
'Good boy.' I grin, walking past him. ' If you see Nick Fury, tell him I said Hey.'

I go to the launching area, Iron man and scarlet Talon being already there.  
[ The mission begins in 2 minutes…you ready George, you know what to do?$  
'Go in, kill everybody, find plans.' I reply.  
'You don't have to kill anyone George....'. Talon says.  
'Nope, but I will, see ya in a few minutes.'

With that I disappear, I sort of hear Iron man start bellowing orders, getting his troops ready. Thing is, SHIELD found a Hydra base, a small one, and they think it'll disappear in less then a minute, hence I'm here. I need to stall them, found out how they disappear and discover what they are building.

I appear in the middle of the base, the green agents looking at me.  
'Hello boys…guess who's back with a &*$%# loud of anger?'  
'Intruder al-'I cut of the guy's head, stabing and rewinding bullets as theygo. When I made my 5th kill..i smile.  
I missed this, God I missed this. I feel my bones almost braking when it hits. I slam against the wall. I look up and glare at the guy responsible….The Over seer, in the form of a large dark monster.  
'We meet again Time-Warrior….'  
This is going to be a long day.

TBC  
What happened previously: After having lost his wife, George Gargan, the super hero known as Time-Warrior, became a sad man. Losing his job, his children and haven given up his super hero duties, he locked himself up in his house, talking to his deceased wife through hallucinations.  
One day Tony Stark and Karrie Gabriel came to give a purpose to George's life. SHIELD was in the dark with the newest Hydra threat and needed someone to be able to catch them before they could disappear from their bases.  
With a new costume and purpose, Time-Warrior returned, but not as you know it.  
Having teleported into a base and killed some agents, George met his old nemesis. The Over Seer, a extra dimensional creature.

My name is Time-Warrior, the man who can be anywhere in 10 seconds.  
'We meet again Time-Warrior.' The dark monster glared with his one eye.  
This is The Overseer, a extra dimensional creature who I'm tangled with before. no problem.  
No witty banter this time, just stab, kill it.  
My sword embeddings itself in his flesh, the roar following brings joy to my heart.  
'what?! No speech?!' it cries.. No $$## no speech. I stab it a other time, porting behind him. Black blood starts pouring, good.  
'Foolish mortals, attack him!' he orders the agents. I rewind the bullets, killing them all…except one, good, prisoner.  
He and I tangle for a while. He does not know me he says, I'm not Time-Warrior, I feel dead to the touch…Don't care, just stab it.  
The ground starts to shake, walls collapse. in come the cavalry.  
Iron man flying in, shooting lasers, Talon and Black Widow on the airship, shooting away.  
The Over Seer screams…and disappears.

I put my sword behind my back.  
'We now know who does the porting…' I say calmly.  
.'What is this?!' Natasha starts shouting. ' What did you think you were doing, you killed everybody!'  
'Hypocrite much Romanov?' I glare at her.  
'You endangerd a entire SHIELD operation because of your dead wife!' she shouts, bad move.  
I punch her before she can react, she falls down, I grab my sword, aiming it at her neck.  
She starts to reach for her gun.  
'Go ahead…' I bring the sword closer. ' Make my day…'  
'George what the hell are you doing?!' Karrie pushes me aside, I put my sword away, pointing to the survivor. 'He's the one who'll talk.' I say, going back to the Helicarier.

They don't hear me, good, easedropping works a LOT better if they don't.  
'It was a bad idea from the start Stark.' Natasha, with a busted lip, says to Tony.  
'He got us information about Hydra's next move Natasha, so let it be.'  
'He almost kill everyone in the room!'  
'Almost…' Karrie defends me, didn't ask her to though. ' But she's right Tony, Georgeis to unstable to be fielded.'  
Stark nods, thinking. ' That's why we'll send him with a partner next time. somebody we can trust and he can trust..'  
'Deadpool?' Karria frowns.  
Tony shoke his head.  
'Who?' they ask. Who indeed.

I grabbed a computer from somebody, hacking. I got my answer. 15 minutes later the rest had to.  
There she was, back in her Spider-woman costume.  
Jessica Drew, Spider-woman. Back from skrullish hands into SHIELD.  
'You called for me director Stark?'

TBC  
What happened previously: After having lost his wife, George Gargan, the super hero known as Time-Warrior, became a sad man. Losing his job, his children and haven given up his super hero duties, he locked himself up in his house, talking to his deceased wife through hallucinations.  
One day Tony Stark and Karrie Gabriel came to give a purpose to George's life. SHIELD was in the dark with the newest Hydra threat and needed someone to be able to catch them before they could disappear from their bases.  
With a new costume and purpose, Time-Warrior returned, on his 1st mission he discovered the over Seer, one if his enemies, is aiding Hydra.  
After a heated discussion George punched the Black Widow and is seen as a liability.  
Not giving up on George yet, Tony Stark enlisted Jessica drew, Spider-woman, to be George's new partner…

Jessica Drew, Spider-woman, one of the LAST people on earth I wanted to see.  
She and I had a thing going before I met my wife. After she moved to San Francesco I lost touch with her, until she became a member of the New avengers but this wasn't the Jessica I knew though. That one was the skrull queen Veranke.  
After the entire 'Secret invasion' as we call it now, she and the other people the skrulls captured were freed, and brought back home.  
Hence she's here, back in SHIELD.

I sat in my room, going insane by the minute, when my dead wife appeared, sitting on the bed.  
'What's wrong George?' she asked with concern.  
'Nothing, I'm dandy…' I replied.  
'You always were a bad liar..' she grinned, straying my shoulders.  
I knew she wasn't there, I knew her hands on my shoulders were not there, but I felt them…still do.  
'Jessica drew is my partner I heard…'  
'Spider-woman?'  
I nodded. ' seems I'm to insane to go alone anymore.'  
'You did kill almost everybody in that base hun..' she kissed my cheek.  
'So…..they weren't saints Kim, and besides, maybe i am crazy..i mean…I'm talking to you, your dead.'  
She smiled. 'Your not insane George, you know that you just cant let go of me yet…'  
'Hence I imagine you being here?'  
She nodded. ' I'm always with you George….never forget allright?'  
She faded away again.  
'I wont kim…I wont.'

Doctor Weinburg, former Super villan, former Wolveirne's shrink, now mine.  
Allthough I couldn't see, Tony, Karry, Natasha and Jessica were watching at me through the invisible glass. How I knew? Simple, I always know.  
I ignored him completely, leaving when it was my time.  
She stood outside, first time we really met.  
'Hey.' She smiled, walking enxt to me in her SHIELD uniform. ' You heard by now I presume.'  
I nodded. 'You're my handler, make sure I stay on the leash.'  
'It's not like that George…'  
'It is Jess.' I glared at her, walking off.  
Not a good first impression I know, but I didn't care. I wasn't there to make friends, I was there to stop Hydra and give my family money.  
I watched the news, life went on. Avengers beat the Hood or some giant Japanese monster, X-warriors saving more mutant lives.  
Mail came for me that day. It was a letter from Nikki, asking…no begging me to come back. The group needed me, especially since Deadpool knocked up Maria.  
I shred the letter to pieces. That part of my life was over, only this remained.

I went to the bar that evening, grabbing something to drink. Three guesses who I came across there?  
'Didn't know you were a drinker Jess.' I ordered a whiskey.  
'You have to be if you want to survive one year with SHIELD.' She toke a sip from her drink.  
'How did you get back in SHIELD?' I asked.  
'Nick did…before his…y'know.'  
I did, he got hit by a virus, chances were he was not getting out of that one alive. Hence Tony was being the Director again.  
We talked about the good old days, the bad old days, and everything in between.  
A awkward silence that happened after was luckily lifted when the alarm rang, some idiot tried to attack the Helicarier…good.  
Before she could say anything I ported, killing the fist Hydra trooper on the deck.

The adrenaline pumped through my veins, keeping me focused, alert. Jess flew In a bit later, zapping away. More Shield agents arrived. More people to protect. Don't think about them, think about yourself I thought. Stab, slice, rewind, decapitate.  
It was stupid why would Hydra attack the helicarier, with just grunts. Then I realised, Jessica.  
Hydra always wanted her back in the fold.

And yeh, they were going for her, seems I had to save somebody after all. Some big robot guys tried to take her, but I stopped them, mid air. I told her off, but off course women never listen. It toke me one good punch in the face to get her out of there, she could hate me for it, but this was for her own good.  
I popped back up, Black Widow leading the defence.  
'Where is Iron man?!' I ask at her loudly, deflecting a bullet.  
'Went back to New York 20 minutes ago, he's en route!' glad she didn't held a grudge.  
More ships started to arrive, dozens…maybe hundreds. They wanted her very bad if they were zerging like this.  
George started to think…then had a idea.  
'Do what you can here Natasha, but keep the planes down, I've got a idea.'  
'Da, but make it quick!'  
I ported to the bridge, pushing aside people, typing away. Making a EMP wave isn't hard, but making sure it doesn't knock out the entire Helicarier and crash down…that was the tricky part. I set the course toward a nearby desert, didn't want any collateral damage.

The others were to busy saving themselves, so I had free access to every terminal and every computer. Which was good since I only had one shot at this, I grabbed something from my pocket…my wife's last invention before…. I shoved it in the computer's entry port, and hoped for the best.  
Several agents came in, shouting the 'Heil Hydra' crap at me before charging in.  
I merely cut them aside, grinning when the data uploaded to the Helicarier's computers.  
I pushed the button and smiled when the incoming ships started to fall down toward the ground. The remaining Hydra agents surrendered quickly. This give me a other clue. If these lot were under the Over Seer's orders, they would've died fighting. Somebody in Hydra acted not in the Overseer's behalf.  
This meant either Civil war in Hydra ranks or Hydra branches weren't well informed of each other. Or maybe it was a distraction.  
Tony checked everything with his armor…nothing stolen or added in the assault. Nobody knew how Hydra found out about Jess, but traitors in SHIELD were easy to find.  
When I went back to my quarters I met Jess again, a blue bruise on her cheek.  
'Heard what you did while I was out…well done.  
'Thanks….Sorry for the punch.'  
She actually chuckled. ' It's allright… you did it to save me, like before.'  
I nodded, remembering.  
'I should thank you though…but I don't know how.'  
I grinned. ' I think I do.'

I kissed her hard when we entered my quarters, my arms around her waist, hers around my shoulders.I lifted her up in the air, her legs around my waist. I missed this….I laid her down on the bed, both our bodies taking over by instinct. I didn't had this feeling for a long time, and for one brief moment…I forgot about Kimberley. I forgot about the Over seer, SHIELD, Hydra, Iron man….  
For one night, everything felt good…

TBC  
What happened previously: After having lost his wife, George Gargan, the super hero known as Time-Warrior, became a sad man. Losing his job, his children and haven given up his super hero duties, he locked himself up in his house, talking to his deceased wife through hallucinations.  
One day Tony Stark and Karrie Gabriel came to give a purpose to George's life, becoming a agent of SHIELD on the condition his family will receive the money.  
With a new costume and purpose, Time-Warrior returned, on his 1st mission he discovered the over Seer, one if his enemies, is aiding Hydra.  
After a heated discussion George punched the Black Widow and is seen as a liability.  
Not giving up on George yet, Tony Stark enlisted Jessica drew, Spider-woman, to be George's new partner  
Yet Hydra found out and staged a large assault to capture Spider-woman, but thanks to Tw's quick thinking the assault was halted and found out there was a schism in Hydra.  
After the briefing George went back to his quarters were Jessica wanted to 'thank' him for the rescue, which he eagerly accepted.

When I woke up again, I could smell her sweat and scent all over me. Her arms around my chest, her legs tangled with mine. For a brief second, I thought I was holding Kimberley again, but when I saw Jessica's face, it brought me back to reality.  
This wasn't Kim, this wasn't our old bedroom. We're in a small quarter on a flying ship 20 000 feet of the ground.  
Without walking her I slipped out of her grasp, put on some clothes and walk to the flight deck.

I didn't shiver in the cold, despite wearing less then the guards did. Surprised everybody was still up this late.  
'Cant sleep again cant you?' Kimmy re-appeared next to me. I nodded, feeling ashamed.  
'It's ok…' Kimberley rested her non existant hand on my shoulder. I'm insane, I see dead people like that kid from the movie.  
'I'm sorry Kim….'  
'It's fine, I understand, you lasted longer then I thought….but you still see me, so your not over me yet I presume…'  
I nodded. 'Think I never will….'  
'You have to George….it pains me to see you like this, this isn't you.'  
'How you mean?' I can see the guards looking at me, talking to myself, yup Weinburg will have a field day tomorrow morning.  
'This, you being with SHIELD, wearing a mockery of your normal suit, acting insane when your not.'  
'I am, I'm seeing you aren't?'  
'Does making you see one dead person insane George?'  
I shrugged. ' Made that guy from the game 'Dead space' insane.'  
'I told you to stop playing those video games George.'  
'I start wondering if Tony has a Marker around here…'  
'George…'  
'Sorry…couldn't resist.'  
'I know..' she smiled, giving me a small kiss. I swore to god I could've felt that one faintly.  
I held her hands. ' I don't want to lose you Kim…not again.'  
'I know George….but I'm always with you, and our children.'  
'George?' she dissolved, in her stead came Jessica, wearing my shirt and trousers. ' what are you doing out here, it's freezing.'  
'Thinking…' I replied coldly, giving her my trench coat.  
We didn't say a other word until the briefing the next day.  
'We found two Hydra bases on two separate locations, one of them is around here, the Nevada desert, the other is at San Francesco ' Tony explained.  
'Time-Warrior and his team, that includes Spider-woman and Black Widow, will take the San Franseco one, Me and Karrie will take the Desert.'  
'Think the x-men will help with ours,' Jessica asked, already in her Spider-woman outfit.  
'Not a chance.' Tony shrugged. 'This is a covert up, so no explosions unless required, got that George?'  
'I blow up stuff when I feel like it stark.' I replied grim.  
'You better follow orders Gargan, or else you have to deal with me.' Black widow acted like her old self again.  
'You do that I'll brake more then just your lip next time, you Red sk-'  
'Enough, both of you!' Karrie intervened.  
Natasha and I glared for a while. I didn't trust her then, and still don't now.

The next moment I felt the consequences. There he was, Bucky, the new Captain America, send to help us.  
'You hit my girlfriend..' he glared.  
'You killed pregnant women.' I glared back.  
Jessica toke my arm. 'Not now George…please.'  
I nodded, walking off. I would've punched him then and there if it wasn't for her.

We stepped in the Shield ship, flying off to San Francesco.  
Tony saved no expense. Three super powered agents, one high ranking and twenty normal agents.  
I just hoped to god this one would be the Overseer one. To settle this score once and for all.  
The Monitor flicked open, revealing Tony's handsome face.  
'Operation begins in 20 seconds, prepare yourselves.'  
I grabbed my sword on my back, counting down from 20 backwards. Suddenly I felt somebody squeezing my hand. I looked up to Jessica, who smiled and nodded at me. I nodded back slowly.  
'Now!' Cap shouted, leading the attack.  
I ported, reaching the ground first, slashing my way through, when I heard the roar i grinned, this is where the $## was.  
'You….' The Overseer growled, lunging at me.  
'Who else $$##?!' I shouted, stabbing away.  
The hydra agents fell like flies, Bucky's shield and pistol, Cap kills, yay he would be so proud.  
Needed to stay focused, this guy could kill me in one slap.  
'You ruined everything!' I stabbed my sword in his eyes. 'Shut the *$#%# up you piece off-!'  
He got me, I slammed against the wall of the ship. I could almost feel my spine braking.  
'Okay…now you ticked me off.' I growled, getting back up.  
Black widow began bellowing orders, proving cover for Bucky and Jess. She wasbusytaking out four guys when the Over seer crept behind her.  
'Jess look out!'  
To late, she got hit, slamming against the wall. No, not again, Not AGAIN I thought out loud.  
I ported to her, I practically almost became a religious man when I noticed her still breathing.  
'Ge….' She tried to say.  
'Don't talk.' I said a bit to harsh, trying to get her up.  
The Overseer chuckled, then raised his arms. 'You've been a pain for long enough Time-Wariror, DIE!!!'  
He shot a large dark beam at me, I tried to rewind it…buti couldn't, I could barely slow it down. Couldn't move, breath.  
Could feel mybones braking, spine getting worse.  
'Bucky…get her out of here….NOW!'  
Bucky glanced. I threw Jess over. He got her thank –

The next moment everything became dark. No sounds, no light, nothing.  
At first I thought I was dead, who wouldn't be after this attack? I started walking, don't know why, but I did. After a while I saw a bright light, like when your about to exit a tunnel.  
I could see everyone I loved and who died cheer at me, my mother, my first girlfriend….but where was she, where was Kim?  
As if by lightning, there she was.  
'Hey George.' She smiled.  
'Heya…I'm dead.'  
'Your not.'  
'I'm not…that sucks.'  
She laughed, god I missed how she laughed. 'I know George…but the world still needs you, the world, our children…even her.' She pointed to the wall, revealing Jessica dangling in bucky's arms.  
I knew what she meant to say. ' if I go back…I wont see you again.'  
'You will…when it is finally your time, until then I wait….and love you.'  
I held her hands on last time, tears rolling over my cheeks. ' I don't want to stop talking to you.'  
'You have to George…only then can you finally come over when it is your time'  
I sighed, she drying my tears. ' now go back out there and show him what you got.'  
'I will….this one is for you kim.'  
I ran the opposite direction of her, a portal opening in front of me, revealing overseer's ugly face.  
I shouted, hard, it seemed to echo for a eternity. I jabbed my sword in his face, he cried out in pain.

'Die you mother*%.$:¨*' I shouted, slicing off it's head.  
The Overseer dropped to the ground like a rag doll, dissipating in the air.  
I looked around, seeing everybody already left, the ship flying off in the distance, probably mission failed by the looks of things. Yet, I killed the $##, so it was mission succeeded.  
I saw people approaching, hence I know why the ship was leaving.  
I stayed a second, realising somebody already saw me.  
'George…?'  
I saw him, and he me. Logan, Wolverine.  
I ported.

The next part I wasn't there, but I could roughly place it together.  
'We have to go back, George might still be down there!' Jess shouted.  
'You know we cant Agent Drew.' Tony replied firmly. 'Besides he disappeared after that blast, for all we know he could be dead.'  
'He is…' Natasha confirmed. 'We barely got out of that one alive.'  
'Without him we left, mission failed.'  
'Not really…' Karrie showed the monitor to everyone. ' Satelite shows overseer's body dissipating by something…he's dead.'  
'X-men got him?' Bucky asked. ' I see Logan there.'  
'No, they got there to late, somebody else got him.'  
'But who?' Jessica asked.

Later that evening Jessica leaned on the rail on the top deck, trying to cry her tears out. Just for a short time she finally had me, I was so called 'missing.'  
She stopped when she noticed something. She growled, shooting a venom blast at the intruder…me, barely got out of dodge.  
'Woah, easy now!'  
'George!' she screamed, jumping at me, kissing me deeply. ' where the hell have you been,!'  
'Needed to say goodbye to somebody..' I replied truthfully.

Two hours earlier, Norfolk graveyard near King's lyn.

I stood over her tombstone, laying down a flower to her grave.  
'Heya Kim…though I should stop by for a second…'

The end  
He should've been here by now, i thought. I looked over the rooftops, finally spotting him.  
'Murdoch.' I said coldly, looking at the red costumed super hero in front of me.  
'George…' He replied with the same cold voice as I did earlier. ' You've been missing for months.'  
'So have you once, but I'm not complaining.'  
'Foggy told me you asked him to look for me, what do you want?'  
'You know the X-warriors?'  
Matt nodded. Who hasn't, they were as popular as the former New Avengers.  
'What about them?'  
'Your joining them.'  
Matt blinked. 'You know i-'  
'Cut it out with the 'oh I cant ' &#*& Murdoch, you owe me a favour after I saved your life from Logan when he was under Hydra control, so you better fulfil that or else I'm going to make your live a worse hell then it already is.'  
Dd glared. 'You sure know how to ask favours Gargan…what happened to you?'  
'I don't need to tell my motivations to a blind man who sleeps with she-hulk every saterday evening.'  
Matt was furious. 'Your asking me a favour Gargan, better have some respect for me.'  
'The last past weeks were hell to me Murdoch, worse then usual, so sorry if I don't keep to the super hero code, just do me this favour, and I wont track you down again.'  
'Who says I will allow you to next time.'  
'Who says I wont be able to find you next time, I was a detective for a reason Murdoch.' With that I ported.

They say i have a problem, they say i need help. Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong, They can fix me they claim, but I don't want to be fixed.  
My name is George Gargan, but people know me better as time-warrior. The once wise cracking super hero, now SHIELD's silent assassin. Well silent….i blow up half the area, but I get the job done.

Three months ago I lost my wife, two months ago my job, and a couple of weeks ago my children. I quit being a hero, I quit being a father, I quit being myself, only the bottle remained. still does sometimes.  
Tony Stark out of the bottom of his heart offered me a job at SHIELD, to help pay my brother in laws bills and to raise my children. I may be a jerk and a loser, but I never let me kids down….ever.  
Hence I'm here…hence I'm with THEM….The Mighty Avengers, Tony's latest scheme to get me back on track.

It all started one fine New York morning. The first scent I smelled that day was hers…Jessica's. Jessica Drew, Spider-woman, Agent of SHIELD, Avenger, my girlfriend.  
I still don't know if she was tasked by Tony or Nick to keep me under watch, or she sleeps with me out of her own.  
Cant say I minded, still don't. Great body, easy to life and work with, I even enjoyed our date last night, and what came after to.  
She strayed my chest, smiling.  
'Good morning babe…' she purred.  
'Morning…' I replied with a fake smile, kissing her forehead. Deep down, I wished she was a other woman, I wished it was her….Kim.  
She yawned, laying her head on my chest. 'Time izzit…?'  
I look up at the clock, setting it back on straight, guessing from the state of things that fell down and the cracks at the wall we were working hard and loud last night.  
'Nine in the morning…'  
She yawned. ' Sleep in sounds good….'  
I nodded, straying her dark hair. Sunday's were her days off, unless there was a emergency. Big monsters, giant robots, some crazed super villain.  
'You do that, I'll make breakfast.' Part of me just wanted to lay in with her, but the other knew better. Jess sighed, nodding.

I kissed her sweet lips, getting up, putting on a robe and boxers, making breakfast.  
Cooking kept me distracted, from the anger, from the memories, from the liquor.  
How long would it take her to find out about my stash in her apartment? She is a detective after all. A few minutes later Jess, wearing my long t-shirt that covered everything to her knees, wobbled her way to the dining room.  
Seemed I was to rough on her last night, somehow she didn't mind, nether did I.  
'Hope you like bacon and egg…' I grinned.  
'Bacon and eggs…didn't we eat this yesterday morning to?'  
I nodded. 'Think I need to work on my cooking repertoire....tomorrow, Cheese and Egg.'  
She laughed, not a fake one, she meant it. But meaning something didn't mean she wasn't going to stab me in the back with a knife when the need would rise.  
How long Jess, how long until you drive that knife in my back?  
A knock on the door. A feint smell of cologne, the expensive kind, was all I needed to know who was behind that door.  
'Stark…'  
'Tony?' she blinked. ' How do you know?'  
'You were a detective to once…when in doubt, use your sniffer.' I put the pan away, going to the door. There he was, Sir Anthony Stark. Director of SHIELD and pain in my &*!.  
'Morning George..' Did you hate how I smelled Tony, you hated how I looked,  
'Stark…' I replied coldly, going back to the table.  
'Oh Tony…I, I didn't know you were coming.' Jess tried to conceal herself a bit more with a other shirt.  
'No it's fine Jessica.' He said with that sickening smile I hate. ' In fact I'm not staying here long.'  
'Spill it then Tony, it's early in the morning and I don't have enough 'I hate your guts' jokes on me. '  
'Allright…I wont beat around the bush George…your action last night-'  
'Mark Rexton got punched into the hospital by me for a good reason Stark' I interrupted.  
'You kept punching him when he was unconscious, you broke his arm after he surrendered.'  
'I liked it though…made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.'  
Jess glances at Tony, nodding slowly.  
'Well, after that incident, it made me realise you weren't ready yet for this.'  
'If you-'  
'No, I'm not pulling you off duty, in fact i'm brining you back in the spotlights…your going to be a new member in my Avenger team.'

Jessica almost choked in her egg.  
'what,!' I yelled. ' Are you ##*$#$ insane?!'  
'Carol agreed with me on this George.'  
'There is no ##*$#$ way I set one step in that building!'  
'George…' Jess tried to argue.  
'No Jess, I'm serious. In that entire building, I only trust three people, you, Carol and Jarvis.'  
'Karrie is a part time Avenger, as am I.' Tony said.  
'Whoopty do, Gabriel will be there, oh I feel SO relived!' How is Bob, threw stuff in the sun again yet?'  
Jess held my hand, somehow that always calmed me down. 'George…please?'  
I'm a spineless idiot. Then again, what choice did I had? I say no, they pull away the money river to my brother in law.  
I paused for a moment, getting my anger under control, where is Bruce ##*$#$ Banner if you need him?  
'Fine…..i'll do it….but Natasha better shuts up when I'm talking.'  
She and I don't get along.  
'Excellent.' He smiled. ' We expect you at the tower at noon, don't be late.' With that he walked off, I walked him out.

'You asked yourselves those 12 questions George?' He asked me when we were out of Jessica's earshot.  
I nodded as reply.  
'And?'  
'Yes to all 12….'  
'Why didn't you ring me, I told you-'  
'Stark I'm not a guy who asks for help. The reason I said yes to your little invitation is because if I say no, my kids will go hungry.' I glared at him.  
'I'm not like that George…'  
'Sure your not Mother Theresa..' I threw his card back to him. 'See you at 12…'  
At noon I waited in the main hall, where I heard my new team members coming.  
'So we're getting a new team mate?' a man who had a red jacket and sunglasses asked.  
'As long it isn't one of those greenhorn's like in Camp Hammond.' A gruffer voice, that belonged to the God of war Ares belonged. ' Last thing I need is a young kid going insane on the battlefield.'  
'Oh he's battle hardened Ares don't you worry…' Carol, . She and I fought alongside each other when Xorn came back to re-power Magneto.  
I heard tony gathering his courage, as did Spider-woman.  
'Ladies and Gentlemen…here is your new Team-member…Time-Warrior.'  
He opened the door, me leaning on the wall nearby, looking at the surprised lot.  
'Guess who's back?' I grinned.

TBC  
What happened previously: Time-warrior is a mess, both physically and emotionally.  
He lost his wife three months ago, his job in 2 and his children last month. Given up his super hero existence he lived in solitude in his own home, living off booze and pain killers.  
Fearing his Rogue gallery will be to hard to handle, Tony stark drafted George into SHIELD, making him his secret agent. Although he's having a good relationship going with Jessica Drew (Spider-woman) George is far from stable, as such Tony is willing to play his last card….George re-joining the Avengers.

My name is George Gargan, son of Mac Gargan, the Scorpion, or Venom now a days. I'm a super hero, I save lives. I'm good at it to, or else I wouldn't had been part of the New Avengers. It's on that team I first met Tony Stark, think that's why he wants me on HIS Avengers. That or Carol () kept bugging him about it. Wonder if he slept with her yet, before or after he's sleeping with that $#*$!% Talon offcourse.  
'You ok George?'  
There she was, Spider-woman, my girl-friend and guardian of sorts, making sure I don't fall to far.  
Take a pill , bring the happy thoughts back.  
'I'm fine Jess.' I swallowed a few of them.  
'You supposed to take that many?' always the worrier.  
'Dunno…if I fall dead we know I shouldn't.' I grinned.  
'Not funny George.' First time she glared at me.  
'I think it is.' I get back up from the floor, sliding up the wall. ' How is everybody reacting to my inclusion on the team?'  
she sighed, not a good soon…whoopy.  
'Ares doesn't mind, nor do Tony and Carol, but everybody else….'  
'Even Bob, since when does he have a sane mind?'  
'Bob hasn't shown any signs yet of what he thinks of you.'  
I laughed. Mister Sentry isn't sane yet.  
'Same when I was on the team I guess…' I became serious for a moment, seems the pills were working. 'How are you reacting?'  
'Don't know George….i want you to be on the team, spend more time together, but I don't know if your-'  
'Sane enough?'  
She paused. ' I was going to say strong…'  
I smiled, kissing her deeply, she likes that.  
'As long you got my back, I wont go Wanda Maximoff on you, promise.'  
She smiled. ' Good, we don't want a House of G here.'  
'House of G….think that might be a good name for a reality show.'

'What were you thinking Tony?!' I heard Wasp shouting, Janet van Dyne.  
'I wasn't just Tony.' Carol replied. ' I know George, he's a good team member, I fought alongside him during the last team's run.'  
'You read the reports though, you know he isn't a reliable person at the moment.'  
'Nor is Robert, but he's doing well right now.' Tony interrupted.  
Janet sighed. ' I KNOW something bad will happen if he stays here…'  
I passed by the door, making sure they saw me. Like I cared what Miss domestic violence thought about me, my powers actually HELP people.

The Alarm sounds, Avengers Assemble. God I missed that alarm.  
I ported to the Quinjet, waiting for the rest to be there.  
'Somebody wants to make a good first impression.' Jess smiled at me.  
'I want to be a good boy.' I grinned, strapping my seatbelts.  
Next came Black Widow, didn't even make eye contact. Nor did Ares or Sentry. Wonder man smiled and nodded briefly.  
[ Allright people, we have a large monster attack in downtown Queens] Iron man started off the Quinjet.

'Queens?' I asked  
'Yes we know, but still, it's in Queens, so far it made 15 casualties…ate them.' Carol explained.  
'Oh goody, first day on the job and we go after a giant flesh eating monster, god I missed this job!'  
'Can you be serious for 5 minutes?' Widow glared at me.  
'Can you be NOT constipated for 5 minutes,' I glared back. Ares laughed.  
'I like this one.' He admitted with a smile.  
'See, God of War likes me, so I'm officially in.' I folded my arms.  
'If we can continue..' she glared at all of us. ' This monster is obviously a carnivore, it's 15 feet tall, has strong legs and paws.'  
'Any preferred prey as we know off?' I asked.  
'Seems it likes to eat women.'  
Women….  
'Gender?'  
'What?' Carol blinked.  
'Anybody knows what it's gender is.' I asked again.  
'Urghm..we believe it's male.' She replied.  
'What use is that to us Gargan?' Natasha glared.  
'Shut up carrot head, I'm thinking…'

I was thinking. Tony showed us the pictures on our monitors next to our seats. I thought I recognized it before. It wasn't a dinosaur, but looked sort of like it. Had feathers instead of scales, sharp teeth…the prey also gave a hint.  
Normal predators don't care about gender of their prey, unless it's mating season, pregnant prey, means slower and easier prey, plus if they're lucky they carry the pup already, double the feast.  
Since humans don't have a mating season, my thought was it hunted down pregnant women, so it had to be slow himself. I needed to be sure.

'Tony, give me a link to the victims data.'  
He nodded, doing it right away.  
I was right, most of the women were in fact having a baby. That's all I needed to know.  
'I know what it is.' I said.  
'You do?' Sentry finally spoke up.  
'It's a Savage land creature, a mix between a dinosaur and mammal.'  
[ used your detective brain George?]  
'That, and I saw it in action before, savage land with the New Avengers.'  
[ I didn't-]  
'It was with Luke when we went there to investigate that Skrull ship couple of months back, you didn't see it.'  
Iron man nodded.  
'Question remains, how did it get here?'  
'Question is…' Ares cracked his knuckles. ' How do we kill it?'  
'Simple.' I grinned. 'Keep stabbing it until it doesn't move.'

'We're near the creature, everybody get ready!'  
I grabbed my sword, looking at Jess' direction. She smiled and nodded. She'll be fine.  
'AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!'

We all jumped out of the Quinjet as one. The creature, who was about to make victim 16 glanced up, receiving a smack from Ares in the face.  
'That will teach they to feast upon women Beast!' Ares grabbed his axe, slashing away.  
'Woah, Thor much Ares?' I stabbed my sword in it's eye, aah the delicious sound of a painfull roar.  
'Natasha, Jessica, give us cover fire, Simon, Bob, take the civilians out of here!' Carol cried out orders.  
Allthough I could hear Tony groan, it was a good idea.  
Me, Ares, her and Tony were enough heavy hitters. Two more and we would be getting in ech other's way.  
Natasha being somebody who gave cover…that I didn't like, for all I knew she could shoot me in the back and call it a accident.  
Jess' green venom blast stun the beast a little. Strange, a Beast that size wouldn't be stunned by a small charge off….unless.

'Tony, it's a infant!'  
[ What?!]  
'Infant, it's a baby, that's why it's hunting slow fat prey!'

It all made sense, the reduced speed, prey choice, but why pregnant women and not fat people? But when I saw the beast ate it ALL, including bones I think I knew. It needs genetic material, including bones. It's feeding to grow.  
Having a baby in your guts mean you got double the genetic material.  
Needing genetic material meant it needed it to survive.

'Tony, we need to stop it from feeding!'  
'What do you think we're-' Carol interrupted.  
'No, I mean, it needs genetic material, that's why it's eating pregnant women, if it doesn't get any genetic material it dies!'  
[ Understood…] Tony was busy with something. [Guys, we need to finish this thing up fast, it's making it's way to Hell's Kitchen!]  
'Hell's Kitchen, why Hell's freakin Kitchen off all places.' I asked.  
'You're the big detective George, THINK!' Spider-woman flewby.

Wonder man slammed in;, not causing much damage, this thing was getting stronger by the moment. I thought. Whilst the rest was busy distracting it, I grabbed a city map from a typical new york news paper stand.  
'Thanks..' I gave the guy who covered below the price of the map.  
Come on you $##, where were you going…..Hope's House. Straight down the south.  
'Iron man this is George, the beast is going to Hope House.' I called over the intercom.  
[Are you completely sure George?] he shot a uni beam at the Beast, no effect.  
'I'm 75% sure Tony, it's straight down the way he keeps going.'  
Made sense, Hope House was the nearest place where women were packed up. All the other hospitals were to far.  
'We're not making a dent anymore!' Wasp flew by. ' We need help!'  
Offcourse, we needed somebody who dealt with this thing before. Before i could even consider ringing them, there they were…

'SWEET CHRISTMAS!!' he shouted, throwing a car at it's face.  
There they were, the New avengers. Well the big three anyway. Luke, Peter and Logan.  
'You miss with queen, you miss with the amazing spider-man Godzilla knock off!' Spider-man swung by, webbing it's jaws shut.  
[ Luke, what are you doing here?!] Tony seemed to actually laugh.  
'Saw it on the news, decided to stop this thing before it got to Harlem or Hell's Kitchen.' Luke leaped in, punching away.

'It's going to Hell's Kitchen, might wanna ring Daredevil bub.' Wolverine snikt his claws, I was surprised he didn't seen or smelled me.  
'You know how hard it is to even make a appointment with matt Murdoch, let alone say we need his help fighting a giant dinosaur?' Spider-man webbed up a car, swinging it at the beast.  
'Actually a genetic engineered dinosaur/mammal…nice seeing you guys again.' I said, slowing the beast down using my powers, then stabbing it in the knee.  
'George is that you?!' Peter blinked.  
'Told ya guys I wasn't lyin'…' Logan growled, slashing away with Ares.  
'We talk later.' I replied. 'Guys remember that dinosaur we fought in the savage land, the last one?'  
'Yeh, this one of em?'  
'Sorta…know the routine still?'  
The New Avengers nodded.  
'Tony, get every other Avenger away, and when I say go, tell Sentry to fly in and throw the $## in the sun.'  
[ We tried to do it earlier George, but he swats bob away when he-]  
'Damnit Stark do as I say!' I yelled, shutting off the radio.

Seconds later I heard Carol giving the orders to fall back, good.  
'Allright guys, you know the hustle!' Luke yelled. We all spread, so it has to divide it's attention. It helped it had only one eye left.  
'George now!' Luke dropped his arm.  
I nodded, slowing down time for the monster.  
Wolverine and Luke frontally attacked the monster, punching and stabbing it while spidey swung in from behind.  
He webbed the monsters paws, legs, tail as fast as he could, despite my slowing down power, this thing was getting faster.  
Finally it couldn't move.  
'My webs wont last long you guys!' Peter shouted.  
'Sentry now!' I shouted through the com.

Seconds later bob flew in, picked up the monster and flew towards the sky. We held our breath for a few minutes. My heart skipped a few beats, until I could sigh of relief when Sentry flew back in.  
'It's gone…' was all he had to say.  
Everywhere the people came, cheering at both the avenger teams. I counted 45 'Avengers Assemble' when Jessica flew in and kissed me. Twenty woots and whistles each if I counted right.  
I smilled at her, asking if she was ok. She smiled and nodded.  
When I looked back at the New avengers, they all glared at me.  
'Central park, noon tomorrow….You got some explaining to do George…' was all Luke said to me before all three of them left.

Back at the tower everybody congratulated me, even Black widow…well, nodding at me before going away. Still, something got under my skin and Tony knew it to.  
We both knew this thing came here for a reason, it was dropped off here, but by whom?  
And what For?

TBC  
What happened previously: Time-warrior is a mess, both physically and emotionally.  
He lost his wife three months ago, his job in 2 and his children last month. Given up his super hero existence he lived in solitude in his own home, living off booze and pain killers.  
Fearing his Rogue gallery will be to hard to handle, Tony stark drafted George into SHIELD, making him his secret agent. Although he's having a good relationship going with Jessica Drew (Spider-woman) George is far from stable, as such Tony is willing to play his last card….George re-joining the Avengers.  
His first mission with the avengers was taking out a large Savage land dinosaur who needed genetic information to survive, seeing this is as something that could prove fatal in the future George started to look into this subject more. During the fight he was forced to work alongside his previous team the New Avengers, after the battle Luke said George had some explaining to do.

My name is George Gargan, people know me as Time-Warrior, the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds. Yesterday my first official mission with the Mighty Avengers turned out all right. We came in, saved lives, killed the big bad. Whilst everybody is getting drunk or laid, I started to ask questions. Where did this thing come from, who engineered it?  
Tony told me off for investigating this, since SHIELD is under pressure from the US government and Osborn ever since the Skrull invasion and the delicate subject named 'Savage Land.'  
You know what's fun about being me, I can give everybody a '*$#%# off' and keep doing my thing.

'George…'  
Off course others don't see it my way, not even him.  
'Luke.' I replied. Luke Cage, Leader of the New Avengers. He was one of the few people I trusted when we were still at Stark Tower, before the invasion, before the civil war.  
'We saw you yesterday on the tv…'  
A female voice, didn't take long to realise form who it belonged it.  
Wolverina, Nikki Howlett. Leader of the X-warriors and member of the New Avengers.  
'Nikki.' I nodded at her.  
She gave me a hug before backing off again.  
'You have some explaining to do.' Luke folded his arms.  
We were at central park, neutral territory.

'What do you want to know Luke?'  
'Let's start of with you being in Tony Stark's team.'  
'Money, pure and simple.' I answered. It was true. partially anyways, nothing is simple concerning my life anymore.  
'Money, you gave up your ideals for money?' Nikki gasped. I nodded.  
'My children need food, clothes, allowance Nikki, and with me being un-employed, my hands were tight.'  
'Because you were slam drunk almost every day perhaps?' Luke interrupted.  
'You try losing your wife Cage, then we'll talk.' I glared at him.  
'Well seems you got over it, since your sleeping with Jessica Drew again and life at Stark's finest tower.'  
'Who said I'm over it?'  
Luke was going to throw mud again, but Nikki held his arms, calming him down.  
'George, we need you, both of the X-warriors and the Avengers.'  
'We only want to try and help George, you just keep pushing us away.' Luke said calmly.  
'Guys, this is where my life is going, I'm sorry, but I don't need help right now, this is something I need to cope with myself.'  
'is that why you send Matt Murdoch to us?' Nikki placed her hands on her hips.  
'Woah, I thought that was just a rumour, damn George, how did you do that?'  
I grinned. ' Persuasion.'  
'And what about Moon knight?'  
'What about Moon knight,?' I asked. The hell she meant abou Marc 'crazy' Spencer I had no idea.  
'Didn't you invite him in the group?' She blinked at me.  
'No, only Daredevil.' I replied.  
Nikki shrugged.  
My watch went, another emergency.  
'I have to go guys.' Before they could say anything I ported.

'Female, Caucasian, early 20-ties, death by a trauma on the head, followed by mauling post mortem, subject's womb seems to be missing.' The homicide detective reported to me.  
'Sounds familiar?'  
I nodded. 'Pretty damn sure…'  
I heard somebody throwing up behind me. I remember my first on field autopsy, didn't sleep for days.  
'Think one of those things are out there?' the detective asked, lighting up a cigarette.  
'Or something like it….'  
Damn it, she was just two blocks away from Hope House.  
'Iron man set up guards around the house, making sure nobody gets attacked like her.' He exhaled the smoke. 'Don't think it'll help much though.'  
'Any imports from the savage land came in today?'  
The detective shoke his head. &*$%# , there goes a potential trail.

I stood up, looking at the detective.  
'Any other cases like this?'  
'One in Queens, two in Harlem.'  
'I'll look into this….'  
'What about the Avengers, think they'll help?'  
'Doubt it….' I replied. 'But I can assure you I will.'

'You want what?!'  
First time Tony Stark shouted at me ever since he hired my services.  
'I need to go to the savage land, need to find out where these things come from.'  
'You know entering the Savage land is prohibited by now George, Washington will have a field day when they found out the avengers went there to solve a murder case.'  
'Several murder cases Stark.' I glared. ' and this latest one was near Karrie's place.' I threw the files on his desk. 'And I didn't say anything about the Avengers, if I have to work solo so be it.'  
Tony paused, looking at the files. 'What if they find you?'  
'Tell your bosses I went rogue on this one, I don't care, you're a futurist.'  
I saw him thinking, weighing off the possibilities.  
'How much time do you need?'  
I grinned. 'Give me a four hour window.'  
'Four hours?'  
'By then I probably wrapped up this entire case.'  
He nodded.  
'Tomorrow morning you can go, I need to pull some strings first so the satellites…will 'un-operable- for a while.'  
'Thanks.' I turned to leave.  
'what does this get under your skin George, people die in New York every 5 seconds and they're hundreds of murders each week, why does this one involve you?'  
I stopped, how could he have not figured it out by now.  
'I want to finish what I started Stark.'

I toke Jessica out that evening, been a while since I 'joined' the team. We went to the Italian restaurant she always liked. We talked for a bit, mostly about the weather and the current crisis, until she finally popped the question.  
'Heard your going to the Savage land tomorrow..'  
I sipped my drink, nodding.  
'Alone?'  
'How did you find out, used your pheromones to influence Stark?'  
'George…' she grinned. ' I was a detective to once, I know stuff.'  
'Plus it helps if you use pheromones.'  
'And offcourse when I use pheromones…'  
'You used pheromones didn't you?'  
'Stop avoiding the question.'  
Damn, this woman is smart.  
'Yes alone.'  
'Don't you trust me George?'  
'Jess…these things attack women, rip their guts out, last thing I want is brining you in in what would be called 'a suicide run'. '  
'I can take care of myself.' She glared, pulling her hand away from mine.  
'Don't care, your not going.'

Remember that saying about a woman scorned? I can guaranty it's true.

'Your holding me down George, every time we went on a mission you hold me down because I could get hurt.'  
'That's-'  
'It's true George, if it wasn't you would've asked me by now.'  
'I just don't want anyone except myself to get hurt.'  
'Why, working alone can get you killed!'  
We started to make a scene, people started looking.  
'Calm down Jess.' I tried to calm her down.  
'No George I wont, I'm not like her, I wont get killed!'  
Right there, she hit me right where it hurt the most.  
She gasped.  
'I'm sorry George, i-'  
I just paid the bill and left, leaving her alone.

She was right though, Kimberley's death kept playing in my head over and over and over…  
Pills and alcohol didn't make me forget, even in a coma I wouldn't forget.  
I toke a large sip of a beer bottle before throwing it in the distance into the Hudson river.  
Beer, the only person who wouldn't hurt me physically….well ok, I'll lose a few brain cells, not like I need em though.  
A woman screaming. Hero up time.  
I summoned my sword and costume and ported in. There it was, exactly the same creature like before, only shorter, more wicked looking.  
He was inches away from biting the woman's neck when I jabbed my sword in it's back.  
'Lunch hours are over mother *!$!' I kicked it away.  
The woman was shocked, damn, she wouldn't be moving any time soon. Before it could charge me or her again I ported her to a nearby hospital.  
It roared, like it didn't feed for days.  
'Boohoo, get your food elsewhere, MacDonald's is closed.'  
I ported the thing to the rooftops, slashing and kicking away. It fought savagely, like a animal with bloodlust, fighting it's prey. This $## would be the hunted this time.  
'What's wrong, not used to your prey fighting back, Jurrasic Park reject!' I jabbed my sword between it's eyes. Why didn't it die then?

The thing kept trying to get away, didn't even once try to bite me. It wounds healed instantly, this thing was though. It finally started to attack me, although he still moved way to slow.  
Tried to cut it's head off, but the scales kept my sword from penetrating it in deep, not a easy feat knowing my sword is tougher then adamantium.

I only had one last trick up my sleeve.  
I placed my hand on the monster, grinning. 'Going up!'  
I ported it and myself 500 feet in the air.  
'Going down!' I kicked it off me, watching it fall whilst I used my powers to slowing mine.  
When it hit the ground, leaving a large gap in the road, I ported in front ofit, jabbing my sword in it's gut.  
'Your offci-'

Things started to blur, first the sound, then movement, then my surroundings. The world was spinning around me, no idea what happened.  
When I came back to, I was surrounded by those creatures and a large person in the shadows.  
'Haa mister Gargan, I was expecting you…'

TBC  
What happened previously: Time-warrior is a mess, both physically and emotionally.  
He lost his wife three months ago, his job in 2 and his children last month. Given up his super hero existence he lived in solitude in his own home, living off booze and pain killers.  
Fearing his Rogue gallery will be to hard to handle, Tony stark drafted George into SHIELD, making him his secret agent. Although he's having a good relationship going with Jessica Drew (Spider-woman) George is far from stable, as such Tony is willing to play his last card….George re-joining the Avengers.  
His first mission with the avengers was taking out a large Savage land dinosaur who needed genetic information to survive, seeing this is as something that could prove fatal in the future George started to look into this subject more.  
A few days later several related murders to the ones committed by the dinosaur popped up all over Ny, confirming George's suspicions.  
But because of Norman Osborn's growing influence, Tony is forced to disband George's investigation.  
After a frustrating argument with his girlfriend, George teleported away, blowing off steam.  
Whilst he ported he found a smaller version of the dinosaur, fighting it. But after defeating the creature he is teleported by someone to his/her hideout.

The stench of dead surrounded me, I could see the blood on their teeth, their paws.. they were busy, they were feeding.  
Didn't take long to figure out I was in the savage land, the jungle and dinosaur cries sorta gave it away. We were outside in the jungle, but the guy who brought me here in some kind of ship…  
He wasn't human, his eyes betrayed a feral intelligence.  
He must've been human in a previous time, for he could speak and wore a white doctor's jacket.  
'Allow me to introduce myself…' he said, stepping into the light.  
Dinosaur man came to mind, stegosaurus man to be exact.  
'My name is-'  
I already knew.  
'Doctor Vincent Stegron I presume…' I kept my hand on my sword.  
'You have heard of me, good.'  
'You should be in jail.'  
'I have to thank the Skrull for that, see during their invasion I was able to escape, I hijacked one of their ships and flew back to my old home…'

Damn those skrulls, nobody knew, or still knows, how many bad guys escaped from their prisons during the invasion.  
'So you're the one behind the serial killings?'  
'You are the detective, you tell me mister Gargan.'  
It made sense. Dinosaurs, genetics, Skrull tech have teleportation technology…  
'Still don't know why you bother with New york.'  
'Simple, the teleportation co ordinates are stuck on New York, so I can only send my children to your city.'  
'Your children….boy your *%#$ up.'  
'That is what they all said to the great minds Mister Gargan, but they…they are the next step in human evolution.'  
I grinned. ' Thought that was the mutant race.'  
'They were, until M-day offcourse, but no matter, out with the old and in with the new I always say, and speaking of which..'  
He snapped his fingers, the ground below me rumbling. Out of the trees came a big T-rex, genetically modified no doubt.  
'I expected you to come here Mister Gargan, hence I toke some pre cautions…' Stegron grinned.  
'Dude, spidey jobs you three times a year, you need more then a army of overgrown extinct lizards to be even a challenge to me.'  
'Not just them offcourse…' he snapped again. I could feel it, my power draining. $##, he probably had a mutate here somewhere.  
'Now my children….feast, eat your fill!' he cried out, all of them charging at me.

Jaws with red teeth, paws scratching away bits and pieces of my armour. I had trouble with just one with my FULL powers, how in the hell could I take on all of these with barely 25 %?  
I stabbed and ported away, just in time of the T-rex's jaws.  
One thing at a time, need to find the person responsible for the power fading.  
Lucky I could stop time still, giving me enough time to find the culprit, I grinned when I saw him…or her to be exact.  
I think I saw her before…yes, when I came over to the savage land the first time with the Avengers, thought Jessica…Veranke killed her.  
Dinosaurs were on the move again, they saw me, and that mutate me.  
I used it to my advantage.  
I kept porting around her, the dinosaurs closing in. Closer, a little closer….

I ported in front of her.  
'Hey sweetcheeks!' I punched her in the face.  
She growled at me, but before she could say anything I ported again, just in time.  
I could remember her scream when the dinosaurs had her. I could hear them clawing and biting her guts out, her cries fading until I could only hear the munching sound..  
I'll never forget her cries….ever.

Stegron shouted, screamed even. She must've been his lover, made sense since there were no other mutates.  
He leaped, throwing and punching his children away, holding what's left of his lover's corpse.  
For a moment that horrific scene took me back, back to that day on the ship….Kimberley…

I was a sucker for taking that hit, he was angry, furious.  
'You killed her, YOU KILLED Her!' he shouted.  
'And you killed pregnant women you son of a $#*$!%!' I stabbed my sword in his gut, kicking him away.  
It was a bloody fight, just me and him.  
We both lost blood, we both had injuries, but we never backed down, never let the other gain a advantage.  
God knows how long we fought each other. Finally both of us collapsed. Iexpected the dinosaurs to finish me off….but somehow they didn't.  
They weren't anywhere around us, as if they fled..

We were miles away from the ship, flames came from that direction, and fighting as well I heard.  
Stegron crawled up, grabbing me by my throat.  
'Your death will have no scientific use…' he glared at me with his cold eyes. ' But it will be quite Full-'  
he cried out, dropping me. Green lightning hit him square in the back. He passed out, revealing the slender form of Spider-woman.  
'George!' I heard her calling my name before I passed out.

I felt her holding me for a moment. Doctors say I was out for 4 days. When I came to, I could see Jessica was at my side, fallen asleep.  
'Jess….' I said faintly, my throat hurting.  
She woke up, smiling, bursting out in tears. ' George!' she held me hard.  
'Aw aw, pain, ouch!' I cried out in pain, she backing off immediately.  
'Sorry…'  
'It's allright…' I kissed her gently. 'What happened hun?'

She told me everything. How Tony found me on SHIELD satellites aimed at the savage land, Stegron's children being killed by the Mighty avengers, Ares had a good time I heard, and stegron himself was brought to the negative zone prison.  
The killings stopped and New york was safe…for a bit.

Me and Jessica made up….lots of times. We went on a few dates, kicked some hydra &*! , watched a movie, kicked more &*!, had some tender loving. Tender…there were complaints, even Ares complained of the noise, and he can sleep through a atom bomb.  
But I knew my actions had consequences.

I could see Karrie leaving Tony's office concerned. I don't know about you, but people who are about to be married shouldn't look like that when leaving one's presence.  
So I went in.  
'George…' Tony said calmly, looking at the streets of New York below.  
'Stark…'  
'You know what's going on?'  
I nodded. Norman Osborn's influence grew immensely, he presented plans to the President to make a new agency to replace SHIELD if needed….  
He called it HAMMER, and even had his own list of Avengers to fight for him and America.  
They used my trip to the savage land, despite me having saved dozens of lives by doing so, as a advantage to get more respect from the President.  
'What now George…?' he asked me. ' What am I going to do?'  
'Endure Stark….endure the heat, and when the time is right, take the opportunity'  
He looked back at me, his eyes in line with mine. 'And when is that time George, the President is having serious debates around this subject.'  
'You're the futurist Stark, you have plans B to Z filed up in that mind of yours….'  
Tony nodded, looking back at the streets below.

As for me, I had my own plan B. I knew most people on Osborn's 'Dark Avenger's' list as I dub them. I told Jessica, Luke and Nikki about them to.  
I told them to prepare.  
'Prepare for what?' they all asked me.  
'Prepare for a Dark Reign…'

The end  
My name is Time-Warrior, the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds. I'm a detective, super hero, agent of SHIELD (not for long) , Avenger, former X-warrior and current idiot who goes for some at last second Christmas shopping.  
Haven't seen my children in months, so I only had one chance to make it right. A Video game console, not hard to get right?  
After 5 stores across New York I was starting to get desperate, and this was the last one still open.  
And again it's busy and crowded.  
'Out of the way old timer!' some kid pushed me aside, going in the store as well.  
Kids these days….  
Let's just hope they have a Wii left there, or else i'm going to kill someone…

******************************************

'Out of the way old timer!' I grinned at that old guy, pushing him aside. Don't have time for politeness, get in, grab the goodies and get out.  
Name's Robert van de Heuvel, but you can call me Punch liner, the coolest Young X-men of them all. Yes even cooler then Santo the rockslide.  
Since it was Christmas and a certain somebody didn't do the shopping, , they asked good ol' Robby to fly to New york and buy a Wii for the folks back in San Francesco.  
Ah, finally, the Nintendo side of the store. Now to find the Wii I thought to myself.  
But just when you think you have what you need, BOOM, some fat lady appears with her ten ton behind.

'Out of the way lady, your causing a traffic here!'  
She turned around , glaring at me. ' What did you say?'  
'I'm saying your Girth is having it's own gravity miss and it's drawing me to you.'  
One thing about fat people, they can run fast.  
Now I had no idea how those people could make room for us all of a sudden, but I'm sure the massive ten tonner and her family behind me was a good motivation.  
'Out of the way, I'm in a Indiana Jones movie!'  
When you heard people laugh, you know your on a new level of humour. That day I heard chuckles and giggles, so I was on that level ever so briefly.

The lights flicker on and off, the place is rumbling, guys with guns appearing. That can mean only two things.  
One, your on the set of the latest Die Hard movie, or your being attacked by anti mutant zealots.  
'In the name of the Lord, reveal yourself to our righteous holy weapons mutant demon!'  
Why is the never the 1st option….  
The people created a stampede, pushing and shoving everyone aside to get outside. Cant blame em, in New York everything always turns out in a big super hero fight.  
Their leader appeared, having a large gun and robes of a priest. Guy like him made me a atheist. I was going for Scientology but I was to poor for that, damn thé financial status!

'On the celebration of our lord saviour we must be ever vigilant of the mutant threat, for they are to commit their villainous deeds to harm the innocent!' he blared.  
'Dude, did anyone tell you you're a hypocrite?!' I launched my fist in his gut faster then…something fast.  
'There is the mutant, kill him!' the others cried out, shooting their lasers at me. Thankfully ly powers allow me to launch myself as if flying, so those dudes couldn't hit me for miles.  
'Cant touch this!' I bowled them all over, grinning. ' Hammer ti-'  
Somebody knocked me down and held me there. Note to self, always keep your eyes open.  
I looked up, the tentacles of one of those Reavers holding me down.  
'If Doctor Octopus saw you, he would be very pissed at you dude!'  
'Silence mutant scum!'  
'Your saying that because you cant pay copyright!'  
'I said silence!' he hit me square in the face, damn that hurt!  
'Silence sound good…'

He held me up, making sure I couldn't move or use my limps, making sure I saw her coming. Freaky Asian Cyborg Lady Deathstrike.

'Seems our stake out on this place wasn't a waste after all…' she grinned at me. Where were Dust, Mercury of crazy X-23 when you need them?  
Well Dust was still pissed at me for calling her a mobile dishwasher, Mercury slapped me for kissing her under the mistletoe without her permission and Laura….yah…Laura. She'll gut  
me.  
'Weren't you dead?' I asked, spitting the blood away.  
'I cannot die until Revered Stryker's dream comes to fruitation…and that dream will begin with you, mutant spawn.'  
Her claws were inches away from my face.  
'Any last words?'  
Before i could say anything, I heard a man scream for his life, only to be abruptly ended.  
His body fall down in front of me and Deathstrike.  
We all looked up, me smiling when i recognised the Super hero with his sword.  
'Some way to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ eh Yuriko?' Time-warrior  
grinned.

******************************************

Some way to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ eh Yuriko?' I grinned.  
'Long time no see Mister Gargan, heathen as you may be.'  
'Rather a heathen and friend to mutants then Doctor octopus over there.' I glanced around the environment. I saw what the kid could do, so he could help me.  
'Thought X-23 killed you?'  
'No mutant can kill me.' She grinned.  
'Well then…' I ported then ,jabbing my sword in her chest. ' Let'ssee what good ol' &%#$ sapien can do then!'  
I slashed the Doc's tentacles away, setting the kid free.  
'Now my version of 'I want to be free!' the kid flew off, punching and kicking the soldiers around us.  
'What's your name kid?' I slashed at Deathstrike.  
'They call me El Capitano Magnifico the 14th, but you can call me Punchliner!' he flew by.  
'Who are you, other then a annoying #!*#*?'  
'I'm a X-men, well one of the young ones.'  
'The X-belt does kind of give it away doesn't it?' I asked, kicking her away.  
'Kinda, but it's a good belt!' he proclaimed, finishing off the last ones.  
'You will never stop us, God's will will be-'  
I punch her square in the face. 'Shut up!'  
What did Logan ever see in this crazy chick? Must've been his Asian fetish thing working for him.  
One more slash and she was down for the count. With the police sirens in the background it wasn't a moment to soon.  
'You all right kid?'  
He was gasping for air. 'Yeh…peachy….and I'm a big fan of peach.'  
I grinned, throwing over a bag of mine to him.  
'Here's the Wii your looking for.'  
'isn't it 'This isn't the Wii your looking for?' '  
'Star Wars fan?'  
'And proud of it!' he exclaimed. ' Thanks, but how do-'  
'I'm a detective, I know stuff.'

I grabbed my bags. 'I'll see you later kid, give Summer's my regards, but not really.' With that I  
ported.

******************************************

Afte  
r a 15 minute flight I came back to San Francesco, where my good buddy Santo was waiting for me.  
'Hello Rock guy you.' I came inside.  
'Saw you on the news with Time-Warrior, Miss Frost is pissed at you.' Santo grinned, leaning on the wall.  
'Oh…..well that wasn't me.'  
'Then who was it?'  
'A skrull pretending to be me?' I placed the Wii, wrapped offcourse, under the tree with the other presents.  
'Whatever, anyways you kicked some &*! there, I'm impressed.'  
'Impressed by the great Santo Vaccarro, I'm not worthty, I'm not worthy!'  
'You must've been scared I take it, I tangled with her once y'know.'  
'Me, Robert Van de Heuvel scared? I am never scared!'  
'Robert van de Heuvel!'  
'AAARGH!' i cried out in fear, looking behind me.

There she was, Cessily Kincaid. Aka Mercury. Silver skinned body, red hair, wonderful if worrisome personality…girl of my dreams.  
'You've almost gotten yourself killed!'  
Worry Cess now.  
'Hey Cess, it's me, I don't get killed that easily.'  
'You don't know that!' she pointed out.  
We both paused, looking at Rockslide, who sat watching tv.  
'Santo, don't you have anything else to do?' She asked, hands on her hips.  
'Not really…Grey's anatomy is on in 5 minutes.'  
'Santo….'  
'Aw come on, it's the Christmas special!'  
'Santo…'  
Rockslide paused, then left the room.  
'This sucks….' He proclaimed.

'As for you…' she glared at me.  
'What if I told you it was a Skrull?'  
'Rob…'  
'I mean it's pos-'  
She kissed me, one of the best kisses I had in my 18 year existence.  
Stil weird though, I mean, I was kissed by a Mercury skinned girl with red hair and has the same powers like that evil robot from Terminator 2.  
She backs away and there was only one thing I could say.  
'Wow….'  
'Don't want to lose you to Robert…'  
I know what she meant, we buried to many friends already.  
'Your not going to lose my Cess, I promise.' I lifted up her chin. 'You want to be my girlfriend?'  
She smiled and nodded.  
Best Christmas EVER.

******************************************

It's been a few months since I last saw this house. My brain told me to run away, my heart skipped a few beats, sweat everywhere.  
Should I do this, Shouldn't I do this?  
I sighed, wanting to turn around and leave.  
The door opened, the sound of small children in the background.  
'Daddy?'  
Maria!  
I turned to see her, my daughter leaping in my arms. I held her close to me, almost crying.  
'Dad!' I heard Robert yelling, running towards me to.  
'George?' Daniel, my brother I law, came outside to see me. 'Is that you, are you back?!'  
Despite everything, he still was family to me.  
'Don't go daddy.' She sobbed. 'Please don't go.'  
'I wont sweety…' I smiled, going inside with my children. 'I wont.'

The end  
My name is Time-Warrior, the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds.  
I was a detective once, and the skills I learned during those days still help me today.  
Such as knowing how a domino effect is being put to place and know which domino falls before anybody else can figure it out.  
I knew the aftermath of the Secret Invasion wasn't over by just rebuilding. It took months, but it finally happened…Osborn took his chance.  
And here we were, SHIELD being disbanded, Nick Fury going underground again and HAMMER being founded in Thunderbolt mountain.

'George…we need to talk.'  
Jessica Drew, Spider-woman. Current, soon to be ex, girlfriend. We both felt it coming several days ago.  
'I know what your going to say Jess…I understand.'  
She nodded. Both of us didn't want to be in this relationship anymore, nor did we plan any future together. She was there to help me out of my depression, and now my depression is, almost, gone…there is nothing left to hook us up again.  
'Not just that…..this.'  
She gave me a piece of paper with the new HAMMER logo on it.  
I read it's contents, my anger taking claim of me.  
'Who said yes to this?' I asked in a calm tone.  
'Ares and Bob…' Jessica replied.  
'Jess…I need to ask you a favour.'

Thirty minutes later I wait for her in my trench coat near a back alley of queens. You can lose anyone in this alley, including Osborn's spies if he employed them yet or not.  
'Why did you call for me George?'  
A woman with long blonde hair and sunglasses walked up to me alongside jess, both wearing their coats aswell.  
Carol Danvers, .

'You got the note from Osborn?' She nodded.  
'Then we don't have much time ladies…we need to bust a move now.'  
Both blinked at me. ' Bust a move?'  
'I know where this is going. Osborn being head of Homeland Security, HAMMER, now this Avenger's idea…'  
'What are you saying George?' Jessica asked.  
'We need to go underground, right this instant.'  
'Are you nuts?!' Carol exploded. ' We have friends up that Tower!'  
'Your friends are ether being inducted by the Green goblin to become his little puppets or to busy with their own problems to give a damn.' I sharply interrupted. ' You two are the only people I trust in that tower, whom I'm sure of wont follow Osborn's or Tony's commands.'

Tony asked us to either join Norman's ideas or stay out of his way. Being the futurist he is, he saw this coming to. I knew he would not give up the names of all unregistered heroes.  
Norman would fry him for that. Having Osborn at charge would play into the hands of many…we had to make a movement against him.  
'Underground….' Carol murmured.  
'This isn't registering anymore people, this is the beginning of a new reign, a dark reign, this might be the one where us Heroes can and WILL lose against the villains unless we act fast.'  
'Aren't you exaggerating a bit?' Jessica intervined. ' Your acting like this is the end of the world.'  
'It is to a large extent Jess. Face it, Hammer will hunt down EVERY super hero, every vigilante, even every super villain who Norman didn't see eye to eye to.'  
I pointed to them both. 'You are part of those groups, and the only way to survive is to become villains ourselves.'  
'Think Luke will take us in?'  
I nodded. 'He never had anything against you Carol, nor to you Jess, if you move now you can catch up to him.'  
I gave them the address I knew Luke and his Avengers would move out of soon.  
'You've got 47 minutes to get there.'  
'What about you?' asked me.  
'I know where I can find you, I'll be there after I finished taking care of business.'  
The two women nodded and left.  
My cell phone rang, I picked it up, knowing already who's ringing.  
'Gargan.'  
'George, it's Karrie. Remember we talked about the Ulanga a few days ago? Best toss some wood into the boiler Gargon.'  
Code offcourse, no doubt her phone was being tapped off.  
'Got it.' I shut it off.

Back at Stark Tower I gathered my belongings.  
'Planning on moving Master Gargan?' Jarvis inquired.  
'Just going on a holiday Jarvis.' I assured the butler.  
He glanced at my suitcase.  
'A Long holiday?'  
I nodded.  
'Oh well, another person less to take care of I guess..' he sighed.  
'I'l be back soon Jarv.' I grinned, patting his shoulder.' And I promise you'll wash my underwear in no time soon.'  
'A delightful thing to look out for Master Gargan.'  
British humour, you have to love it.

On the way to the elevator my heart rate spiked when I saw who came out of it. Norman Osborn.  
'Aaah Mister Gargan, long time no see.'  
Same here $$##.  
'Mister Osborn, I believe Tony hasn't lost the trial yet?'  
The trial was to begin 3 hours later in Washington, no idea why he was wasting time here in New York.  
'It is not a trial, more of a …hearing.' Norman grinned. You could expect him to cackle any given moment.  
'What do you want?'  
'I came for you actually, have you received my note?'  
I nodded.  
'What do you think of it, a honest proposal isn't it?'  
'The Mighty Avengers are still part of the fifty state initiative and America's top super hero team Osborn, I don't plan on leaving on them yet.'  
'Like you planned not to leave your Avengers team or your OWN team?'  
One small punch, one small punch and I would be in jail.  
'Besides Ares and the Sentry saw a future in my team.'  
'Your team is made up by homicidal maniacs and desperate people Osborn, that includes Ares and Sentry.'  
'Aren't you desperate Mister Gargan?' Osborn inquired. ' Your brother in law does need money to raise your children, doesn't he?'  
'He can manage for a while…' I replied coldly. I looked to his right, my eyes almost popping out of my eye sockets. How could I not seen him before?  
'Daken?'  
Daken didn't reply.  
'You asked Wolverine' son to join your avengers?'  
'He came to me actually…'  
I glared at the former Green goblin.  
'I don't know what game your playing Osborn, but I'm not going to be on your side in it.'  
'Who says your not playing on my side already Mister Gargan?'  
I let him be, walking past Daken.  
'Your mother would be VERY proud of you Daken…'  
Poor Nikki….

I knocked on the apartment door, waiting for the person to open up.  
'Coming, coming…' I heard him grumble, opening up.  
'George?!' a nerdy little man looked up at me. Jack Hammer, the Weasel.  
'Long time no see Jack.' I came in placing my suitcase in the guest room. ' I need your place to crash in.'  
'Why here?!' Weasel pancked. ' Why not at the Howlett Mansion, or Stark Tower, Or your own place?!'  
Weasel just came back from a adventure with Karrie and Wade. Hence he's not to happy of having me in.  
'I don't want to get Nikki in danger, and I just came from Stark Tower.' I put on my Time-warrior suit.  
' Oh god…this because Mister Osborn is getting to power.'  
I slipped on my gloves. ' Yup.'  
I strapped my sword on my back, slapping Weasel on his shoulder.  
'Don't wait up.' I grinned, porting away.

I stood on a rooftop near the Senate in Washington Dc. Near 11.00 am, good, right on time.  
I could see Norman ranting to Tony and Karrie. A old man was giving his blessing, tony and Karrie kissing each other lovingly. My que.  
I ported toward the building, using my sword and fists to take out, not kill mind you, the guards.  
I imagined the room where Tony was in, porting towards it.  
'Hang on Pookie, the Queens about to go over the rapids' I heard Karrie saying faintly.  
She got her timing right, I love it when a plan comes together.  
I appeared in the room, all camera's locked on me.  
I kicked Norman Osborn over, grabbing the two newly weds by their collars.  
'Train's leaving, all aboard!' I shouted, porting  
away.

********************************************************

How dared he to foil our plans, how dared he to stop our grand designs. Time-warrior, the menace, the bane of my existence. Fighting to protect these pathetic humans with their worthless lives….The irony of it all is.  
'Director Osborn has given the green light….let them go.'  
They are willing to free us to catch him.  
I am the Over Seer, a powerful being of a other dimension, last time I saw the Time wielding warrior I was stopped…but now, with these three, nothing can stop us!  
The clown cackles, his knives close to him. The old frail human looked sickly green, grinning to the sight to see Time-warrior die and be his slave. The Dark human received the guns off the ones imprisoning us gladly.  
'That mother will get his &*! pumped full of lead…' I heard him say.  
'Our vengeance will be sweet Clock busters…' I hissed, my large reptilian form coming out of the dark chamber we all were held in.  
'Today, Time-warrior WILL die…..'

TBC


	35. Dark Time Warrior pt2

**Dark Time Warrior: Part 2**

What happened previously: Dark Reign has begun and all over the Marvel universe super heroes run and hide. Time-warrior being one of them. Having seen Osborn's rise of power coming, George warned his team-mates on the Mighty Avengers to either join Osborn or join up with the New Avengers.  
After having found a nice hide out, George helped Tony Stark and his new bride Karrie Stark/Gabriel escape from a trial. But that only angered Osborn and decided to create a team to capture and TERMINATE Time-Warrior…they are called the 'Clock Busters'.

My name is Time-warrior, the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds, and if you asked me two days ago I would risk my neck saving Tony Stark and his wife to be from a trial, I would've punched you in the face and get a life. Looks like I would've offered you my apologies now.  
I ported them to Karrie's place, letting them be when they started arguing. I had my own things going, and i was pretty sure my sudden intervention at Washington would have consequences.

'Two victims, Mark Tranchester, male 36, Jean Tranchester, female 24.' The officer said, looking down on the two bodies. The Sheriff sighed and nodded, he knew these two. Good people.  
'Looks like homicide and suicide sir.' The officer spoke up, pointing to the deceased man, who held a gun, and the woman who got shot in the head, laying flat on her stomach.  
Mark, the man;, loved his wife to bits, and although they had financial problems, both were un-employed, he would never take his own life or her like this.  
The Sheriff, Max was his name, scratched the back of his head, nodding.  
'You lock up, I'll look a bit further.' Max said, putting his hat back on.  
'You sure sir?'  
The sheriff nodded, looking at the bodies until the officer left.  
'What do you think?' he asked, seemingly talking to nobody.  
I stood next to him, kneeling to expect both bodies.  
'They were both killed.' I concluded.  
I pointed to the gun. ' That is a high priced assassination weapon, knowing the victims financial status he could not have been able to buy a weapon like this.'  
Then to the woman. 'She was running away, toward the door, why would you be running if you can talk him down?'

Max and I go back. He and I as Tw worked on a homicide case which got solved and he promoted, we worked together several times until he and his family moved to this Texas town where crime and homicide rates were extremely low, hence he asked for my help. He knew something was fishy.  
He was lucky I was in Iowa dropping of the Starks, or else I would've been to deep in New York to port to Texas.

'Maybe she did run away after she tried a few times?' Max asked.  
'Not if the husband got shot first.' I pointed out to his skull. 'that bullethole is colder then the one in that woman's chest.'  
Max gasped. ' I knew it, but who would kill this couple, they had nothing of value?'  
I shrugged, standing up. ' I'm still working on that one…any other relatives?'  
'They have a son. nobody seen him, he isn't at school, nor in the vicinity..'  
'Mind if I look around?'  
Max shoke his head. ' Make it fast though, coroner will be here soon.'

I went upstairs, looking for any leads. Each moment I expect the Thunderbolts barging in, arresting me. Part of me was wondering why i would help Max with the government after me, again.  
Then again, he saved my life once against the Punisher, don't ask, so I owed him a favour.  
A blue room, action figures, super hero comics, defiantly the son's room.  
I walked in, looking around.  
A feint sound of somebody moving. I turn around, looking at the closet. I open it, then a second door…..  
'Please, don't hurt me..' the boy whimpered.  
Eight years old, male, looks like both victims.  
'Don't worry.' I smile, kneeling so we could see eye to eye. ' I'm not here to hurt you.' I offered my hand.  
'Are the bad men gone?'  
Bad men, so there were several here. I nodded slowly.  
The boy slowly toke my hand.  
I toke him out of the closet gently. 'What's your name kid?'  
'Jonas mister..' he whimpered.  
'Who were the bad men Jonas, did you see them?'  
The boy nodded slowly. I didn't want to bother him, but I had to ask before the shock got over, thus erasing any trails.  
'Four bad men….' He said. ' one laughed, one was tall, other old, other monster…'  
Monster?' A monster?'  
The boy nodded. ' big man hurt daddy, then mummy.'  
Poor kid. I was about to call Mark when he looked scared.  
'They're here, I can hear them!'  
Hear them? How can he

CRASH

A clown jumps in the window, knives out.  
'Hello time-warrior.' He giggled. Mister giggles.  
I slashed my sword at him, him falling back outside.  
'Hurry kid!' I grabbed Jonas, porting him to Max.  
'what on earth?!' Max muttered, grabbing his pistol.  
'Get him to a safe place Max hurry!' I shouted, porting them two blocks away.  
The wall collapsed, Over Seer and Mark Rexton coming in, Mark shooting his guns at me.  
'Die mother *!$!!!' he shouted.  
I rewinded the bullets, neither of them hurting both of em. The *$#%# was going on here?!!  
Old Frank entered the front door, sending undead dogs at me, the hell did he get dogs from?!!  
'Kill the Time-Warrior!' over seer shouted, slashing at me with his giant claws.  
I blocked them with my sword, porting above him, jabbing my sword in his chest.  
'What are you, Loser Squad?!' I shouted, porting outside the house.

The house virtually exploded, the four emerging from them.  
'We are the Clock busters…' Over seer hissed.  
'Osborn freed us to kill you..' old Frank summoned his dogs.  
'At any cost.' laughed, getting back up from my slash.  
'So get ready to be pumped full with lead!' Mark Rexton shouted, firing again at me.  
Norman Osborn send these lunatics at me?! They already killed two people and they must've only been out for 48 hours.  
I dodged the bullets, severing the dog's head with it's body when it came to close. Giggles jumped in, trying to stab me with his knives.  
'Get those knives out of my face Krusty knock off!' I kicked him in the face, severing his arm. Knowing the $## he had it back on in a few minutes.  
Over seer jumped in, casting dark magic or powers at me. I Could hear my own heart beat starting to drop.  
A few seconds more and I would've had a heart attack.  
I used my powers to make it go faster, stabbing Over Seer in his face.  
Osborn was going to pay dearly for this!  
'Who thought finding a mutant would lead us to you?!' Over seer growled in pain.

Mutant, offcourse, that made sense. They must've been trying to recruit the boy, killing his parents to kidnap them, but how could he escape?  
I kicked the monster away, slashing the other dog down.  
Stab, slash, stab, port, rewind bullets…there were to many of them.  
'Why would Osborn ask you to kidnap that boy?!' I asked them, punching Mark in the face.  
'Who said Osborn had anything to do with it?' Old Frank grinned.

Ten minutes off the leash and already try off to follow their own agenda's. Need to get the kid to San Francesco, or New York, somebody to take care of him. Where was bloody Emma Frost if you needed her?!  
'You know how many of us are to take down one of you?!' Over seer tried to bite my head off.  
'The Starks are probably found already by them, you think we're the only super villain task force Mister Time-warrior?' Giggles cackled.  
'I wish I was with them, Mystique sure is one hot $#*$!% I wanna -'  
I punch Mark in the face, interrupting his sentence.  
I heard of the task forces. Mystique being part of one of em didn't surprise me.  
Logan would have a field day when I tell him, especially if I tell him if Daken is with her.

To many of them, to many civilians inside their houses.  
I give one big slash at Over Seer, porting away.  
'Oh chest nuts!' said disappointed.  
'After him!' Over Seer shouted.

A few minutes later I arrived at the safe house, seeing Mark already settled in with Jonas.  
'How is he?' I asked .  
'He's fine, bit shaken….'  
I look down at the boy, who has fallen asleep.  
'They are looking after me now.' I told Max, sitting down in front of him on the stool.  
'Did they kill the parents just to get to you?'  
I shrugged, who knew with those four?  
'They claim he is part of their agenda…knowing Over Seer, it cant be good.'  
'We cant keep hiding here.' Max pointed out.  
I nodded. ' I have friends in San Franseco, they can protect him.'  
Max is a smart cop on his own, he knew where I was getting to.  
'He's a mutant?'  
I nodded. 'Surprised the Purifiers didn't try to kill him yet.'  
'What are his powers,'  
'Don't think they manifested yet.' I replied. 'Hence he's a easy target.'  
Max nodded. 'But how do we get him there with those 'Clock Busters' around?'  
'Over Seer can track my teleport powers every time I use them, I'll lead them away from San Franseco, going to New York.'  
'Allright, but-'  
'I already called some friends of mine, they'll pick up Jonas when the plane arrives at San Franseco' I gave Max some money. 'I'll make those four pay for what they did to your friends.'  
Max nodded and wished me luck. Adding 'Kill those sons of %$%)#.'

I walked out of the house, stopping to see a piece of paper been drawn on. I smiled when I saw what Jonas drew. Me fighting the bad men. I hope Summers and Frost will keep that kid safe.

Mark flew the jet toward where I felt Time-warrior was. He kept moving, but no matter, we will find him sooner or later.  
No man can flee from my wrath!  
'Over Seer, Osborn is on the horn.' The old frail human said, putting it on screen.  
'Greetings Osborn…' I hissed.  
'I saw you failing miserably in Texas over Seer…' he glared. ' And I know you were acting on your own aswell.'  
We all cried in pain, damned electric shock bands! Those humans aren't fools after all.  
'You killed two civilians and tried to kidnap a mutant.' He glared. ' If I see you do that one more time, and Tw isn't killed in 24 hours, I will send you all to the Negative zone myself, got it?!' he shut off the monitor.  
'Damn that stings…hope the White $#*$!% better gets us what we want after this.'  
I nodded, hearing the incoming call.' Speaking of what you humans dare call a demon…'  
I opened the channel. 'Evening Miss Frost…'  
'Well done Gentlemen…' the blonde mutant female smiled. 'You send the boy to me one way or a other as instructed, for that you will receive a reward.'  
We all felt our, our powers growing. It felt as if we could take on a hundred Time-warriors and Osborn's.  
'Courtesy of Loki…' she smiled. ' Happy hunting.' She shut off the channel.  
Soon Time-Warrior, you will die….

TBC

Next: Time-Warrior returns to New York being followed by the Clock Busters, how will he make it against his powerd up foes? Find it next issue!  
New Avengers assemble!  
What happened previously: Dark Reign has begun and all over the Marvel universe super heroes run and hide. Time-warrior being one of them. Having seen Osborn's rise of power coming, George warned his team-mates on the Mighty Avengers to either join Osborn or join up with the New Avengers.  
After having found a nice hide out, George helped Tony Stark and his new bride Karrie Stark/Gabriel escape from a trial. But that only angered Osborn and decided to create a team to capture and TERMINATE Time-Warrior…they are called the 'Clock Busters'.  
On his way back to New York, a old friend of his called for aid on a homicide case, it didn't take Tw to figure out that the Clock busters did it to kidnap the son of the murderd victims.  
Tw saved the son and send him to san Franseco, where the X-men would protect and teach him to control his powers when they should manifest.  
Behind the scenes it was Emma Frost who told the Clock Busters to bring the child one way or a other to San Franseco, promising power to the villans.  
With the newly powerd up Clock Busters at his back, Tw tries to get to New York in time.

My name is Time-warrior, the man who can be nywhere in less then ten seconds, and now, my &*! was handed to me.  
'Kill him!'  
The Clock busters found me at a motel near New York, don't know how they found me since I ported at least 3 miles away from it and walked in the opposite direction.  
I barely had time to grab my sword and jabbed in the face.  
'Eat &*$%# and die!' Mark shouted, his guns multiplying by a hundred, hundred's of bullets coming at me. Don't know how, but these lot were stronger, way stronger then last time I fought them.

comes at me again, shredding half my armour away with his knives, Old Frank's minions, skeletons this time, rip off my helmet, crushing it with their bare hands.  
Overseer growled, lunching at me. I ported out of the motel room, to the other side of the road.  
Mark came out first, shooting his way toward me, not caring if people were nearby.  
I couldn't rewind them this time, taking cover behind a rock. How in the hell did they become so strong? I was a running duck for *$#%# sake.  
I popped my head out, cowering back behind the rock just in team before a bullet got me.  
Tried porting away, didn't work, seemed Over Seer had some kind of anti port shield spell cast.

'Your dead warrior, make your time!' Over seer shouted, sending Mr giggles and Old Frank at me.  
Well, if I was going out, I was going out with a bang.  
I'm coming Kimberley.  
I jumped from behind my rock, slashing the Clown and the zombies in ribbons, shouting my war cry.  
I don't know how, but it was like something toke over me, some sort of presence. I saw what I was doing, but couldn't stop myself.  
My sword entered and left bodies in less then 1 second, chopping off limbs and heads as if there was no tomorrow.  
Mark fired again, my left free hand raising up, rewinding the immediately,  
Mark fell down, blood coughing.  
Overseer lunched at me, but I jabbed my sword in it's gut, ripping him open.

When I came back to, I was surrounded by death, the Clock buster's laying dead before me. My body was covered in their blood. I noticed camera shots, photographing or filming me with cell phones, camera's ,whatnot..  
I heard a jet coming, one glance was enough for me to know these were back up troops for the Clock busters.  
I recognised several people in that jet.  
Mystique, apparently back from the dead, Daken, Moonstone, and a other guy…I've seen him before.  
Lucas Greenship, that's it, one of Karrie's pals.  
The jet landed near me, all of them coming out.  
'Seems you made quite a mess Mister Gargan.' Mystique grinned at me.  
'Not quite the one you made of your own home once Raven.' I snapped back, having my sword at the ready.  
Daken snikt his claws, wearing a Wolverine like costume.  
'Nikki would be so proud of you Daken.'  
'Shut up.' He glared.  
Moonstone looked over to the Clock Busters. 'Hm, seems those pathetic losers had what's coming to them.'  
Power in my sword came back, time to high tail or kick &*!.  
'Get him!' Lucas bellowed, meant it was kicking &*! time.  
I ported in front of him, kicking him in the face, my sword penetrating Daken's torso.  
Moonstone shot her beams at me, me barely able to dodge them. Raven joined in with her, her guns shooting at me.  
I rewinded the bullets, but each of em counter back by Lucas' guns. Woah, he was as good as Hawkeye or Bullseye for sure.  
Daken lunged in, blood lust in his eyes. I defended myself from the stabs, stabbing back at him, damn healing factor, Nikki and Logan trained him to well.

Raven slipped behind me, drawing a knife from her boot.  
'Down $#*$!%!' I shouted, punching her square n the face, porting to Moonstone, kicking her in the gut.  
'Stand still you stupid yank!' Lucas shouted.  
'I'm Belgian, read your reports fully first stupid brit!' I rewinded the bullets, him dodging them.

What I saw next disturbed me, as well as them, slowly but surely, the Clock buster's got up..and joined the attack on me.  
'He's mine!' Mark shouted first, shooting his guns at me again.  
joined in with Daken, trying to stab me.  
I was outta here before Overseer could cast that spell, so I ported, hear disappointment in anger in everyone's voices.

I landed near a pile of trash cans, landing smack in he middle of em.  
I groaned, getting up slowly, throwing the banana peel of my shoulder.  
'I hate life…' I muttered.

I walked toward the supposed new rendez vous point I found before I left New York.  
I stole a trench coat and a hat from a nearbye clothesline, leaving some money and a note behind, knocking on the apartments door.  
The spy hole opened first, then the door opend, revealing Carol.  
'George, is that you?!'  
'No, it's Mike Hammer…' I grumbled, going inside.  
'We saw on tv how you fought Osborn's cronies last night.' She commented, wearing her night gown still. I looked at the clock, 7 in the morning, geez…

'And what's that smell…' she sniffed, holding her nose.  
'You don't want to know…' I replied. ' Who else is in?'  
'Bucky , Luke and both Jessica's, the others are off.'  
I nodded. ' Think somebody will mind me using the shower?'  
'Well I-'  
'Thanks-' I grinned, going to the shower upstairs, rich guy's apartments, how I love thé.

I washed up, grabbing some clothes from Bucky's stash, going downstairs where Luke awaited me.  
We both stared at each other for a while, everybody else butting out.  
Finally, he smiled.  
'Toke you so long George?'  
'Had to finish some business elsewhere.' I shoke his hand.  
'Welcome back to the team bro.'  
'Thanks dude.'  
The Tv was on, a newsflash coming in. Spider-man, wolverine, wolverine, Ronin and Mockingbird fighting some of Hood's cronies.  
'And not a moment to soon.' Luke said. ' We got a costume ready foryou,you ready to be outlawed again?'  
'After my stunt at Wahsington…you bet.' Igrinned.

Ten minutes later I ported all of us to the fight scene, fighting the baddies with my old New Avenger friends.  
'Toke you so long bub?!' Logan grinned behind his mask, his claws cutting one of the bad guy's in the stomach.  
'You know me, always make a big entrance!' I cried, stabbing a other guy.  
'Good to have you back Gorge!' nikki smiled, joining with Wolverine.  
'Well glad your back.' Spidey webbed up a member of the wrecking crew, looking up to the sky. ' Because my spider sense is tingling A LOT!'  
I recognised the jet, the Clock busters jumping out, growling.  
'Who the hell are those guys,' Luke slammed a car into the Wrecker.  
'Clock Busters, they want to take me in for Osborn.' I replied truthfully.  
'Yeh, well I had clones.' Spidey hung upside down.  
I looked to my team, they were ready for a big brawl, and so was I.  
'Luke.' Captain America , Bucky, looked to the team. ' You ready for some Avenging?'  
'Boy am i!' spidey exclaimed.  
Bucky rose the shield. ' Avengers!' he cried out, the sun making the shield shine brightly.  
'ASSEMBLE!' he threw the shield, it slamming over seer in the face.  
We moved as one team, one whole, and for the first time in months..i felt I was home.

Emma Frost sat with Loki, looking to the battle on the monitor in sub basement nine in what was formerly known as Stark Tower.  
'They are falling…' Loki glanced at the screen. ' Not just your mortals, but mine aswell…'  
'They are not my mortals Loki…' Emma replied. ' They were pawns so i could find that child.'  
'You really think that child is the one who can return Asgard to me?'  
The white queen nodded. ' I am certain.' she replied.  
'Good….' Loki grinned, looking at Tw. ' He could be problematic…'  
'Don't worry, I'll make sure he wont be…' Emma grinned herself.

TBC  
What happened previously: Dark Reign has begun and all over the Marvel universe super heroes run and hide. Time-warrior being one of them. Having seen Osborn's rise of power coming, George warned his team-mates on the Mighty Avengers to either join Osborn or join up with the New Avengers.  
After having found a nice hide out, George helped Tony Stark and his new bride Karrie Stark/Gabriel escape from a trial. But that only angered Osborn and decided to create a team to capture and TERMINATE Time-Warrior…they are called the 'Clock Busters'.  
On his way back to New York, a old friend of his called for aid on a homicide case, it didn't take Tw to figure out that the Clock busters did it to kidnap Jonas, the mutant son of the murdered victims.  
Tw saved the son and send him to San Francesco, where the X-men would protect and teach him to control his powers when they should manifest.  
Behind the scenes it was Emma Frost who told the Clock Busters to bring the child one way or a other to San Franseco, promising power to the villains.  
After having fought off the Clock busters and the super villains who were tracking down the Starks, George ported himself to New York, reuniting with his old New Avenger allies.

My time is Time-Warrior, the man who can be anywhere in less then ten seconds. A few days ago I began running from the law again, being hunted down by my worst enemies.  
Luckily I got to New York in time, reuniting with my old friends, the New Avengers.  
Together we stopped the Hood from robbing a bank and my enemies. Some would call it a day then, but I never did…and never will.  
I began asking questions, especially since HAMMER hunted US, the good guys, instead of the villains.  
I grabbed , he is the easiest to crack, and gave him my version of water boarding. Time bending powers, a curse to some, a blessing to others…well mostly me.  
He gave me a name, I name I never would have considered popping up.  
Emma Frost, the white Queen, Co-leader of the X-men, and Cyclops's current girlfriend.

So there I was, standing in front of the current X-men head quarters.  
Logan and Nikki tried to call me off, saying I was just following a hunch, but whenI told them Daken and Mystique were working for Osborn, that Emma Frost had a connection with it all, hell, I barely could hold them.

Logan sniffed the air. 'she's in here, no students around fer miles.'  
Nikki sniffed as well, casting a small spell. 'None hidden ether, it's just her and Scott.'  
I grinned, 'Good.'  
I kicked the door open, walking inside.  
'George, we're here to talk, not to makea mess!' Nikki cried out.  
'We're talkin' bout my son and Raven here hun.' The feral mutant looked over to his mate. ' Course we can make a mess.'  
She grinned, Logan you lucky son of a $#*$!%.

We were in our normal clothing, trying not to get to much attention on the street. Less Frost knew the better. We walked up the stairs, Scott walking down.  
'I thought I heard something..' he said, crossing his arls. 'What do you want George?'  
'Where's Frost?' I glared.  
'Emma isn't here.' Cyclops replied.  
'&#*& summers, we can smell her.' Logan growled.  
'Why are you here Logan?' Cyclops looked to the X-man/Avenger. 'Shouldn't you be in New York being a Avenger, or going on vampire adventures?'  
'This involves Daken and Mystique Scott.' Nikki glared at Summers. 'And Emma knows more about it then you do.'  
'I'm sorry, but i-'

I stopped time for him, walking past him, Wolverine and Wolverina following me.  
'Nice trick.' Logan commented.  
'Thanks.' I replied.' Learned it a couple of days ago.'

We walked to the second floor, she was waiting for us there. Emma Frost, wearing her typical white robe who served as her costume. We found her going someplace, or just getting back from it. I believed the former, since Summers know she was still indoors.  
'Mister Gargan, Logan, Nikki.' She looked at all of us. 'On what do I hold this pleasure?'  
'We're here to find out why you gave my son to Norman Osborn.' Logan growled, snikking his claws.  
'Come again?'  
'Don't play dumb Frost.' I glared. 'We aren't telepaths, but we know you know something.'

Before she could say anything, Logan sniffed. 'We got company…'  
Indeed we did, for I could hear footsteps. When the lasers came at us, we were prepared.  
Hammer agents, shoot to kill command. Wolverine and Wolverina immediately jumped in the fray, satisfying their bloodlust.  
I cut my way through, rewinding lasers, porting. I looked back, seeing Frost, in her crystal form, running away.  
'Guys finish up, I'm going after Frost!' I cried out, following her.

We ran criss cross through the streets of Sisco, jumping away from trams and cars.  
I could sense her trying to read my mind, but thanks to level 8 resistance and the ability to think to fast so others could not read…hell, she might as well tried to move a whale with one hand.

Finally in a dark alley she stopped, turning around, throwing garbage cans at me. To fast, got him hard, landing on my back, barely getting up.  
'Why are you following me Gargan!' she gasped.  
I got up, catching my breath. 'I want to know…why your working for Osborn!'  
'I'm not working for him!' she exclaimed.  
'&#*&, how else could he have gotten Mystique and Daken?!' I replied, gathering y strength.  
She threw a garbage disposal at me, me sing my rewind powers, tug of war situation.  
'And mentioned a name….yours!' I shouted.

She blinked.  
'Do you honestly believe the word of a serial killer?!'  
'It's a *%#$ up world isn't it?'  
I tossed the garbage disposal aside, my sword going for her. She turned into crystal swatting my sword away. I held up my hand, freezing her in place.  
'Now….' I gasped for air. 'Let's talk…'

She glared at me. 'What do you want Gargan….?'  
'Over the past 48 hours me and my friends, the Stark's included, have been hunted down by Norman Osborn's Death squads, I haven't received contact with the Stark's in the past 23, so what I want from you Miss Frost is information.'  
'What kind of Information?'  
'Who are the Dark Illuminati?'

She looked at me with her blue eyes, as if I asked the meaning of life.  
'I know your in it, Osborn is in it, and my guess is Hood is in to…' .  
'….How did you find out?' she finally fessed up.  
'I found out about the previous Illuminati, was a matter of time before I found out bout this one.'  
She nodded. ' Your right about the three….but there are three more.'  
Three more….  
'Who?'  
'I cant say…'  
'Why not?'  
She didn't say anything, but her mind and eyes said words.  
'They are watching us…' she said with her mind.  
I played along. Letting her go. ' Your useless…' I said, but my mind continuing the conversation.  
'Who else?'  
'Loki, Doom and Namor.' She replied in her mind, getting back up.  
'Thank you…' I thought. ' But your hands aren't completely washed with innocence.'  
'What, what do you-?'

I let her read my mind, my suspicions of her being involved with killing Jonas'' parents.  
It ad up, since the Clock Busters tried to kidnap him for somebody else, her. Their powering up question been answered thanks to Loki.  
Question being, what would Loki do with a mutant boy,  
She was next in my list.  
'Tell Summers I said hey.' I replied, porting away.

I ported back to Ny picking up Logan and Nikki along the way, telling the New Avengers, and the new Mighty avengers and Fantastic four even of the Dark Illuminati.  
Luke nodded, and said he would think about it.  
The next minute Peter and Mj came in, as did Daredevil and many others.  
Almost everyone left, except for Tony and Karrie, were there….  
"Okay then, since we all seem to be all happy and brotherly now, anyone got any questions?" Luke asked wiping at the sweat running into his eyes.  
"Only one" came from the back of the group. 'Anyone got a damned light?" Fury inquires with an unlit stogie in his mouth.  
Nick Fury….since when was he back?

A few hours later I looked down upon New York, the sun setting down again.  
'Some speech huh?' Carol asked, standing next to me.  
I nodded. 'Next time there are elections, I'll vote for Luke Cage to be President.'  
She grinned a bit.  
'Heard your going after Loki next?' she inquired.  
I nodded.  
'Seems he/she is responsible for the deaths of two innocent people….i want to know why.'  
'And do what, she's a god George.'  
'So is Thor, and he got his &*! handed to him a couple of times, trust me, I always have a back up plan.'  
'what about this team then?' She placed a hand on my shoulder. 'You saved us from Osborn before we even knew what was going on, you cant leave us at a time like this.'  
'Didn't say I was leaving, I'm still part of the team Carol, and I'm not leaving you behind, nor anyone else.'  
She nodded, looking outside again with me.  
'So….got any plans?' I asked her nonchalantly.  
'Depends, are you asking me out?' she looked at me with a certain longing.  
'Not really…'

We couldn't get into her bed fast enough, lust and longing taking over us like wildfire. We were both stressed out, needed a vent. It was a one time thing, a one time thing that could come back to haunt me for the rest of my life…  
But then, it felt good, and I wouldn't have changed it if I could.

The end

Next arc: Time-Warrior: Mortal soul versus Godly might.

Synopsis: Loki, the god of mischief, in her mad quest to restore Asgard to it's rightful place in the heavens, enlisted Tw's darkest enemies to kill two innocent people so she could use their son's mutant powers to restore it. Time-Warrior offcourse isn't to happy about the idea and plans to thrust his sword into her plans to stop it from bearing fruitation and avenge innocent death's.  
Expect cameos ranging from Thor, to the newly wed Stark's and offcourse Loki Her/himself!!

Don't miss the next 3 parter!.  
What happened previously: Dark Reign has begun and heroes everywhere run for their lives to avoid Norman Osborn's new rule of terror. Only a few remain to fight the coming Dark Reign.  
Time-Warrior, after having fought his foes and helping Tony Stark and his wife Karrie Stark escape from a trial, found a lead as to the identities of the Dark Illuminati.  
Having questioned Emma Frost George found out several more names.  
Norman Osborn, Namor, Doom, Hood, herself and Loki…  
With the current crisis in Asgard Tw couldn't have found a better timing to infiltrate Thor's sanctuary and ask a few questions to Loki.

My name is Time-warrior, the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds.  
Couple of days ago I had a chat with Emma Frost about why she thought it was wise to trade in two lives to ensure the capture of a mutant who's powers haven't even manifested yet.  
What she told me surprised me greatly.  
The mutant, Jonas, barely 10 years old, was the one who would someday bring Asgard back to the heavens instead of Oklahoma.  
She didn't know herself how, but she knew Loki did, hence I was preparing to go there myself.  
'George, I don't think leaving is a good idea now.'  
Weasel, once Deadpool's sidekick now my roommate and eye in the sky.  
'How do you mean?' I asked, putting my mask on.

Weasel pointed to his monitor:  
'One moment I had a clear picture of Asgard from one of HAMMER's new satellites, and now…' snow, black out.  
'Something's up.' I concluded.  
'So, game plan?'  
'I'm going, all this shows Loki is up to something.'  
'Right…George?' he looked up to me. ' Do you really want me to contact him?'  
I nodded.  
'But he has a wife and kid now, and enough money already.'  
'Yeh, but now he gets to blow up Avenger's Tower, that'll bring him back in the super hero business.' I grinned, strapping my sword on my back.  
Weasel sighed, nodding. ' I hope you know what your doing George.'  
I ported away, faintly hearing Weasel dialing.  
'Hey Wade, it's me, Weasel.'

Ten seconds later I appeared in the middle of Asgard.  
Two seconds later I began fighting for my life. At first I couldn't see whom I was fighting.  
Claws and teeth indicated a feral foe, when lightning lit the area I blinked. Wolves?!  
WOLVES?!  
I cut through them, my own feral instincts taking over.  
'Are you kidding me Loki, IS THIS WHAT YOU SEND AT ME, DOGS, STUPID $#&$% RABID DOGS?!'  
They were with many, but it seemed they didn't aim for me.  
I looked back, yup, they were heading over the walls of Asgard. I could hear Thor already call the sentries to battle, his hammer slamming away.

The wolves came from one direction, so logic dictated the origin came from there.  
I ported up steam, slicing my way through, to them I did not excist.  
Thor could handle Asgard by himself, he did not need my help. Loki was somehow behind this, not just this, but many more schemes. I couldn't let her get away with it.

Lightning lit the area again, showing a distant female figure on a hill, looking at Asgard burning with a grin.  
I ported to her, grinning myself.  
'Have ye seen the light now brother?' I could hear her ask. 'Have ye seen these humans and Midgard bring nothing but pain?'  
I thirsted my knee in her face, kicking her away.  
'Hell yeah!' I grinned, going into a defensive stance. I caught her off guard, good.  
The wolves behind me began to lessen, Loki garing at me.  
'Time-Warrior….Emma Frost and Osborn told me off you…' she lifted her hand, a sword appearing above it.  
She stroke at me, me blocking the blow.  
'Do ye honestly think thy can battle a god?!' she cried out, getting nasty. ' What does thy have which makes you think thy can beat Loki in battle?!'  
I slowed down tile, jabbing my sword in her gut.  
'I can bend space and time, what do you got, Malaysian transsexual?'  
I kicked her away. Course my wound wouldn't kill her, it would weakend her until I could ask her my questions, this was going to be a fun night….

TBC  
What happened previously: Dark Reign has begun and heroes everywhere run for their lives to avoid Norman Osborn's new rule of terror. Only a few remain to fight the coming Dark Reign.  
Time-Warrior, after having fought his foes and helping Tony Stark and his wife Karrie Stark escape from a trial, found a lead as to the identities of the Dark Illuminati.  
Having questioned Emma Frost George found out several more names.  
Norman Osborn, Namor, Doom, Hood, herself and Loki…  
With the current crisis in Asgard Tw couldn't have found a better timing to infiltrate Thor's sanctuary and ask a few questions to Loki.  
When he arrived in Asgard, he found the settlement being attacked by a army of thousands of wolves. Following the trail, Tw found out Loki was somehow behind it.  
Not wasting any time George leaped into battle, delivering Loki a humiliating blow.  
Now the fight between the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds and the goddess of mischief begins…

My name is Time-warrior, the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds.  
'Die mortal!'  
This is Loki, goddess of mischief, she and I were having words.  
My sword did most of the talking actually. The first few strikes I was able to pull off because she wasn't prepared, but later in the fight, she was able to pummel the living daylights out of me.  
I didn't mind, I was willing, still am, to put my life on the line, but no-one else.  
Hence I came alone, hence I'm fighting somebody that could wipe me out with one well aimed blow.  
She started to cackle, others forms joining the battle. Offcourse, she was the goddess of mischief, she had power and magic to pull it off.

They hit like trucks on steroids, blood, most of it my own, falling on the ground like rain. Seems the interrogation didn't go to well.  
They stopped, Loki snapping her fingers.  
'So little human, what brings you here to Asgard,'  
I kneeled down, using my sword to slowly get back up.

'I came…to ask you some questions.' I looked at her.  
'Questions?' she blinked.  
I nodded. 'Indeed…I came here to ask about Jonas.'  
'Who?' she asked as if she did not know.  
'I dont have time for &#*& Loki.' I glared. 'I know of the Dark Illuminati, and your role in it, what do you want with Jonas?'  
She stopped smiling after I mentioned the Dark Illuminati. 'Who told you of this?'  
'Your not answering my question.' My power returned, I was able to stand again.  
She glared at me, her lips soon curfing into a grin.  
'The mutant boy appeared in a vision of one of my Far seers, they saw how he will bring Asgard to the Heavens as it should, but I know how quickly the future can change, so I had to make sure that boy was to be properly taught in how to use his powers when they should manifest.'  
'Do the rest know, does Osborn know?'  
'Offcourse they do, we are planning to 'spread the wealth around' as you mortals ?'

I nodded.  
Made sense, Frost is a teacher, she could teach the boy how to use his powers, and keep a eye on him for the rest of the Dark Illuminati.  
'Now then…' she dissolved her sword. 'Anything else ye wish to ask before I send ye to Valhalla?'  
It was my time to grin. 'No, that'll do.'  
I clicked my sword on it's emblem, strange light radiating from it.  
'What?' she gasped, covering her eyes when the light shone more brightly.  
'Time to end this and call it a day!!' I cried out, charging at my foes.  
The power my sword gave me was almost intoxicating. The power, the experience, I could feel all the power of the previous owners of my blade lending their strength to me.  
With one strike I obliterated the Shadow forms, turning my sights to Loki, who tried to flee.

I embedded my sword in her chest again, the power almost tearing her apart.  
She cried out in pain, even when I pulled the sword from her chest, kicking her to the ground.  
Thunder lit the area again, this timea figure landing in front of me and Loki.  
'Loki it was ye who-'he spotted me, my sword coverd in her blood.  
'George Gargan, hast thou defeated this miserable witch?' He asked.  
I nodded, strapping my sword on my back.  
He smilled. 'Asgard thanks the for ye's aid, come, and drink and feast with us!'  
I shoke my head. ' I came her to ask Loki some questions Thor, nothing more.'  
Thor looked at me with his blue eyes, after a small moment he nodded.  
'I understand, ye are on a quest, Asgard wishes ye luck Warrior who can bend Time.'  
With a small nod I teleported out of Asgard.  
Thor shook his head, grabbing the now unconscious Loki. 'That be two outsider's who said naye to me…must be losing my touch.' Thor thought out loud.

Back in New York it was dark, the lights and spotlights were on for several hours.  
I stood on a rooftop, folding my arms, looking down on the city below.  
My wounds were somewhat healed, but the power I unleashed from my sword drained me still.  
'You allright George?' I looked back, Carol walking to me. I nodded, looking back down.  
'I am Carol, just trying to come up with a new plan.'  
'New plan?'  
'Somebody has to stop Osborn Carol.' I said to her. ' Two days ago they came at us because we were attacking the Hood, One day ago they attacked Karrie and Tony for the sake they're running.'  
'George.'  
'We are super heroes Carol, we are supposed to be helping people, not hide like cowards or work for the new government that says otherwise.'  
'So the things you said to Desert Eagle and Gauntlet…' she revered to the events that happened the day before. (Read THE CHIMERAS #4 "ALL NIGHTMARE LONG: PART FOUR")

I nodded.  
'I know I'm not a role model for super hero ship, you have to talk to parker for that, but i know what I have to do.'  
'Then why don't you ask us for help?' she asked.  
I paused for a moment, recalling my battle with Loki.  
'I'm willing to put my life on the line for all of us Carol, but it has to be mine, no-one else.'  
'Going against Norman Osborn now is suicide, not just putting your life on the line George.' She noted.  
'I know, hence I have a plan.'  
'You said you didn't have a plan!'  
'Have one now.' I grinned.

Later that evening me and Deadpool gathered on a skyscraper next to Avenger's tower.  
'Woah, this is awesome, we're going to blow up Stark Tower like I did on the Incredible Hulk for the X-box 360!' Deadpool exclaimed.  
'Yup…you know the plan Wade, I go in first, set up the alarms, you do your thing.'  
'Got it my Hiro Nakamura rip off friend.' He raised his thumb, winking at me.  
'Remember, don't screw it up Wade.' I put on mymask, porting myself in.

Alarms flared up the moment I set foot in the tower.  
I ran through the corridors, taking out guards as I went. I got knocked into the wall by a strong force, I looked up, barely in time to deflect the axe strike with my sword.  
'Time to die traitor!' the armoured man cried out, striking at me with his axe.  
'Hello Ares…' I replied, striking at him.

To be concluded.  
What happened previously: Dark Reign has begun and heroes everywhere run for their lives to avoid Norman Osborn's new rule of terror. Only a few remain to fight the coming Dark Reign.  
Time-Warrior, after having fought his foes and helping Tony Stark and his wife Karrie Stark escape from a trial, found a lead as to the identities of the Dark Illuminati.  
Having questioned Emma Frost George found out several more names.  
Norman Osborn, Namor, Doom, Hood, herself and Loki…  
With the current crisis in Asgard Tw couldn't have found a better timing to infiltrate Thor's sanctuary and ask a few questions to Loki.  
When he arrived in Asgard, he found the settlement being attacked by a army of thousands of wolves. Following the trail, Tw found out Loki was somehow behind it.  
Not wasting any time George leaped into battle, delivering Loki a humiliating blow.  
After a titanic battle, Tw came out victorious and handed Loki over to Thor.  
Next on George's list was Norman Osborn.  
During the time of the Jarvis Break out (read Scarlet Talon) the rebel heroes needed someone to keep Norman Osborn occupied so the heroes had a chance to rescue Jarvis without the fear of HAMMER getting more reinforcements.  
So now, Tw attacks Avenger's tower seemingly alone, and soon encounters the god of War himself…Ares.

My name is Time-Warrior, the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds, and right now, I am where I'm supposed to be.  
Meet Ares, god of war. He and I were in the same team once, though it does not seem to slow him down or stopped his efforts to kill me.  
'Die traitor!' he shouted at me.  
'Takes one to know one Ares!' I blocked his axe with my sword, the former shattering in tiny metal pieces, the pieces flying everywhere like shrapnel.  
I barely teleported away in time to avoid them, only to get a tackle from the God of War a second later.  
His punches were powerfull to say at least, it was like I was fighting Galactus again.

I stabbed my sword in his gut, kicking him away.  
'You betrayed your team Ares, you betrayed your son for what?!' I slashed at him again, him blocking with his Rambo like knife/sword.  
'Money, fame, some chick?!'  
That's it, make lots of noise I thought, I wanted everyone to have their attention aimed at me.  
Give the Spider-people, Wade and Carol a fighting chance.  
He grabbed me by my neck, then threw me against the wall.  
'You do not know why Gargan, nor do I care telling you!' He shouted.

My lungs were burning, hard to keep my eyelids up. ..  
I tried to get back up, but the wall behind me collapsed, strong arms grabbing meby my shoulders.  
'Stop it George, your done.'  
I remembered that voice. Bob Reynolds, the Sentry.  
Emo super hero though he seemed more 'Dark' then.  
Ares nodded at Sentry, calling in on his radio.  
'We got him Osborn.'

Give minutes later he stood in front of me. Norman Osborn, former Green Goblin and super villain, now the guy with the biggest stick.  
'Seems we meet again Mister Gargan.' He grinned at me.  
'Osborn….' I growled.  
'What were you thinking, coming after me,alone?'  
'I clearly wasn't thinking the…' I replied.  
'Clearly…or it is because of the 'break out' you try to do in my mountain?'

How did he know?!  
'Are you high Osborn, because I don't know what your talking about.'  
'Now now Mister Gargan, don't be so rude, your father has better manners and he eats criminals daily.'  
'My father is a homicidal maniac, just like you Osborn!'  
Sentry held me tighter, barely able to breath.  
'Perhaps…but he is a avenger now, and currently busy bringing your friends to custody along with Mister bullseye.'

Vision started to get blurry, stay up damnit!  
'You let them of the leash…monster…'  
'I might be, but so are you Mister Gargan.'  
'W..wha..?'  
'You and the rest of those pesky 'Rebel Heroes' have forced my hand.' He explained. 'And because of you, innocent people WILL die to get you all in custody.'  
He stepped to a nearbye closet, grabbing out a bunch of papers. He put on glasses as he read off the names.  
'Alison Leary, the Violet Warrior, we had to kill her lover to get her out in the open, where your father Venom helped take her down.'  
He went to a other page.  
'Karrie Gabriel/ Stark, Scarlet Talon, we had to kill several people to find out where she was heading, her former lover Nightvision is aiding us on this one.'  
Another page.  
'Oh, you know the Chimera's?' he asked rhetorically. 'We put a lot of people out of a job just to catch one of them'  
Swift industries, I heard. .  
'Ah yes….George Gargan, Two parents to get you in the open, but somehow you escaped our grasp…you Are a hard one to track down Mister Gargan.'

Tried to break free, but Bob had other plans it seemed.  
'So you see Mister Gargan.' He put his glasses away. 'The President ordered me to catch you people, and we will.'  
Hard to stay conscious.  
His face was inches away from mine.  
'So mister Gargan…heard enough?'  
I nodded faintly.  
'Heard plenty….'  
'Good, Ares, Robert, would you be so kind to bring Mister Gargan to his cell in the negative zone?'

I grinned.  
'Don't think my friends will like that…'  
'Your friends are to far to aid you Mister Gargan, and you came in alone please keep that in mind.' He wiped his glasses with a handkerchief.  
'Who said I came alone…?'

He blinked at me.  
'Ares, Sentry, be care-'

The world exploded around me when the window next to us shattered.  
A small form was thrown inside the building, at this floor a impressive feat even for a super human, the form made a 'snikt' sound, his claws embedding it Sentry's arm.  
'That's for durin' the Civil war bub!' Logan growled.

New found strength put me back in action, my sword slashing at Ares before he could react.  
'His name is Bob Logan, not bub.' I started off the banter.  
'Yer welcome.' Logan slashed at Sentry.

A red flash of light revealed two more people of my back up team, Luke Cage and Wolverina.  
'Sweet Christmas Osborn!' Luke slammed his first into osborn's nose.  
'Guys, bus is leaving the station, we have to go now!' Niki shouted, starting off her teleportation spell.

'Think we keptthem off guard long enough?!' Luke asked, throwing a table at the two Dark Avengers, going with the group.  
'No…' I replied, catching my breath. 'They knew, Osborn send Venom and Bullseye to the mountain.'  
Nikki ported us back to the secret spot.

A hour later we heard the rescue worked, Jarvis was safe. Deadpool, who seemed to have dressed himself up as a girl, patted himself on the shoulder a lot.  
I was pretty sure his wife Maria wouldn't be laughing at it though when she found out.  
There was a small calibration party, but I wasn't there.

There was no party for me, only three hours of sleep, and a other name off the list to be replaced by a new one.

The End.  
The group stood motionless as they saw the roster of Norman's Avengers on the tv.  
Everyone was stunned, even me.  
One could feel and see the emotions flying through the room.  
Betrayal, regret, anger, fear…

I glanced at Logan, who's eyes was fixed on this team's 'Wolverine'.  
We all knew who he was, same went with this team's Spider-man…my father, Mac Gargan, Venom.

The others one could only guess. The room let out a gasp when the Iron Patriot showed himself…Norman Osborn.  
'Now this is &#*&!' Luke cried out, making his baby daughter cry.  
'We knew this was coming sooner or later…' Nick fury sighed, lighting up a cigar.  
'So…what are we going to do now?' Captain America, bucky, asked.  
Nick fury glanced at everyone in the room, including me in the back, and said.  
'Our jobs.' With that he left the room, the #**$$&.

Everyone started to discus this new turn of events, there were four teams here. Avengers, Fantastic four, X-men, and offcourse what's left of the X-warriors. Meaning Nikki, Deadpool and Logan.

I left the room while nobody noticed, heading for Fury.  
'I know what your going to ask Gargan…' he started.  
'Then you know what answer I want to hear.' I replied.  
'No, to risky.' He toke the cigar out of his mouth. 'Getting personal will get us all send to the Negative zone.'  
'This became personal since the Civil war Fury.' I glared.  
'If you want to go, go Gargan, I'm not stopping you, but know, you wont have back up this time if things get dicey.'  
I nodded, leaving him be.

I passed Logan's and Nikki's room, hearing the shouting. Not the kind of shouting we were used of them no, they were arguing. If those two argued, there had to be a good reason.  
I leaned against the wall across the door, waiting for the fighting to die out.  
Sometime later Logan walks out. A quick glance shows Nikki already ported herself out of the room, probably needs some time for herself.  
'You been here long bub?' Logan asked me, volding his arms.  
'Long enough to hear Nikki doesn't want you near Daken.' I looked up to him.

He and I paused, personality wise we were sort of similar. Still are. If I were him, and he were me, nobody would notice. We both knew what we wanted, and nobody, not even our loved ones, would stop us.  
'When?'  
'Ten minutes, suit up, get your X-force costume out, we're going rogue.'  
He grinned.

The guards around this place were lax, nobody would've suspected this warehouse contained information about every single of Norman Osborn's minion, right?  
Weasel knew, hence he told us instead of Nick. The power of bribery.

We ported near the sleeping quarters, where our source was.  
He's Nickie undercover agent, so he was the first person to ask questions to before we were going to crack the computer here.

The female form next to him sighed happily, seemed we just missed the action, Logan nodded at me. I nodded back, stopping time for everyone in the building except for me, Logan and the undercover guy.  
'Karla?'  
He knew something was wrong, Nick recruited a smart guy.

Logan's red eyes on his mak glanced, alerting the guy of our presence.  
'Long time no see Lucas.' I said, stepping into the light with Logan.  
'Jezus….cant you blokes at least TRY to contact me in the normal way?' Lucas asked, covering himself up.  
'Daken and my father, where are they?' I asked straight to the point.  
'Is that why you come round my place at bloody 2 in the morning?' he sighed, putting something on.  
'You were active enough the past few minutes away.' Logan sniffed. ' and yer girlfriend over there is one of em anyway, so you should know.'  
'One of who?'  
'Osborn's avenger's Lucas.' I answered.  
'Look I don't know where they are, but this base…there is a computer here, sort of a tracking device that keeps track of Osborn's Thunderbolts, so he knows where they are 24/7.'

Made sense, most of them were lunatics and serial killers, even a insane guy like Osborn knew to keep a leash on his dogs.  
'Password?'  
'It changes daily…today it's 'Centaur's gambit' .' Lucas replied.  
'Thanks.' Logan grinned. 'Get yer clothes back on, chances are in 5 minutes hell will brake loose.'

Logan wasn't kidding.  
We ported to where the computer was, snikking or drawing our weapons.  
'Y'ready?' He asked.  
'Sure…time for some answers.'  
I set time back in, the alarms blaring.  
The guards gasped, opening fire atthis.  
'Intruders at Sec-' Wolveirne stabbed his claws in the guy's chest, my sword cutting off the other's hand.  
Time for some answers…

TBC  
What happened previously: The two most dangerous avengers have gone rogue!!!  
Time-Warrior and Wolverine, The man who can be anywhere in less ten 10 seconds and the man who is best at what he does and what he does isn't very nice respectively, recently saw the new line up for Norman Osborn's Avengers, which included Spider-man (Mac Gargan) and Wolverine (Daken).  
With no support from their friends or nick fury, the two go on a bloody quest for answers.  
First stop, a secret warehouse containing information of the Dark Avengers.

My name is Logan, I'm the best at what I do, and what I do isn't very nice.  
Me an' me pal George are at some warehouse trying to get past these slubs and get to the central computer.  
I can tell one thing about Osborn's cronies…they are fun to kill.

'Logan, baddies 3 o'clock!'  
'Got it!'

Weasel pulled up a rap sheet on these guards, determining if we went in lethal force or not.  
When we found out 950 of the 1000 served time in jail for murder, rape, robbery enctr…I grinned. I love it when I go lose like this.

'Your head got served!'

So does George. We kill our way in, hacking an' slashing. But all the blood better be good, because although I enjoy a good brawl now and then, we're here on a mission.  
My son got himself mixed up with the wrong crowd, joining a team that doesn't look or smell right. Nikki said we should leave him be, let him make his own mistakes, and be there when he falls to get him back up.  
I made mistakes in my life, a lot of 'em. And I regret most of 'em, especially if they could've been avoided. If somebody told me that it would end wrong, I would've listened and let sleepin' dogs be.…but nobody ever opened his mouth…and a lot of people got hurt.  
I never have gotten the chance, never got a warning….but Daken has, and I'm goin' to give it to him.

My claws chop off a guy's head, it spinnin' in the air like a frisbee. Blood sprays round like crazy, but I'm not complain', nor does George. He's here aswell because of a relative to..his daddy, Venom.  
From what I know, he and Mac never got along till recently, before Kimberley died. After she died, he and Mac were back at square 1. Hell, make it zero.  
George lost custody of his kids, lost his job, stopped bein' a hero for three months…  
If yer look at him now, yer can say he's reborn. Hence he's here, to stop his dad from making a dumb choice.

Guns stop firing, we got them all. George rewinds the alst bullets to their owners, killin' em. Neat trick.  
I snikt my claws back, pointing to a room.  
'Computer room, there.'  
George nods, opening it with a code we got off Weasel.  
He steps in first, googling Daken and Mac off the network.

'Well…I'm disappointed it went so fast.'  
'Fast, we killed over 48 people in 8 minutes.' I reply.  
'Exactly, they died so easily….something's up.'  
I sniff around. 'Yer right….i'm smellin' nothing.'  
'Close the door.'

I close it, making sure nobody will get in. Footsteps…a lot of em…smell love stink to…Lucas and his girl.  
'Bub, you got bout 3 minutes to get that data!'  
'For god sake Logan I'm a detective not a freakin' hacker!'

He types away, jacking up a gadget from Forge on the computer.  
'There, it's downloading, hang on.'

Laser beams hit through the door, as well as bullets hitting through the soft spots.  
'Oh hell….' I growled, snikking my claws back. George stands next to me, drawing his sword.  
'Machine needs 2 minutes.' He says calmly. 'Y'ready?'  
'I was born ready.' I grin, leaping into battle with George at my side.  
They want a fight, we'll give em one they wont forget.

My name is George Gargan, the Time-Warrior, the guy who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds.  
And right now, I hope we can get 180 more.  
My sword is bloody already by my 4th kill.  
'No idea why you're here, but your going down mate!' Lucas shouts at me, firing with his guns.  
Make sure he doesn't die, he's nickies undercover agent, in more sense then one with what he was doing with Moonstone/Ms marvel a couple of minutes ago.

I rewind the bullets, who in turn are deflected by .  
'You'll pay for trespassing unregistered scum!'  
'Hell woman, Carol will be pissed when she sees you!' I kick her in the face after I port, Greenship doesn't look to happy.  
Cant blame him, how would I feel if somebody knee kicked my girlfriend…I really need a new one, sleeping with Carol one night and Jessica Drew the enxt isn't healthy for one's social mi-

Got hit, offcourse, stay with the fight George!!  
I crash somewhere in the computer room, Logan continuing the fight.  
I crawl back up, getting the thingy from forge. 100 percent, awesome.  
'Logan, we're leaving!'  
'Bout freakin' time Gargan!' he retracts his claws from a guard, grabbing my arm as we port off.

We arrive at weasel's (and mine) apartment a bit later, taking the elevator to the 9th floor.  
I hate elevator music. I grant a look at Logan's X-force costume.

'Nice suit.'  
'Thanks.'  
A pause.  
'Summer's idea?'  
'Yup…since X-force is black ops, and it needs to look scary to the bad guys…'  
'I see….who made 'em?'  
'Same guy who made my blue and yellow ones.'  
'Wonder how Summer asked them to make it.'  
Logan grinned. ' he said it had to look 'Stealthy.'  
'What, he didn't say looking stylish yet stealthy whilst killing people?'  
'You cant look stylish when yer killing people, bub.'  
'Ever seen Sebastian Shaw's wardrobe?'  
'Hm….i'll take it back George.'  
'why are we talking about costumes?' I ponder out loud.  
'To not hear the elevator music?'  
'These are dark and desperate times indeed…'  
'Word…you tell anyone about this conversation, I'll snikt ya, got it?'  
'Same here Stealthy boy.' I grin, stepping out of the elevator.

Another thirty minutes, and 100 bucks, later Weasel got us our info.  
What I saw what Norman did to my father was dastardly.  
The experiments, the potion they gave him to look more 'presentable'. Worse of all, they FED Skrulls to him. Kim is turning in her grave right now.  
His bank accounts transfer to a Swiss bank, then to a bank account in England, not his, but somebody elses. So he's giving money to somebody, but who…

I look over to Logan, who unlike me, has more questions then answers then I do.  
'We need to talk to 'em…' he looks at me.  
'Agreed…and I think I know where to find them.'  
'Avengers Tower?'  
'Here we come.'

TBC  
What happened previously: The two most dangerous avengers have gone rogue!!!  
Time-Warrior and Wolverine, The man who can be anywhere in less ten 10 seconds and the man who is best at what he does and what he does isn't very nice respectively, recently saw the new line up for Norman Osborn's Avengers, which included Spider-man (Mac Gargan) and Wolverine (Daken).  
With no support from their friends or nick fury, the two go on a bloody quest for answers.  
First stop, a secret warehouse containing information of the Dark Avengers. Check.  
Second stop. Going back to Weasel to analyse the data. Check.  
Final stop, Avenger's Tower and confrontation Daken and Mac. In progress.

Security is lax., visitors being only scanned once before they can continue.  
We're in luck Norman organised a party to celebrate the debut of his avengers.  
Most of the people coming in are guests, no sense of checking them 12 times to let them in.  
Osborn clearly isn't expecting us to come by the front door.  
Thry all wear Oscorp armor and weaponry, which is a hell of a lot easier to break through then Stark armor.  
I look back at Logan, who is preparing himself mentally.  
This is going to be messy  
'Sir, invitation please?'  
I grinned. 'Here's my invitation.'

I throw my tux away, drawing my sword strapped on my back, Logan snikking his claws.  
'Intruders at the entr-' I knock the guy out, slashing the other's gun away.  
'Remember Logan, no killing, these are normal-'  
'Yeh yeh!' he shouts, punching and slashing his way through, making sure he doesn't kill anyone.

We can hear the panic spreading through the building, security guards mobilising.  
'This'll be fun.' Logan grins to himself.  
'Whatever floats your boat..let's go.' I rpely, going through the corridors, taking out anyguard we  
see.

*********************************************************

'Mister Osborn, we have a problem.'  
Norman turns around, listening to what the grub has to say.  
'What is it?'  
'W..we have intruders sir.'  
Ozzman looks at his watch. ' Two hours earlier then I expected them to be…all right fair enough, mobilise the guards.'  
'Sir?'  
'Just do as you are told soldier.' He smiles at him, going to me.  
'Mac, I want you and Daken on the 3th floor.'  
I blink.  
'Why me Normie, Ares is-'  
'Because your son is one of the intruders.

'

**********************************************************

The guards run like women, scared of a few cuts and bruises. Pathetic. Humans are pathetic.  
Even this fellow 'Avenger' of mine, this 'Venom' . He shows the same weakness. Greed, power, wanting to 'fit in'.  
But Norman gave me a lot for following orders, and I will continue doing so, until it is my time.  
'Heads up 'Wolverine', your daddy is coming.'  
I put my mask on, snikking my claws out.  
'Good…for your own sake, stay out of my fight Gargan, you can handle your son.'  
'Gladly…' he hisses.  
Now father, it's time to see who is the REAL Wolverine.

***********************************************************

I can smell Daken' scent before we even take the elevator to the Third floor.  
'They are here George….' I tell George.  
George nods, wiping his sword clean. 'Peachy….how much time do you think we'll have?'  
I sniff around.  
'Five minutes guessin' from the guards mobilisin' '  
He sets his watch. 'When you hear the signal, we port immediately, understood Logan?'  
I snikt my claws back up.' Got it bub.'  
George sighs, clutching his sword. 'Time for a family reunion.'

The elevator comes to a stop, it's door's opening slowly.  
The two in the elevator walk out slowly, staring down their costumed adversaries.  
A moment of silence passes before George makes the first move.  
'Dad, why have you done this?'  
'Like I had any choice George, it was this, or being locked up at Thunderbolt mountain.'  
'You were free dad, you were free from him!'  
'You cant turn your back on Osborn…you should know that of all people.'  
'I meant the symbiote Dad, your back form square 1!'  
'I liked square 1, hence I'm here.' Mac let out his long tongue, reverting to his Spider-man form again. 'That and I'm taking care of my family.'  
'What?'  
'You saw the bank accounts George…you know where the money is going.'  
George nodded. ' but when they find out, they wont accept it father, they know what your doing.'  
'So your going to let your children life in poverty?!'  
'I still send them money!'  
'Not enough!'  
'…don't do this dad.'  
'To late son….'

Logan and Daken shared glances at each other. On theoutside they were just doing that, staring, but deep down one could seethey were having a heated argument.  
It went on for about a other minute or two until I got bored.  
'Spider-man, wolverine, take them out NOW!'

***********************************************************

I'm the first to respond, stabbing my claws into my father's chest.  
The scent of his blood seems unnatural, as if I'm doing a wrong thing. But I don't care. He deserves this, this pain, this hurt, this betrayal.  
I keep slashing, my father slashing back. Done with talk, now action!

My father leaps at me shortly after Daken, my sword plummeting in his gut. I know he will survive a attack like that. My only hope is that after this fight, he will turn back from all of  
this.

********************************************************

I love my son, and this is the thanks I get. He accepted me as a father, Nikki as his mother. He has a girlfriend back home, waiting to hear from his in weeks. I don't know why Daken is doing this, but he has a good reason to. I hope fer his sake, it better be a DAMNED good one.

The fighting goes on for a good while, destroying much of the corridor.  
Don't mind, more money is coming in as we speak. The camera's show the fight, the monitors more guards coming in. And offcourse the back up plan I initiated a few minutes  
ago.

*********************************************************

The watch goes off.  
'All right Logan, time to go!'  
I raise my sword, preparing to port off….except I cant.  
'George, what are yer doin'?' Logan shouts. 'we aint got flamin' time to *$#%# around!'  
'It's the sword, something is messing it up!'  
'Knock knoc!'  
I look back, hundreds of bullets flying my away. I barely dodge them, Logan reiceivng all of them in his back.  
Mark Rexton? The Clock busters!  
'Logan, the Clock busters are here!'

I look at Logan, him fighting off both Daken And .  
'No &*$%# Sherlock!'  
The floor starts shaking, a large reptilian monster coming out of it, The Over Seer!.  
'Got you now Time-Warrior!'  
I curse in my mind, we've been set up. Set up form the word go.  
Thankfully there is always plan B.

Damn that Osborn, settin' us up like that!  
My claws go through that clown, but he doesn't stay down. Ghargh!  
Daken stabs me in the back, physically this time. I turn around, stabbing him in the shoulder, that damnclown stabbing me in te elg with his knives.  
Cant bother helping Goerge, got my hands full here already.  
The walls explode, Sentry and ares flying in.  
Yup, this is it, off to the negative zone.  
Might as well give them hell before they lock me up, or worse.  
'Logan duck!' I hear George saying. I duck immediately, bullets flying overhead.  
Thing is, that aint their bullets.  
I listen for any voices…my stomach turning when I hear one.  
George, you son of a $#*$!%…

'You've just been Deadpool-rolled!' Deadspoot shouts over the helicopters sounds.  
He's sat with his machine gun on the side, Victor driving the helicopter.  
'You called in the X-warriors for back up Gargan?!' I shout.  
'Yup!' he replied, jumping in with me in the helicopter, flying off.  
I catch my breath, looking round the helicopter, noticing Amir is riding shotgun.  
'Hope we didn't come in to late.' Amir looked back. 'Deadpool needed to have a toilet break first.'  
'Oi!' Deadpool shouts back.  
'Glad to see you to Runt…' Victor let out a growl.  
'Same here Creed.'

'Sir….we lost them.'  
I look back at the agent, the fear in him swelling, good.  
'I send Ares and Sentry after them, I hope for YOUR sake soldier, they catch them.'  
I walk past him, calling up someone.  
'This is Norman, I want the Sentinel program started IMMIDIATLY!'

The end.  
Note: This Fan fiction occurs shortly after Scarlet Talon issue 187, Nightvision issue 20 and Violet Warrior issue 27.

Logan breathes heavily when he turns off his phone.  
'Well?' Nick asked, taking his cigar out of his mouth.  
'Stark is brain dead…'

The room gasps deeply. Tony Stark brain dead?  
'Sentinels attacked the X-men base in Cisco a couple of minutes ago…right during Stark's operation.'  
'My god….' Carol whispered. 'Poor Karrie.'

Personally I saw this coming a mile away, we kicked Osborn in the shin to much until he finally was able to get one of us.  
Stark was the easiest target. My thoughts go to Karrie to, who knows what she is thinking off right now?  
Norman Osborn is probably celebrating with his new mistress Alison no doubt.  
Fury thinks she can be 'saved' but I doubt it.

Yesterday we heard Nightvision was killed off to, by Moonstone and my father. The Chimera's are on the run, haven't heard of them in days.  
We're being pushed back on all fronts with heavy losses.

'So, what's the game plan?' Peter asks the silent crowd.  
'Tony maybe was a jerk….but he was OUR jerk.' I cant believe I'm standing up for him.  
Everyone is looking at me, even Fury.  
'Norman Osborn went to far, he made us look like villains, he STOLE what it meant to be a Avenger from us, he cost us friends, he cost us family, he lost us fellow heroes.'  
'Then what are we going to do 'bout it Gargan?' Victor cracked his knuckles.  
'Simple….Norman Osborn must DIE.'

The group mutters.  
'What, are you mad George?' deadpool explodes, giving his baby to Maria. 'He got more power then Magneto in the Ultimate universe, and he's going for God now!'  
Damnit wade…  
'Well…with the drowning of the earth and all….'  
'Despite wilson's idiocy…he's right, he's to well guarded.' Fury comments.  
'Me and Logan got in his building 4 times in a row, and we did a lot of damage for just 4 people, but if we go after him TOGETHER, we'll wack him…'

Nobody seems to catch my drift.  
'Wake up people, Tony Stark is DEAD, and we're next!'  
Still no reply.  
'He was one of us for god sake…'  
'Why should you care?' Amir, in human form, finally pops the question. ' I thought you hated him?'  
'I do…' I replied. 'But he got me out of the gutter while the rest of you left me down there to rot, he got me back as a hero and as a person, and now I can never repay him…until I Avenge him.'

The room pauses again. What is wrong with these people?!  
'I call off all patrols, missions and contacts for today, it's best-'  
I don't want to her any of it, porting away. Need time to think, time to sink this through.

Couple of minutes later I stand in front of a abandoned building.  
I move towards it, opening the door. Dust and cowebs greet me when I enter.  
Here it is where it started for me one way, and ended the other.  
Here is where I grew up, here is where part of me died, here is where I started my journey to become the Time-Warrior.  
I glance at a corner, which I know very, very well.

I was brought here when I was a baby, my mother, being a hydra agent, and my father, being a douche, leaving me in the mercy of catholic nuns.  
The beatings, the sharp curfews, forced lectures on how wonderful Christianity is.  
Sundays….how I hated Sundays.  
What kid at the age of 11 years old contemplates suicide?  
11 long years with just a few good memories of happiness.  
Sister Hilda, she was the youngest of all the nuns, and the most kind.

Ever Wednesday after school, she would take me to the local ice cream parlor, not the other kids or other sisters, just her and me.  
Those Wednesdays kept me going until I met her….

I go to her room, almost staggering in disbelief they didn't clean it out.  
I go to the night closet, grabbing the picture of her and me after wiping the dust off with my hands.  
Marie, age 10 when she came in, parents died in a plane accident, and one of the few friends I had in the world.

Since I was the eldest of the orphanage, i had to take care of her, make sure she made friends.  
I think, even then, I fell in love with her.  
She was smart, funny, shared same interests, and we were always there for each other.

Course when we got older it grew into something…more.  
Nuns being nuns and being jealous because they couldn't get…y'know, tried to keep us apart.  
Thank god Hilda was still there and the three of us always managed to sneak out.  
When I finally got to the age of 18 , I was kicked out immediately.  
Damn nuns didn't even tell me who my father or mother was

But I didn't care., because Marie went out with me and we lived together. We went to the same university, same apartment. When I told her I loved her, she wouldn't react like the nuns told me she would, but hugged and kissed me.  
Ok, so I only got my first kiss when I was 18, so what?  
Nuns being nuns off course shunned us completely, calling us 'the devils spawn'  
Now you know why I hate the Purifiers so much

One faithfull day , I decided to ask her to marry me.  
I went out to find the best restaurant, the best outfit, best ring…everything.  
What was supposed to be the best day of my life turned into a nightmare when I found the police at my place.

Marie and Hilda were having a girl's day out when a drunken car driver hit them. Both died instantly.  
.I felt so horrible, so alone…I thought I would just die.  
I cant remember what drove me back to this accursed place and demanded the name of my parents.  
The nuns were terrified of me, not daring to provoke me. I swear, I could've killed somebody that day.

They did not know the name of my mother, but knew my father's name was Mac Gargan, a Pi in New York.  
Next week I left Belgium, vowing never to come back.  
And yet, here I am.

I place the picture back down.  
Sadly Marie and Hilda weren't the only women in my life who would die.  
Kimberley and my mum followed them recently, plummeting myself in a other depression…until he dragged me back out.

You didn't deserve it Tony, nor did Karrie.

I port back to me and Weasel's apartment.  
'Weasel?' I cry out, receiving no reply. Must've gone out.  
So I put on the tv, grabbing myself a beer and wait until I fall asleep.  
Sometimes I wonder, do the nuns still punish me?  
Despite all the good things I've done, despite all the good people having died already…  
Who runs the universe anyway….?

The doorbell rings. Cant be Weasle, he has his own key.  
I grab my sword, going to see who it is.  
'George, it's me, open up.'  
Amir, the hell is she doing here?

I open the door, the blonde atlantean in disguise passing by.  
'The hell you want Amir, it's 3 in the morning.?'  
'News, Fury thought it through, he's planning a attack on Norman Osborn.'  
'Cool.'  
'He wants to see you tomorrow morning at 10 am sharp.'

I nod.  
'Anything else?'  
'No…that's everything.' She replies.  
'Good….'  
A small pause passed until she asked the question.  
'Want to make love?'  
'Sir.'

I kiss her deeply, taking her up and carrying her to my room.  
I know what your thinking, and frankly I don't care.  
I had enough bad things happening in my life as you heard, so I take what good things I can out of it.  
Story of my life…

The End.

Next Story Arc: Kill Norman Osborn.

The hunt for Norman Osborn is on!  
His attack on the X-men and the Stark's pushed George to far.  
Willing to risk his life for his former sponsor, Time-warrior goes on a killing spree to find Norman Osborn, and put a end to the Dark Reign once and for all.

Includes cameos ranging from both Marvel's own characters and the Fanfiction's.  
Don't miss it!  
What happened previously: The Dark Reign has begun and Norman Osborn's powers grow daily. Already several of the super heroes have fallen, and none seem to have the spine to take the fight back…except one.  
George Gargan, the Time-Warrior. Member of the Avengers, Leader of the X-warriors, former X-man and 'the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds.'  
The recent events in his life making him a cold and revenge filled man, George is willing to put his own life at stake to stop his friends from getting hurt.  
Question is, will he make that sacrifice tonight?

Amir breathes soundly in her sleep. Her golden hair resting on my chest, her soft skin on mine, her arms around my torso.  
She fell asleep a few minutes ago, under the illusion I was to. I wasn't.  
I slip out of her grasp slowly, making sure she doesn't wake up. Put something on while I make my way to the fridge.

A glass of whiskey later brings me back to my senses. My mind is still reeling in the things that happened today.  
Tony gone, Lucas gone, Chimera's missing, Alison Leary sleeping with the enemy, Kimberley still dead, children hate me..  
Think i need a other glass.  
Sweet alcohol, how do I love thé.

'Cant sleep?' I look back, seeing Weasel is still up.  
I shake my head, taking a other sip. 'nope…'  
'Look George…I know this isn't my field of expertise but….are you sure you want to kill Norman Osborn?'  
I nod. 'If Peter whacked him all these years ago, Iron man, Nightvision and Violet War…pardon 'Violet avenger' would still be here. '  
Weasel shrugs, cleaning his glasses. 'Risky plan though.'  
'ALL plans including Deadpool are risky.'  
'Tell that to my knee…you would think 14 operations on it would've made me more weary of him.'  
I cant help but give a grin. Weasel smiles back.  
'So, who'll be on this 'suicide run' with you?'

I recall their names.  
'Victor Creed, Amir, Wade and myself…small team.'  
Weasel blinks. 'That's it, just the four of you?!'  
I nod. 'This isn't a invasion, it a distraction and destruction plan, we get in, we get out, and hopefully we don't have to fight Sentry or Ares.'  
'You know there is a 75´% chance you-'  
'Have to, I know….'

Weasel leaves after a while, leaving me alone with the New York sights below.  
Some part of me wants to go back home, go back to Kimberley and the kids, dump my sword and costume to be never seen again…but it's to late for that now.  
Only one thing remains…'Vengeance.'

'The war had enough dead heroes Gargan, this wont make you a martyr.'  
Nick Fury, the next day.  
'I'm not doing this to die a hero Fury, I'm doing this to stop Norman Osborn before more people get hurt.' I put my mask on, strapping my sword on tightly.  
I look back at the helicopter behind us, Feral checking the helicopter one last time, Deadpool saying goodbye to his family, amir sharpening her knives..  
'Still think it's a bad idea…' Fury lights up a cigar.  
'Like hiding under a rock for 3 years wasn't?' I glared at him.  
'…just make sure your team makes it back in one piece.'  
'I'll do that Fury…'

Him and I don't like each other. As I go to the chopper however, I feel he knows something is going to happen…something bad.  
I think I might know what it is…but I refuse to believe it, yet anyways.  
'We're leaving ladies and gentlemen.'  
'Don't you worry babe, I'll be back before you can say King Tutankhamen…for 5 million times.' Wade joked, kissing Maria deeply.  
'You better, if I say it over 5 million and 1 times, there will be hell to pay.' She grinned.

When Deadpool turns his back, her smile becomes a sad one. She looks at me with pleading eyes.  
I nod at her. 'He'll come back, promise.'  
I know how she feels like in a way, same happened with my wife every time I put on thos costume.  
The helicopter flies off towards Avengers Tower.

Everybody is silent for the trip, readying themselves mentally  
I go over the plan in my mind one more time. We fly in, split up, place the charges, rendez vous back outside, fly off and blow the tower up sky high.  
Simple plan, but I know something is going to end wrong.  
'Gargan, Weasel is asking to take over.'  
I nod.  
Weasel will take over the helicopters controls once we are almost in range of the tower.  
Feral gives the command, sharpening his claws.  
'Cant wait to fight the runt's kid…' he grins to himself.

The helicopters flies by itself, steering straight for the tower.  
'Everybody ready?' I ask, holding the hilt of my sword.  
'We are ready Captain!' Deadpool exclaims.  
'Ready when you are.' Amir readies her knives.  
Victor gave a self answering grin. Fair enough.  
'Let's do this then…'

The helicopter fires two missiles at the tower, making two large gaps on the walls.  
I get up, leaping with Feral on one side, Amir and deadpool to the other.  
'Weasel, let the choppter come back in 10 minutes!' I cry out, grabbing my sword.  
'Got it.' The voice on my com signal replies.

Victor sniffs, sheating his claws out. ' Company…'  
'Showtime.' I say to myself.  
The HAMMER agents swarm through the door, opening fire.  
Feral enjoys the smell of fear, his claws rending through them before my sword can.  
He thrives in this. Killing, it is as if he is a natural born killer.  
Unlike Logan, he doesn't hide the fact he loves to kill. But he kills for a reason now. He has a girlfriend and daughter waiting for him back home, just like Deadpool and Maria.  
I have nobody waiting for me, making the adrenaline fade somewhat.  
Not enough for this bloke's head though.  
'Gargan, first bomb spot!' Feral cries out.  
I nod, placing the first timer on the pillar behind me.  
One more to go.

We take out the remaining guards, running to our enxt objective with 6 minutes to spare.  
Feral sniffs, tackling me down just in time for a hail of bullets.  
'Cease fire!' a female voice cries out. I look up, seeing a woman wearing a purple costume and battons raising her arms.  
Violet avenger, Alison Leary. No wonder why Norman is sleeping with her, why are all the pretty dames the bad ones?  
'Feral, fastball me, now!'

Vic nods, throwing me at the guards. I slash my way through, killing 2, wounding at least 4.  
Alison I believe her name is, growls, striking at me with her weapons, me blocking with mine.  
'I thought you learned your lesson last time you left this place Gargan!' she cries out.  
I push her away, kicking her in the stomach. 'You know my father is a slow learner…so am I.' I grin, slashing at her again.  
Footsteps, a lot of them.  
Feral roars, leaping towards them, screams shouting not to long after.  
4 minutes 48 seconds left!!!  
'Are you here to to sya me being with Norman is a bad idea, that I am like Karrie Stark?' she asks.  
'No.' I reply.  
'I'm here to tell you to run while you can, or else you'll be like Lucas Greenship.'  
She laughs. ' what, Norman cant fire me as his girlfriend.'  
'No, but he can shoot you out of a window.'

She blinks.  
'Wha…what?'  
'Don't listen!'  
A laser beam flies towards me, I rewind it back, '' falling down on the ground.  
'if Carol would see you like this she would be pissed Moonstone.'  
She gets up, flying at me.  
I slash at her arm, making a large wound on it.  
She cries out in pain, wonderfull.  
'With the regards of Lucas Greenship $#*$!%!' I shout, kicking her down.  
'No!!' Violet Avenger comes at me, but I take her down just as easily.

I gasp for air. 3 minutes left.  
I strumble towards the last pillar, placing the bomb.  
'Last one…Team B, you read?'  
Static, Damn I knew it!  
'Team B?!'

Hover boots? Osb-  
Being hit by concussion beams hurt if you didn't know. Iron Patriot's ones especially.  
George Gargan, I expected you to ARGH-  
Feral jabs his vibranium claws into Osborn.  
'You should hire better guards old man.'  
I get back up, but cant warn Victor for Norman's companion.

SNIKT.

Daken leaps jabbing Feral and getting him of Osborn.  
'You should get a better nose 'Old Man' .' Daken grins.  
Feral growls, slashing at Daken. ' You're the runt's son, I fought MORLOCKS thougher then you!'

Osborn reboots, but my sword already embedded his shoulder armor.  
Fool! he shoots his uni beam at me, ploughing me through the wall.  
You think I didn't see you coming, you think I didn't learn after the last two times you miserable little insect?!  
He shoots lasers at me, me rewinding them back.  
'Shut up Gobby!'  
It's Iron Patriot!!! he shouts out loud, flying at me.  
'Whatever!' I shout back, leaping at him.

The fighting is massive, stone is breaking, furniture torn to shreds. 45 seconds left!  
Gunshots, lots of them.  
I slow down time, looking east. Deadpool and Amir, both coverd in blood, are shooting their way to the rendez-vous.  
Good. Now I got them all in mysghts I can…wait…what's happening?

Your friend the over Seer is blocking your teleport powers Gargan, your finished!  
He cackles hysterically, but stops when I grin.  
'No….I got plan B.'  
I activate my com signal.  
'Weasel, Plan B!'  
'Rodger.' Weasel replies.

The helicopter fires one missile near our position, making a large hole while hovering next to it.  
I can still port a little, so I port everyone in the chopper. When I try to port myself in, somebody tackles me. Venom, Dad!  
'George!' Amir shouts when the helicopter flies off.  
Glad Weasel is following orders.  
I have nothing left to lose. Let's just hope they placed the bombs right.  
'Stop it George, you'll get yourself killed!' Venom shouts.  
'No…' I gaze at him, grabbing the detonator. ' I will get us ALL killed.'  
'What?!'  
I keep slashing, Daken and attacking me while I slash them.  
I press the detonator, letting the fires and explosions consume me.

The damage is immense. Avenger's Tower…completely gone.  
The tower collapsed like a house of cards. Over 15 billion dollars of damage and 148 HAMMER agents down, plus three of my own Avengers.  
comes at me, note pad and all.  
'Mister Osborn Sir, are-'  
I have no time for this.  
'I'm fine!!' I shout. ' Get me Ares and Sentry and tell them to follow that helicopter!'  
'I-I will sir….' She hesitates. 'Alison is fine by the way.'  
'That wont get me my prisoners .' I glare.  
runs off, doing her duty.  
In the rubble I see Gargan's blasted sword.  
I go towards it, but when I toke my last step.. I Freeze!  
In mid air, what is going on?  
I look up, a dark figure grabbing it.  
'Finally…after so long…' it said to himself.  
It wore dark long cloaks, it's voice not man or woman.  
It looked up at me with his green eyes.  
'You will see me later Sir.' He grins, disappearing into air.  
I  
I stand there, movement around me picking up.  
Pills, I need my pills.  
'Norman?' I look to my left, Alison in her half ripped Violet avenger costume I h-gave her looking at me. 'Are you all right?'  
'I'm fine Alison.' I lie with a smile. 'I'm fine.

Struggling, struggling to breath.  
I feel sand below me, but I cant see it, cant breathe, need air!  
The tides washes me along the shore.  
So tired…barely able to keep my…eyes..open…  
Fought the tides all night, no idea where I am..

I hear voices, footsteps in the sands. I try to open my eyes, only seeing a blurry face.  
'Sir, sir are you allright?' a female voice asks me.  
'Whe…where..?'  
She holds me up, shouting at somebody behind her to get help.  
'Your in Genosha sir.' She replies.  
'Genosha…?'  
'Stay with me.' She says with a stern voice. I open my eyes a bit more.  
A woman, mid twenties. Long red hair. Blue eyes, A concerned smile.  
It as if I met her before.  
'Your head was hit by something.' She says kindly. 'You allright sir, what's your name?'  
'My name…my name…'  
I don't know my name!!  
'I don't know…'  
What happened previously: Time-Warrior, the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds, is no more.  
He and the X-warriors, composed of Feral (Sabretooth) , Amir the Atlantean and Deadpool, attacked Avenger's Tower one last time with one goal, blowing it up sky high.  
Though it worked, George was forced to stay behind to make sure his team-members would be safe and activate the bombs.  
The Heroes won the day, with Avenger's tower gone and several of the Dark Avengers wounded, good has won for one day, but at what cost?  
With the losses of Iron man and Nightvision already, Time-Warrior's sacrifice is a bitter pill to swallow.  
But yet, out of the shadows, a mysterious stranger claims the sword, claiming it be his/hers and promises to aid Norman Osborn.

My name is Victor Creed. I was a cold blooded killer in a previous life…still am. But since I'm on the X-warriors, I get cheered for doing it. The public LOVE killers in tights I guess.

We ditched the chopper in the river shortly after we flew away from the tower.  
When we looked back the tower was already burning, crashing down.  
Amir was crying, Deadpool to shocked to make a joke. Myself…I get over it fast.  
George Gargan blew himself up so the angels can have one more day to life.  
Course the runt wont be happy when we get back, in fact most of the folks back at base wont.

We arrive at Harlem a hour or so later, Fury waiting for us inside.  
The look on his face told us enough, Weasel told Fury already about Gargan's final disappearing trick.  
Amir, gone back to her atlantean form, and Wade stopped sulking a few minutes ago.  
I pass Fury, my shoulder hitting his. 'Outta the way, I need a cold one.' I growl.

My head tilts from the fridge to the assembled (pardon the pun) crowd.  
One new scent draws my attention. Female. Doesn't take long for me to figure out who the owner is of that scent. Stark's widow. To bad I'm not evil anymore, boy would I like some of that.  
I grin somewhat when she comes over.  
'Is it true?' she asks.  
'Bout what frail,Gargan kicking the bucket?' I take a sip of my beer can, ah…that feels good after killing. 'Yup.'

SNIKT

Course the alcohol doesn't warn me of the runt's outburst.  
The runt grabs me by my throat, raising me a few inches from the floor, his clawsnear my neck.  
'You better keep yer mouth shut Creed, George was a better man then you ever will be!'  
I grab his arms, my nails digging through it.  
'Get your filthy hands of me runt!' I shout.  
'Enough, both of you!'

Nikki Howlett. Never expected her to be here.  
Logan let's me go, withdrawing his caws.  
'Since when did you get here Nik?' I rub my hand over my throat.  
'Since your girlfriend and daughter are waiting for you at home for 4 days, they are worried sick about you.'  
'I told her I would be gone for a week!' I growl, Logan growling back at me.  
'Please, cant you people stop fighting, a man died for us for god sake…'Karrie sighs.  
'People die all the time darlin'.i reply, taking a other sip, letting the morons be.

Amir and Deadpool come in, the Avengers coming over to ask questions.  
What happened, how did he die, who was responsible?  
The looks on their faces….surprise me.  
Especially Spider-woman's and 's (The not crazy one).  
From what I heard Gargan was a bigger player then Logan or Matt Murdoch is.  
What can invoke such loyalty, such friendship….?

Fury enters the room, everyone gone silent.  
'This changes nothing people.' He said. ' Gargan might be gone, but he made things easier for us, we get Osborn's Avenger's off guard and injured and Avenger's Tower is gone, giving us more time to think up other plans and rest easy knowing they wont find us.'

A moment passes.  
'Look, we lost three good men in the past week, but this is war people, deal with it.'  
A bad &*! to the bone for sure.  
'But they died so we can life, honour their memory by making Osborn got a job to do people, look sharp, or your number four on the body count list.'  
With that he leaves the building.

'First Cap, then Tony, now George……' Parker points out with a sigh. Wuss.  
'We'll make that mother pay.' Luke glares, clutching his fist.  
I cant help but ask. 'what's so friggin' important bout Gargan?'  
'He was a Avenger Creed, he was one of us.' The runt points at me.  
'I'll call Scott Summer…he deserves to know.' Ronin backs off.  
'I'll call his brother in law…poor children, first their mother, now their father…'  
I can hear Nikki almost crying.

Maria runs over to Wade, hugging him tightly.  
I've been around for a long time, but yet, this is the first time I feel…sad in a way.  
Stupid Gargan..

You know what I like about New York in whatever dimension I'm in? Lots of bad elements that need culling. Like here, Three guys who want to abuse a young woman. Cool right?  
Well if your me that is.  
I didn't have enough time to test this baby out, but as they say 'No better time then the present' .  
I leap down, my cloak letting the wind glade over it.  
I land on my knees behind the three thugs.  
They look frightened at me, Good.

'No way, that's Time-Warrior!'  
'Cant be, I heard he got iced three days ago!'  
'Smoke him!'

They pull their guns. Oh goody, let's test rewind.

BAM BAM BAM!!!

I raise my right hand, the bullets flying at me….and they stop!  
Awesome! I concentrate, the bullets flying back, killing two of them.  
The third shouts something, coming at me with his knife.  
Hup you go sword, defend my honour by cutting of his head.

SLICE

And there it goes!  
Going, going, going…Gone!  
The public goes wild!

Well not really, lady is &*$%# ing herself. I put my sword away.  
'You all right?'  
She nods.  
'Good, that'll be 15 bucks.' I stretch out my hand to her.  
She stares at me. 'W…what?'  
'Come on hun, I don't have all day, 15 bucks, pronto!'  
'But…you're a hero.'  
'Who needs money to, so come on, or else I charge interest on ya.'  
'Who are you?'  
'didn't you hear Flying Dutchmen's head hun?' I grin behind my mask. ' I'm the Time-Warrior.'

The end.

Next issue:

Dark Time-Warrior.

A new Time-warrior has arrived in New york, taking up George Gargan's mantle and fighting crime….for a price.  
Who is this new Time-Warrior, why does he/she attack Spider-man for no reason, and why is Norman Osborn giving him/her a spot on the Dark Avengers?  
Find out in the next issue!  
What happened previously:  
Time-Warrior is gone, long life Time-Warrior!  
In the wake of the destruction of Avenger's Tower, a new Tw has appeared, claiming the sword and the mantle of his/her predecessor.  
Not much is known of this new vigilante, only he/she is willing to work with Norman Osborn, is not shy of killing and works for a fee.  
But who is he/she, where does he/she come from and how is it possible she can use the swords powers?

New York at night, dangerous, violent and yet sexy all in one.  
No wonder why he fought crime here, never a dull moment.  
'NYPD freeze!'  
See?

I jump down the rooftop, stopping a guy with a purse in his tracks.  
'Holy &*$%#!' he curses. 'It's you!'  
People still think I'm the same Time-Warrior, y'know, the one who kicked the bucket at Avenger's Tower.  
I grin, kicking him where it hurts, punching him then in the face as a coup de grace.  
Now let's see for the purse.  
Junk, junk, junk, oooh money. I'm sure the owner doesn't mind me having half of her money.  
'Tw, stop right there!' a young cop shouts, aiming his gun at me.  
'Shhhh, your making me lose count of my earnings.'

He blinks when I put the money away and throw the purse at him.  
'Au revoir rookie.' I port off.  
New York, a town for the picking.  
This goes on till morning when I port back to my hide out.  
'1500 dollars for one night…not bad.' I think to myself, taking my mask off.

Somebody knocks on the door. Oh goody, landlady is here.  
I put on some normal clothes quick, going for the door.  
I open up the door, the old tart looking at me with her beady little eyes.  
'Rent?' she asks with her innocent voice.  
'Just a minute miss.' I fake a smile, grabbing a bit of my earns, giving it to her.  
'Punctual as always.' She smiles. 'How are you dear?'  
'I'm fine thank you.' I reply.  
'Good good, I fear I cant say the same about me though, I'm having a other knee operation next week.'  
I. DON'!  
'Oh no.' I gasp.  
She sighs with a nod.  
'Yes, but it's been dragging on for to long.' She says. ' Thankfully my grandchild will bring me to the hospital.'  
Oh, not again…  
'I think you would like my grandchild.'  
She always tries to couple me with one of her offspring's offspring.  
'I prefer being alone thank you.' I smile.  
'You sure, a fine person such as yourself shouldn't be alone you know, why, back in my day-'  
Oh hell…..

After a history lesson and a couple of hours napping I look out at Norman Osborn's new place. Not as fancy as the tower, but it'll do I guess.  
I grab one of my gadgets, checking the house for occupants.  
Norman is in his office, his girlfriend having a shower, and the other two life signs, they are playing cards in the basement.  
Good, time to make my intro.

I port myself in his room, he not lifting up his head.  
'I wondered when you would show up…' he mumbled.  
'I apologise, I needed to settle in a bit more, learn how to use this thing.' I point with my thumb to my sword on my back.  
'Offcourse…' he stops writing. 'Now, how can I help you 'Time-Warrior' ? '  
'Simple, I want to be in your Thunderbolts.'

He blinks.  
'I'm sorry, but the Thunderbolt program has been-'  
'Please Normie.' I sit down in front of him, resting my legs on the table. 'Let's cut the bull, allright?'  
He grins. 'Fair enough, it seems there is more to you then meets the eye.'  
'Indeed.' I grin behind my mask.  
'May I ask how you found out?'  
'I followed little bread crumbs your black widow left behind when she left 'The Vanguard' , I asked Blade in the Uk where she went, and followed her to Thunderbolt mountain.'

Blade was a tough informant, but after I showed him a coven or two he gladly kept his side of the bargain.

Gobby nods, looking at me.  
'Fair enough…but what do you offer in return,'  
I throw him the photo's on the table.  
'This is your 'Clock buster' crew during their free hours.'

Didn't take me long to track them. Down. I could feel the dark magic the Over seer is cooking miles away.  
'They are making a gateway to the dimension he's from, and he's almost done.' I explain when Osborn picks up the photo's.  
Hence I ask to join his Thunderbolts, the Clock busters is one of his teams. If the media has a look at this…

'How can I trust you?' he asks, putting the papers down. 'I don't even know your gender.  
'Does it make a difference?'  
'It does.'  
I sigh, taking off my mask.  
He turns pale a bit. 'This is quite a surprise…I read the reports, your supposed to be dead.'  
I put my mask back on.  
'I am, in this dimension, not where I came from.'  
'that explains why you can operate the sword itake it?'  
'yup..so, we have a deal?'  
'Sure.' He nods.  
'I want everything, money, apartments, lovers coming in and out.'  
'Lovers?'  
'I get lonely sometimes…isn't that why you picked somebody half your age?'  
He glares. Ooooh, touchy fellow.  
'Go to the mountain, I'll tell the group.'  
'Will do sir.' I grin, porting away.

10 seconds later I pop up, the group already waiting for me in front of their jet.  
I can recognise only three of them.  
Ant-man, Black widow and Ghost.  
'Time-Wariror?' The masked Black Widow asks.  
'Why else, let's go folks, time to save the world.'

TBC  
_(unfortunately, the story was ended there. But perhaps, I can goad him into getting an here so he can finish for us.)_


	36. Warp

**Warp (Or Wolverina Meets Magneta) by myself and Magneta**

Chapter 1  
Nikki Howlett sighed as she sat in the war room with the small team that had assembled. It was her, Logan, Beast, Emma, and because no one had been able to get rid of him, Deadpool. The most unfortunate part, was Deadpool.  
"There seems to be an interdemensional gap somewhere in this area of San Fransisco" Hank said.  
"How do you know it's interdemensional?" Deadpool asked, "It could just pick people up and spit them out in a Russian coffee shop. That's like another universe."  
Nikki slapped her forehead, "Please Wade, no one wants to hear this crap today."  
"But...If I don't talk, my diary will talk to me. He's been shut up too long! Don't let him speak Nikki, don't let him take control!" Wade said, clutching her arm with his gloved hands.  
She rolled her eyes, "Drama Queen."  
Logan chuckled, grinning, while Emma cracked a smile, and Hank rolled his eyes. Deadpool looked offended, "It's Drama King."  
"Whatever" Nikki said, "Can we get back to the time/space thing."  
"Well, I'd like to have a few volunteers to go scope out the area in which the warp happened" Hank said.  
Nikki looked around, "I'll do it."  
"Seconded" Logan said.  
"I'll go! Oh pick me! Pick me!" Deadpool said.  
"Please don't pick him" Nikki said.  
"Go with them Wade" Hank said, and leaned over to Nikki, "Someone needs to babysit him. If he falls in, it's not your problem."  
"What happens if I push him in?" she asked.  
Hank gave her a questioning look.  
She rolled her eyes, "Fine. We'll take him."  
Wade laughed and hugged her from behind, "Thanksies Nikki!"  
She shivered and brushed off her clothing, "He is so...."  
"Out there?" Logan asked.  
"Understatement" Nikki said.  
The three climbed in one of the mansion's large black Jeeps and pulled out. There were people gathered in the streets and Nikki sighed, walking through the crowd. There were people standing where Hank had said the warp would be.  
"Who are you guys?" Wade asked.  
"I'm not a guy. I'm Magneta. And where are we?" the woman in front asked.  
TBC  
(Over to you Magneta.)  
Chapter 2:

"I told you not to follow me through and what happens Magneta?" father asked, slightly annoyed, "the opposite!"

"Daddy? What are you doing here?!" I asked.

"Never mind that!"

"Alright you two brake it up!" said Storm, stepping in between us.

When I had heard from Scarlet Witch that an 'anomaly' or a 'wrap' had appeaered in the middle of the forest not far from Howlet Mansion, I went out to investigate. Storm and Banshee decided to come along for the ride. My first thought that there were going to be dinosaurs on the otherside, just like what had happened on my favourite TV show, Primeval. Unfortunatly, it turned out to be the exact opposite and VERY dissapointing.

"You've been watching that thing one too many times again haven't you Magneta?" father asked, not impressed after I told him why we were here.

"I thought it was going to be dinosaurs...not people" I muttered, looking down guiltily at my feet as though I was a bad child.

The wrap did look like an anomaly; a shimmering white light floating above the ground. That was why I went through.

"Anyway" said father, changing the subject and starting the introductions, "I'm sure you already know Deadpool...even if he isn't our Deadpool-"

"I'm everyone's Deadpool!" he put in

Father's eyes narrowed at him and Deadpool went quiet.

"And your...stepmother, Wolverina" father went on, a hint of uneasyness in his voice about why he had gone through the wrap (or anomalies as I called them), "when we get back, you and Wolverina are going to spend some time with each other to get to know each other better."

I gave a very shy smile and followed my father's  
lead.  
Chapter 3  
Nikki looked on in question with the two men being so okay with everything. She wondered if the two of them had previous experiance with these people. The girl, Magneta, looked at her quizzically. She replied with the same returned look.  
"Nikki, think this is cool or what?" Deadpool whispered.  
"How Wade? Tell me how this is so cool. I just found out Logan has ANOTHER daughter. The fact that we only have one kid together makes me severely jealous" Nikki said.  
"Oh my god...NIKKI'S JEALOUS! LOGAN! OH MY GOD! NIKKI'S ACTUALLY JEALOUS!!!" Wade shouted.  
Nikki tapped Wade on the shoulder. He turned around, and Nikki kicked him in the crotch.  
Wade doubled over and Logan burst out laughing, followed by Magneta. Storm and Banshee looked at each other, and Nikki grinned, "You know what? I'm actually glad you're Logan's kid. You have his sense of humor."  
Magneta grinned, "Thanks."  
TBC  
Chapter 4

On the way back to the X-Men's Mansion, I had to be suported by Storm and Banshee; I had the fit of laughter once more.

"Ye're acting like ye're drunk lass now stop it" Banshee whispered.

I stopped instantly. I had been drunk once before and I planned on not getting drunk ever again. I gave him a glare for having to remind me what had happened the first and last time I had ever gotten drunk.

"You were drunk too" I hissed.

"I can contain it. Ye can't...unlike Logan."

I was about to say something else when I thought better of it.

"Had enough?" Storm asked.

"You know what I'm like Storm; when something's funny I can't stop laughing for five minutes" I grinned, flicking my tail from side to side in a cat-like manner.

The car was pulled up to the drive way.

"Magneta, why don't you show Nikki your piano skills?" father asked.

I looked at him as though he was a vampire.

"Oh no; I'm a terrible player" I said.

"Or would you rather I let you try and sing 'Time To Say Goodbye' and in Italian?" father grinned.

"Alright then" I sighed, "Banshee; I'm going to need your help in this matter."

"What are we playing?"

" 'Viva Forever' by the Spice Girls...and 'Running' by Sarah Brightman. Unless you want to do 'Best of Both Worlds'-"

"Pitty Pietro isn't here. He likes Hannah Montana" Banshee grinned.

"Shall we then?" I asked.

He sighed heavily and we both followed everyone else into the  
mansion.  
Chapter 5  
Logan wrapped his arm around Nikki, having her watch while Magneta's fingers skillfully swept over the keys, playing her songs.  
"You girls really should get better aquainted" Logan whispered in her ear.  
"How?" Nikki whispered back.  
"Go shopping, something girls do together" Logan whispered to her, and applauded as Magneta finished her songs.  
Logan nudged her up, and the two exchanged an awkward hug.  
"Why don't you girls go shopping?" Logan said.  
Magneta smiled, "Um...okay."  
Nikki shot Logan a glance of 'save me from the Alice-style torture' as the two departed.  
The mall was huge, with two floors, and Magneta beamed hugely, "Oh. My. God."  
"What?" Nikki asked.  
"A Sarah Brightman shirt!" Magneta shouted, and ran to go buy it.  
Nikki turned around, seeing Hot Topic in her sights, and whimpered, as she forced herself to go after Magneta.  
Almost an hour later and the two realized they had very, very different tastes. Nikki had a few things, mostly in red and purple, while Magneta had dozens almost covering her face.  
Magneta followed Nikki toward her favorite store, Hot Topic, and heard Nikki's quiet gasp.  
"What?" she asked.  
"A Jareth shirt! I have to buy it for Elie!" Nikki said.  
"You do a lot for other people, don't you?" Magneta asked.  
"Depends on the day" Nikki said and laughed.  
"What do you mean?" Magneta asked, seeing Nikki in her element.  
Nikki flipped through the jeans, "There are days when I'll do most anything people ask me to do, and there are days when I'm just so sick and tired of it that I'll just decide to go home and lay in bed."  
"Why don't you just do that more?" Magneta asked.  
"Because. The world doesn't wait, I don't have the time" Nikki said.  
As she spoke the words, her phone rang, and she sighed, lifting it up. She was about to say something, when she glanced at the name, and picked it up instantly.  
"What's going on?" were the first words from her.  
She stifled a giggle, "What? Really?" She paused for a moment, "Okay, fine. Call me if you need me."  
She hung up and laughed madly, like she'd never laugh again.  
"What?" Magneta asked.  
"Elie's son got his foot stuck in the toilet and my son Vincent had to go pull him out" Nikki said, laughing.  
Magneta laughed, "Oh my..."  
Nikki nodded, giggling, "Yeah."  
The two looked at each other, "Want to go get something to eat?"  
"Sure" Magneta agreed.  
TBC  
Chapter 6

We both stopped off at Burger King for something to eat.

"Onion Rings?!" Nikki asked me.

"They're nice" I grinned.

"And they stink" she added with a laugh, "even more when you have a large size."

"Daddy sometimes doesn't let me have them or that reason, especially if I'm in the car with a group of people or the widow wile open" I explained as we got to our table.

We spent that morning mostly finding out about ourselves. She almost choked on her drink when I mentioned being brought up along side Magneto.

"He wasn't that bad in his younger years. I can see why he's got something against humans now that I've been with Erik for a long time. I don't exactly agree with what he's doing. At least I'm the only person thath can keep him in line from being a bad boy" I explained.

"Don't you remember anything about what happened before all of that though?" Nikki asked me, "your mother?"

I went quiet when she said that.

"I'm sorry Magneta; I should've known better" she apppologized quickly.

"It's alright" I said, giving a sad smile, "I don't remember much on what happened when I was younger. If you want to know more, Sean Cassidy might be able to help. He was a friend of mine back in school before..."

My voice trailed off again. Once more the memories were coming back at me again about mother being murdered by Sabretooth. I held onto my cup of hot chocolate tightly...untill it accidently popped and hot chocolate went everywhere.

"Oopsy; my temper strikes again" I said, blushing a little bit, "sorry about that. I have...bad dreams every now and again about that night when mother got murdered. We'd best get back to the mansion before father worries about  
us."

Chapter 7  
The two had gone back to the mansion, tired after a long day out, and gone to bed.  
Magneta slept uneasily, flashes coming into her mind every few moments. Sabretooth, her mother, the blood everywhere...  
Nikki awoke, hearing soft whimpers and mutters. She slid out of bed, walking over to Magneta's room and knocking gently.  
"Hey, are you okay?" she called in softly.  
Storm and Banshee came to the door, "What's wrong?"  
"I think she's having a nightmare" Nikki said.  
Storm went in, and sat at the side of Magneta's bed, shaking her gently, "Magneta?"  
Banshee went in with Nikki, and both stood by the side of her bed.  
Nikki reached out with a hand and touched Magneta's forehead. The memory hit Nikki like it was her own. She gasped, and stepped back, blinking away the scene that had suddenly invaded her mind.  
Magneta jolted up, awake, and saw the three in her room, "I-I had a nightmare again, didn't I?"  
Storm nodded, and hugged her tightly.  
"The hell's going on?" Logan asked sleepily, waking himself up.  
"Magneta had a nightmare" Nikki explained, "It's okay now."  
Logan's eyes snapped open, "No. It's not. Stay here."  
"Wait, what?" Magneta asked.  
Nikki caught the scent and glanced to Magneta, "Stay here."  
She took off down the hall after Logan, seeing him thrown into the wall. She wanted to shout to him, but then she saw the huge, lumbering figure walking out from under the balcony. Sabretooth.  
Magneta gasped, seeing the sight before them.  
Nikki glanced back, willing with her eyes for Magneta to go back, but Sabretooth had already heard and smelled them.  
"Two little frails all alone. Logan made this too easy" Sabretooth growled, his eyes glittering, "Nikki, it's been too long. Your blood still taste that sweet?"  
She closed her eyes, repressing memories, and her claws came down, "You wanted a fight Creed, you got a fight."  
She leapt over the railing, Magneta gasping again, and Nikki's claws slammed through Sabretooth's shoulder.  
He growled and slammed her into the wall, striking her with enough force to knock her down. He chuckled softly, gripping her wrists and shoving her back against it. He trapped her legs with his own, pressing her fully back against the wall. She struggled away, and he growled, "Keep struggling and I'll make it twice as bad as before frail."  
Magneta looked around the room, seeing several metal objects and smiled, "Hey, Sabretooth!"  
He looked up.  
"Go fetch" She said, and made the metal railing bend, turn into a ball, and slam into him. It sent him flying back across the room.  
Nikki dropped, looking back up to Magneta and smiled.  
TBC  
Chapter 8

The last time I had seen Sabretooth, I had only been a little girl of five with a loving mother and father. Thanks to Sabretooth, my path that I would've taken in life was changed forever the moment my mother got murdered.

"Out of all people, I didn't expect to see the runt's daughter ever again!" Sabretooth snaped at me.

The words stung me like a wasp sting would.

"You're going to die for what you did to my mother" I growled.

"Reeeeeally?"

Before I had even made a move against him, he pounced at me like his name sake the Sabre-Toothed Cat and I was banged up against the wall.

"From what I've heard in the past Magnetea, you've always been frightened of meeting the same fait as your mother Silver Fox had" Sabretooth whispered dangerously.

I gave out a small whimper, remembering that night that he had forced himself on my mother and...

There was an all mighty scream from above, shattering mine and Sabretooth's ear drums.

"YE THINK YE CAN TAKE MY FRIEND AWAY FROM ME ONCE AGAIN SABRETOOTH?! I'VE NEWS FER YE LAD; NO YE WON'T!"

Another one of Banshee's screams made Sabretooth loosen his hold on me and put his own hands over his ears.

"Over to ye both ladies...and  
Logan."  
Chapter 9  
Nikki beamed as Logan leapt up from behind Sabretooth, slashing at his throat.  
Nikki lifted Magneta up and stood with her, watching the fight. She hoped her love had the upper hand.  
Magneta noticed the way Nikki looked at him, worry in her eyes, and realized how much this woman really loved her father, even if it was another world.  
Logan growled, leaping back at Victor. Sabretooth slammed him into the wall, and Nikki snarled like a rabid dog, leaping at Victor herself.  
"Nikki" Magneta gasped, seeing Victor hit Nikki hard, slamming her into the floor.  
"Big mistake Creed" Logan snarled, and slashed open Victor's throat.  
Nikki reached out, her fingers winding in his shirt, tugging him down to her, and they kissed gently.  
Magneta looked at them, seeing the mates everyone else saw, but more. She realized, just maybe, she could accept Nikki as family. More than a friend.  
"Hey everybody!" Deadpool shouted, running upstairs, "Hank found a way back! What the hell happened here?"  
Nikki looked at Victor's severed head and laughed softly, "You don't want to know."  
She glanced over to Magneta. Since she'd come here, they'd bonded like never before. How were they supposed to leave now?  
"We gotta go guys" Deadpool said softly, "If they want to go back, we gotta go now."  
Nikki nodded, "I'll go too. I need to see them off."  
Magneta looked at them, knowing they'd be coming part of the way, and she nodded, "Let's go."  
To Be Concluded  
Chapter 10

I stood there, looking at the glittering lights of the anomaly (as I was now starting to call it). In the middle of the night, it looked like a Christmas decoration just hovering there.

"Sure you don't want to come back father?" I asked him, taking my eyes off the anomaly (for once).

"They need me over here Magneta" he answered, "so does your stepmother. Besides, you've still got Magneto, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver on the other side remember."

Storm and Banshee looked at each other. They both knew how much Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver liked me as a stepmother. Now I was begining to know how they felt towards me the way I felt towards Nikki.

"Don't let Cyke give you a hard time" said father, hugging me.

After giving both father and Nikki my last farewell hug, Storm, Banshee and me went through the anomaly.

Scarlet Witch was waiting on the other side, asleep next to a tree. She woke up when she saw it shimmering...and me Banshe and Storm stepped out.

"What took you guys so long?" she asked, "and where are the dinosaurs?"

"Veeeeeery funny Scarlet Witch. If ye know what's good fer ye lass, then be quiet. Magneta will tell all in time" Banshee answered, "Magneta? Where's that woman ran off to?!"

"Look!" said Storm.

The anomaly had closed as though it was never there.

"She really is as stubborn as Wolverine at times" Banshee muttered.

"It's not what you think" I said from behind a tree, grinning.

"I still can't believe you made us thought you went through!" said Storm, smiling.

"Come on, let's get back before we all catch a cold in the night air" I purred.

*

A few weeks had gone by since the adventure. We were quite suprised that Scarlet Wicth found yet another anomaly in the forest. This time round, Magneto was with me.

"Wow, I never though one day I'd step into the TV set and into that show" muttered Quicksilver.

"Get on with it Pietro!" I said.

"Oh ok then. Well, er, enjoy yourselves! And watch out for the dinosaurs on the other end!" Quicksilver called out.

I stuck my head through the anomaly, glaring at him.

"You were the one that said there would be dinosaurs on the other end the last time. Now shut up and come on; we're going to be late!" I snapped.

Scarlet Wicth and Quicksilver followed, both  
giggling.  
The End

Halloween Special

'So...let me get this strait Kayleigh; you're hoping for another anomaly to open up before Halloween so you can invite your stepmother to our Halloween party?' Emma Frost asked me a few weeks before Halloween.

I nodded.

'She's my stepmother Em; Nikki is entitled to come over you know.'

'What are you going to dress up as?'

'Blind Mag of course' I grinned.

At that moment, my phone rang.

'Yes Erik?' I asked.

'The anomaly has opened again so if you want to go through it, now might be an idea' he answered.

'I'm on it. Come on Em; we've got guests to  
collect.'  
Nikki laughed as she saw the anomaly open in the middle of Central Park, "Well, we know what goes on now."

Magneta walked out, and went over to Nikki. The two women hugged.

"So, I've heard through the Exiles' grapevine you're having a halloween party? Is this my insanely awsome invitation?" Nikki asked, and laughed.

"Yes" Magneta said.

Nikki laughed, "Well what're we waiting for? Let's go!"

She pulled Magneta along, knowing her old friends would get by without her.

They stepped into the Halloween party, and Nikki grinned, "Now that is just cool."  
We both got into the large ballroom that was hidden in Howlett Mansion.

'I'm dressed up as Blind Mag from Repo! The Genetic Opera' I went on at Nikki, 'you know my favourite singer is Sarah Brightman and she playes Mag in the movie. Who are you suposed to be Emma?'

'Buffy Summers' Emma answered, 'I'm a slayer tonight' she added with a grin.

'I've always wondered if she and Scott were related in a way...that'd be interesting.'

'You've a point there' said Nikki, grinning, 'who's he dressed up as?'

'Oh Mr I-Never-Smile is actually avoiding the celebrations' I answered with a grin, 'I believe I here Ghostbusters in the  
background.'  
Nikki smiled and sat down. She was wearing the costume of a witch, as it was amusing to her, just minus the pointed hat. She played with the necklace around her neck, smiling at the girls, "You've got anything in mind for this party?"  
"Truth or Dare?" Emma asked.  
Nikki laughed openly, "Oh god, the last time I played that game someone ended up naked, swimming in an indoor pool of peanut butter."  
Both girls looked at her in a mixture of shock and horror and Nikki shrugged, "At least he didn't have to go outside, ok? It was like 20 degrees."  
"Why did any of that happen?" Emma asked.  
"It's a long story, but there was drinking and some macho crap...don't even ask" Nikki said.  
"Who was it?" Magneta asked.  
"Pete Rasputin" Nikki said, "The X-Men's Christmas party last year."  
Emma burst out laughing, Nikki's grin mirroring her laughter as she chuckled, "That was pretty fun."  
Magneta looked at them, "How about we just...talk?"  
Nikki sighed, and took a six pack of Sprite off the table and climbed down on the floor to sit by Emma, "Let's play a game, ok? This is supposed to be a drinking game, but no alcohol here, so we'll keep it PG. You say something you've done before, and whoever has done it too has to take a drink from the can. Let me start. I've had to scale a building."

'True' I answered, after we were half an hour into the game, 'I've lost my mother twice.'

No answer from anyone.

'Ok then, let me try the remix' I muttered, 'has played the piano before.'

'Done!' Emma called up.

'Fibber; you've never been near one in your life Em!'

'Actually, when no-one's around.'

I was about to say another sentence when I decided not to.

'Ok then, how about a pumpkin carving competition?' I asked, 'we've some really good ones this year. Nikki, you can be the  
judge.'  
Nikki shrugged, "Sure. Why not?"  
She let the girls work and munched on some pretzels and drank her soda. When they were done, she looked at both and laughed, "Close call. But I'll have to say Magneta won this time."  
Emma looked at her in shock, "That's no fair! You're playing the family card!"  
"I'm really fighting the urge to go 'am not' like a six-year-old" Nikki said, and laughed.  
Magneta went back over to sitting beside Nikki and they all looked around the circle at each other for another few moments before Nikki leaned back, "So...twice? Seriously?"  
Magneta nodded, and Nikki took a drink of her soda, "Well, I keep coming back, so I know I topped that."  
Emma rolled her eyes, "Is everything a competition with you?"  
Nikki shrugged, "Only sometimes."  
They'd fallen into a debate about competing over every little thing, when the air dropped to a chill. Nikki looked up to see the warp begin to open, and she sighed, "It had to come at the good part of the party too."  
Emma sighed, "You'll be back. I'm sure of it."  
Nikki laughed, "With help from that thing or not, I will be."  
She hugged Magneta, nodding to Emma, and walked toward it, "Have a nice rest of the party girls, got to get back to where I came from."  
She hopped through, to land back near the bench in Central Park.  
Pixie jogged over, "There you are! Have you been hiding out here this whole time?"  
"Really Megan, don't you think I had somewhere better to hide than in plain sight?" Nikki asked. Only she knew the real answer to that.  
~End of the Wolverina part of the party~  
Nikki had been right; the anomaly had to open in the middle of the party. Everyone was staring at it as though they had ventured onto the the set of Primeval all of a sudden. With that in mind, it seemed like everyone was thinking a dinosaur was going to come rampaging out at any moment. To everyone's releif, no such thing happened after she stepped through and it closed behind her.

'Was that what I thought it was?' Erik asked, seeing it close.

'Maybe...either that or you've been sitting at the tv for too long' I  
grinned.  
The End...for good


	37. Twilight: A Prequil

**Twilight: The Nomads' Story**

Chapter 1- Victoria  
1880  
James Hartford was nothing like his father. The family business had yet to intrest him and never would, he prefered hunting over spending long hours in the study learning the languages of the world.  
"James? Did you hear me?" his father asked.  
James shrugged, looking out over the Irish countryside in awe. How could his father want to open mines in a beautful land like this? That was another thing James loved, travel. The thought of new and unexplored teritories thrilled him, but a lonelyness came with it. He longed for a companion with as much passion for what he loved to spend his days with. His father thought it was an unpleasant thought, but to James it was everything he could ask for.  
The carrige stopped abrubtly, jolting him from his thoughts and his father started unpleasantly, "Try to keep from killing us will you?!"  
James sighed and stepped out into the sun.

Victoria looked over the market to see what the commotion was about, a carrige had stopped, and a man was yelling at the driver about his bags. Another, younger man stood, streatching and turned to her. Her heart suddenly lept in her chest and she blushed and looked away, continuing after her sister Morgan.  
"Hello" he said.  
She turned, suprised to see herself face to face with the young man from across the way. She blushed and forced herself to look away from his shimmering blue eyes. His blond hair was longer than most businessmen she'd seen, and he was ruggedly handsome. Like the men from the American cowboy stories, not an English busnessman.  
"I'm James" he said, lowering himself to look at her through the curtain of hair that had fallen over her face as she looked down in embaressment.  
"Victoria" she said, brushing back her wild red hair.  
"Victoria" he sighed, "What a beautiful name."  
People around them whispered, shock and horror plain.  
"Your name is...fitting for a woman as beautiful as you" he said softly.  
His smile left her breathless and a heartless shout filled the air, "JAMES?!"  
He turned swiftly, almost hiding her from sight, "Yes father?" James asked.  
"Forget the beggar and come along, we have much work to do" his father said.  
"I'm no beggar" Victoria said, instantly regretting the words.  
"Are you adressing me?" James's father asked.  
"Yes, I am. You shouldn't talk to me like that, you don't even know me" she said.  
"She makes a point father, just because she's beautiful doesn't mean she wants something" James said, turning to her and tenderly stroking her cheek, brushing a strand of wild, red hair off her face. People gasped, but James didn't seem to care, he smiled, his hand still on her cheek. She could feel her face warming, a blush rising in her cheeks, but she smiled back and her hand went to cover his.  
"James?" his father asked softer, a look of shock and horror crossing his face.  
"Why don't you come with us Victoria? You know the land better than we do" James asked, "If that's not asking too much of you, that is."  
She smiled, "I'd love to, but I can't exactly say I agree with what you're doing."  
James laughed, and his arm wrapped around her, "That would be two of us."  
James's father looked stricken, and leaned against a fence for support, "James, I thought you didn't want to be out here."  
"It seems I have reason to think differently now father. Victoria, since you know the land, would I be asking too much for a tour?" James asked, offering his hand to her.  
She smiled, looking around the crowd to the shocked face of her sister and took James's hand, "It would be my pleasure."  
TBC  
Chapter 2- America  
The sweet scented flowers out in the countryside went for miles beyond what the eyes could see. James lay out in the field, staring up at the sky to watch the coming sunset. Victoria lay beside him, she smiled over to him, "Beautiful, isn't it?"  
He smiled, her hair softly stirring in the breeze like the flower stalks all around them, and he brushed it back off her face once again, "Not nearly as beautiful as you."  
She blushed and he laughed, "Don't be so timid, you're...extraordinary."  
She smiled, the blush becoming lighter, "You are unlike anyone I've ever met. No man here dare come up to speak to me, but you speak and touch, and feel...it's seems like you're an extention of myself."  
He turned to her, "I've been with you for only a few weeks, and I feel I know you better than I know myself. Tell me, what do you feel? What are you thinking?"  
She looked into his shimmering eyes and sighed, "I feel...different. When I woke this morning I thought it would be an ordinary day, like every other. But when I saw you...you saw me, I felt...loved?"  
James held her face in his hands, "I don't think it's possible for someone to see you and not love you."  
"Do you love me James?" Victoria asked.  
"Yes" he sighed, watching her reaction, "We don't fit in with the others well Victoria, we're different than them. I love you and I want to show it, no matter what they think. I want to shout to the world and tell them of the woman that captured my heart and I want to be with you always."  
She smiled, "I feel the same. I love you too James."  
James kissed her, knowing the risks of being with her, but he didn't care. He wasn't his father and didn't want to be. His father didn't have Victoria.

People could tell in a moment they'd done something couples in that time and place wouldn't have done. Victoria glanced timidly at James several times as he was with her always. They had become inseparable.  
"James!" his father called, ""Come now boy, this carrige won't wait forever!"  
"Father where are we going?" James asked, holding Victoria's hand tightly.  
"Away from here" his father said.  
"Why? I want to stay with Victoria" James said, turning to smile at her.  
"You can't. Now come, we must go" his father said.  
"I'm staying with Victoria" James said.  
"You can't, how will you live in this land?" his father asked.  
"On my own, I'll go to America with Victoria, there we can make a new life. You can't object to it father, it's not your life" James said.  
He gathered his things and stood beside Victoria, "Get what you need, we're going to America."  
"Really?" Victoria asked, exitement and joy in her voice.  
"Really" he said, tenderly stroking her cheek as they turned and went to get Victoria's things.  
TBC  
Chapter 3- Laurent  
James and Victoria packed and headed to the docks, boarding the ship first class to reach New York. They'd both heard tales of the magnificent statue that greeted the immagrants, 'Lady Liberty' they called her. James leaned on the railing to the ship, looking out over the ocean while Victoria walked onto the deck.  
"James, this is incredible" she said.  
"The captain says we'll be in port soon" he said, turning to her and wrapping his arms around her happily, "I've always wanted to see the world with someone that shared my intrest. I've gotten everything I wanted and more."  
People couldn't believe when they saw them that there could be anything between them, but there was. He kissed her lovingly and they looked out over the ocean.  
"Look!" someone shouted, running to the side of the ship.  
Victoria gasped, standing at the edge to see through the fog. Jame supported her, smiling joyusly. Through the fog everyone on the ship could see the giant statue, Lady Liberty.  
Victoria turned to him and grinned, "James, we're here."  
He smiled and held her tightly, "We're here. Together. We made it."

Laurent was waiting outside the bank with a few other people. People walked by, giving them glares and he turned to look in the bank window, hoping the deal could be settled.  
He walked in the other direction and bumed into someone, "Sorry chere, I didn't see you there."  
The woman looked away, "You giving her trouble?" a man asked.  
"No, I wouldn't dream of it sir" Laurent said, mumbling apoligies in french.  
"Leave him be will you, he already apologized" a blond man said, approaching with a woman Laurent assumed was his wife.  
"Merci, thank you" Laurent said, standing out of the way for the man to pass.  
"I'm James Hartford, this is Victoria O'Mally, do you know of a place we could stay?" James asked.  
"None around here, that's why my family and I have come out here to settle a few things with the bank so we can keep the place we rented" Laurent admitted, "I am Laurent."  
"Where is the nearest place?" James asked.  
"Not for a ways, but I hear Calafornia is booming since the gold rush back in '49. I was not alive for the gold rush but my mother has told me stories of it, an' she says Calafornia is beautiful" Laurent said.  
A little girl ran around the side of the building, "Laurent! Laurent! Momma said to come and find you!"  
Laurent turned from James and Victoria, "Addie, this is James and Victoria, they jus' got here. Did momma get the house back?"  
"No, but she says we're goin' out west! We're gonna be like the cowboys!" Addie shouted.  
James chuckled and Victoria smiled, "Would you mind us traveling with you?"  
"Not at all" Laurent said, "But you'd have to ask my mother."  
"How old are you?" James asked, chuckling.  
"Twenty, but I help care for my family" Laurent said.  
Victoria smiled and laughed, "I can relate."  
They walked into the street and saw the small group of people, "We're going to the trains. If you'll follow us, we'll show you the way" Laurent said.  
James nodded and smiled, taking Victoria's hand and smiling to her, "This is going better than I'd expected."  
Victoria smiled back, "Soon we'll have a home here. I truly can't wait James."  
As they walked to the train, a coven of starving vampires caught the scents of the travelers. The vampires growled and hissed and raced after the scents to the train.  
TBC  
Chapter 4- The Attack  
James held Victoria close, his lips gentle on hers. His heart swelled being with her, loving her at all was the only thing keeping him alive now. Nothing else truly mattered. He brushed her hair back and smiled, looking into her eyes.  
"James" she said softly.  
"Yes my love?" he asked.  
She smiled, "I couldn't have wished for someone like you in my wildest dreams."  
The train screeched to a stop, the sudden sound of metal being ripped apart nearby.  
"What's happening?" Victoria asked, keeping her voice down so not to be heard.  
James fixed his clothing and looked out into the rest of the train, "I don't know. Stay here, I'll be right back."  
He walked down the corridoor, the sounds of muffled screams coming from a ways ahead.  
Suddenly, a peircing scream came from behind him, Victoria!  
He raced down the hall back to her, reaching the room to see a man, if it was that, hunched over his Victoria, it's lips on her throat.  
"Victoria!" he shouted.  
The man/creature turned to him, it's eyes still black as pitch and it lunged at him, sinking its fangs into his throat.  
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Laurent, in the corner, nearly dead.  
His hand went out and took hold of Victoria's, her hand was trembling in his own, "Victoria..."

The fire burnt in their veins and they clutched each other's hands, crying out in agony. The welcoming darkness overcame them and they slipped into a quiet abyss. The sudden spike of pain and fire woke James from the quiet almost sleep he'd slipped into. Victoria knelt close to his side, her skin pale white and her eyes pitch black.  
"Victoria" he said softly, realizing his voice was different.  
"James" she said, her voice sweet and musical.  
He gently held her face in his hands, smiling to her. A sweet scent came from down the hall and Victoria turned with a catlike grace in the direction of it. James stood and sprinted down the hall, stopping at the room where the other vampires were. James gripped one's head and with a sickening crack, ripped its head off. The other two followed quickly and the sweet smelling, half dead human cowered as James lost control of the thirst and hugrily ripped into the human's blood covered throat, with Victoria on the other side.

The metal bent and twisted out of the way as the climbed down, James, ever the gentleman, offered Victoria his hand on the way down.  
"Thank you my love" she said, smiling, her brillian burgudy eyes gleaming.  
"Shall we go?" James asked.  
Laurent stepped off after them, "We're the only survivors, we should stay together."  
James looked to Victoria, "If it doesn't bother you, I'm alright with it."  
"If you can deal with us, we'll get along just fine" Victoria said, racing off and having James follow her.

Over a century passed with James and his coven hunting the humans for food but one day, in spring 2005, another, more powerful creature would catch his hunting intrests for a time.  
Siberia-  
James was actually loosing distance against the mighty creature. A werewolf, as big as they came was not six feet in front of him and he lunged and managed to slam it into the ice, making a sickening crack through the ice.  
"James!" Victoria shouted, stopping at the edge of the water.  
He wrestled the mighty thing, only coming up for short gasps of air as it attempted to throw him off.  
"James get out of there!" Victoria shouted. Laurent darted out and pulled her back, avoiding as the creature smashed the surface of the ice. Blood filled the water, and Victoria hoped it was the creature's.  
James staggered to the surface, dropping to the ground on the ice.  
"I hate saying it, but she told you so" Laurent said.  
James coughed and swung at Laurent, "And where were you?! You were supposed to be helping me!"  
"James" Victoria said softly, "You have to hunt, please. I don't want to loose you."  
He gently held her face, even after more than a century together he still loved her like he did the day they met. He even had to admit, Laurent was a pretty good friend when he wasn't running like a cowardly chicken.  
"Alright, we'll head back west and stay low for a while, nothing has to happen." Yet it did.  
TBC  
Chapter 5- Hunting  
As the nomad's left the baseball clearing James turned, the thought of his unattainable prize driving him in the other direction, after the car. Laurent had run and left them alone.  
Victoria raced after James, "James, wait!"  
He turned, "Didn't you smell that Victoria?"  
"Yes, but it doesn't matter, there are too many of them" she said.  
"I'll be fine" James said.  
"No, you won't! James trust me please!" she said, catching his hand, "I don't want to loose you."  
He turned to her, pulling her tightly against him and holding her, tenderly kissing her, "I will be fine. If I'm not you can come after me. She'll probably only last to the city limits anyway, I'll be back before you know it."  
She rested her head on his chest, "I love you, stay with me please."  
He chuckled, guiding her lips to his, "I love you too. I'll be back, don't worry about me."  
"Like that's going to help" she said, looking into his eyes, "Be safe, please."  
He chuckled, "I'll try."  
With a final kiss, a parting moment, he was sure he'd be back, but there was no stopping the worry that overcame her.

Victoria had been tracking with him, and she was halfway after him on his trail when Laurent stopped her, "Victoria! I found you, I thought you were with him. Oh thank god you weren't."  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
"He went to battle with the Cullens" Laurent said.  
She gasped, "Alone?! You should've been with him!"  
She raced the way Laurent had come, praying she wasn't too late. She could hear Laurent calling after her but she continued running, her fear making her fly through the trees.  
The Phoenix sun greeted her unhappily, it beat down on her as she ran franticly after his scent. The sound of the crackling flames sent her heart shattering into a thousand pieces, "JAMES!"  
What was left of the ballet studio was still burning as she dropped to her knees in the ruins. She reached around for anything and found his jacket, the only think untouched by flame. Sobbs wracked her form as she held the jacket tightly to her chest. She let out an anguished cry that made animals for the next few miles cower in their homes. She sobbed, realizing the Cullens had won. They won. Her head snapped up in an idea, if they'd killed her mate, she would kill...what was his name, Edward's. The others were there, but they didn't matter, they weren't the reason her James was gone.  
She pressed her hand to the broken mirror, "I'll avenge you my love, I promise." Tears ran down her face but she didn't care, the sudden loss was nothing compared to the hollow that filled her now. With a final look at the broken mirror, she ran to make her plans.

James started with a gasp, the rubble of the building all around him. The Cullens had..but how? How was he alive when they'd killed him? He caught a scent, it was only a few hours old, Victoria. He stood, he WAS dead, he had been dead, so how was he alive now? He didn't care anymore, his Victoria thought he was dead and he had to go find her before she got herself hurt.  
'Or worse' he thought and shook off the thought with fear. He couldn't loose her, not when she was everything he lived for. The girl, Bella, didn't matter anymore, he needed to find Victoria before it was too late. He ran back to Forks as fast as he possibly could, Laurent was close.  
"Laurent?" James asked, walking into the clearing.  
"James, we thought you were dead" Laurent said, coughing.  
"Where's Victoria? I need to find Victoria" James said.  
"I don't know, she's going after the girl. She might be here still, but I don't know" Laurent said.  
"What happened to you?" James asked.  
"Werewolves" Laurent said.  
"Go back up to where ever it was you went before and stay there. I'm going after Victoria" James said.  
"Easier said than done" Laurent said.  
James sighed and went twoard the town, hoping more than anything Victoria was still alright.

Victoria had the army together, but for some reason she felt more whole than she had in rubble almost a year ago.  
"Victoria, are we ready?" Riley asked.  
"Go ahead, I'll be right there" she said, looking up at the sky, "Even if I don't win, I'll see you soon my love."  
With a final glance, she walked into the clearing after Riley, knowing she'd see her love again. But not the way she would've expected.  
TBC  
Chapter 6- Savior  
James followed Victoria's scent, but when the billowing smoke reached over the treetops, his hopes crashed. There was too much smoke for it to be Victoria, but a smaller, yet still brutial fire billowed not far from the large one. He raced to the larger one first, stopping it before it could fully kill whatever was in it. The Cullen's stink was all over that place, but Edward's wasn't. Victoria wasn't here.  
He went in the other direction and caught the smell of the girl, Edward, the stink of werewolf, and a stab of pain shot through his heart, Victoria's scent. He went into the clearing, stopping the fire before all that remained was ash.  
Her shawl, torn and bloody in places, was the only thing untouched by the blaze. Then he saw it, she'd hidden his jacket in the bush at the edge of the clearing. He could tell in places what had been hers and what wasn't.  
Her bracelets, her clothes, also torn and bloody, he didn't have anything without her.  
He took the shard of rock that stunk like Bella's blood, at anyother time he would've savored the smell, but it was all a distant, hollow stink then.  
He forced the rock through his skin, letting venomus blood drip from the wound. He kept it open, the pain of it the only feeling he had left.  
Unnoticed to him, the ashes had started to seperate into two piles, both revived with his blood.

He stopped at the sight before him, Victoria was slowly taking form again, her wounds healing slowly but surely.  
"Victoria?" he whispered.  
Ash and blood streaked her pale skin, but her eyes, a beautiful burgundy, fluttered open, "James?"  
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to his bare chest, "Victoria."  
She held onto him tightly, "I knew I'd see you again. This must be heaven."  
He drew back from their embrace, stroking her face, "I brought you back. Somehow, I did. I can't live without you Victoria, nothing else matters now but you."  
She smiled, tear shimmering in her eyes and dripping down her pale cheeks, "You mean that."  
"Always" he said, kissing her tenderly and taking her in his arms, the reunion he'd hoped for, "You kept my jacket."  
She smiled, if she'd still been human she would've blushed, "I also kept the shawl. I keep everything you've had something to do with."  
He remembered, at that moment, how she'd gotten the shawl. He'd made it for her when she was cold in Siberia. She always kept a trinket from their hunts together, a symbol of how much they did together. He looked at her torn and bloody clothes, "You got yourself in pretty deep didn't you?"  
She laughed and leaned on him, "Because of you, might I remind you."  
He held her and smiled, "You know, I missed you too. There was no reason to rest at night or even hunt without you."  
She looked to him worriedly, "You haven't hunted?"  
"Not much, and I haven't had one I enjoied at all since I was without you" he said.  
She smiled, "We'll go hunt first, then I want to find that coward that calls himself our friend and kill him."  
"After you my love" James said, standing and helping her to her feet.  
She slipped the shawl over her shoulders and reassembled her trinkets, reaching in the bush and handing James his jacket.  
They smiled to each other and began a whole new hunt: Laurent.  
TBC  
Chapter 7- Heartbreak  
Laurent raced into Forks. Irina wasn't in Denali, she had to be here! He ran into the trees and was met by James's hard punch straight to his stomach.  
"James" Laurent gasped.  
"If that hurts now remember I'm just getting started" James growled.  
Victoria stepped out beside him and put her hand on his arm lovingly.  
"Can we do this later, I need to find Irina" Laurent said.  
A fire rose out of the trees and James held Victoria close, "Alright, what's going on?"  
"I don't know" Laurent said, running twoard the fire.  
James looked to Victoria and ran after him, letting her follow.  
Laurent was about to run into the clearing when James caught him and pulled him back, "Look. The Cullens and the wolves, you really don't want to go out there."  
Victoria stayed at James's side, she didn't trust the Cullens at all. As the Cullens and the wolves departed, Laurent ran out into the clearing.  
"Her sisters were just here, where was she?" he thought aloud.  
James stood off to the side with Victoria and let Laurent go to the fire, they already knew who it had been.  
Laurent dropped to his knees at the ground, a movement that left him still at the fire's side.  
"She was your mate wasn't she?" Victoria asked.  
Laurent nodded, "I have two sons, Aiden and Remy now. I know, you don't know how. But they were brothers, dying out there after a bear attack. We found them and they became our boys." James looked to Victoria, "We know how you feel."  
"How?" Laurent asked, turning to them.  
"Andrew is our son for the most part, do you remember in Siberia when the werewolves massacred that town? That was where we found Andrew. We made him go somewhere he'd be safe" Victoria said.  
"and? That's not anything. You have one boy, big deal, you also have each other still" Laurent said.  
James pulled Victoria close, pressing his lips to hers for a moment, "When I didn't I was frantic. I jumped at the slightest noise, I barely hunted. When I did, I didn't enjoy it at all. There was nothing without her, absolutly nothing. When I walked into that clearing and saw what the Cullens had done to her, all I thought about was being with her again. She's my life Laurent, I know exactly how you feel."  
Victoria smiled and pressed her hand to James's cheek, "and when I walked into the ruins of that ballet studio, I wanted it all to be a nightmare. I didn't want to live without you. That was why I knew if I hunted the Cullen's human I wouldn't live. It didn't matter if I won or lost, because in the end I would've killed myself to be with you anyway."  
James smiled, covering her hand with his own and Laurent laughed ruefully, "It doesn't matter! You got each other back! I will never have Irina again!"  
In a swift movement, Laurent lost whatever sanity he hand and punched James as hard as he could.  
Victoria in turn hit Laurent back, "Stay. away. from him."  
Laurent foguht back, racing at her and pinning her back to a tree, "What exactly gives you a right to get in our fight?"  
James caught Laurent off guard and hit him hard, probably breaking a bone as he stood by Victoria, "Are you alright?"  
She coughed and rubbed her throat, "Yeah."  
James wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her up beside him.  
Laurent was angry, but they were his friends, the Cullens had let her die and he hadn't been able to do anything! The Cullens...  
Laurent turned and raced after the Cullens, hellbent on revenge.  
James was more concerned with Victoria, "Are you sure?"  
She smiled, "I'm fine James. Are you?"  
He sighed, "As long as you are."  
They turned and followed Laurent, hoping to stop him before he did something he'd regret.

Laurent broke through the glass wall into the Cullen mansion, his eyes ablaze with rage.  
"Laurent!" Esme gasped.  
"You let her die, all because of what? The girl?" Laurent growled.  
Renesmee looked up from playing with a doll behind Esme.  
"Her?" Laurent asked, "A little girl is the reason my Irina is dead?!"  
Laurent lunged at the girl and Esme blocked, "Run Nessie!"  
Renesmee ran past Laurent and out the broken glass, looking franticly for someone to protect her.  
"You'd protect the thing that killed my Irina? Foolish woman!" Laurent said. Something had snapped, he unleashed the bloodrage on Esme. Renesmee ran out into the yard, back twoard the little cottage where she, Edward and Bella lived. James and Victoria came out of the trees and Victoria scooped up Renesmee, "James, where is Laurent?"  
Laurent walked outside and laughed, "Just like they deserve!"  
James slapped Laurent, "What did you do?"  
Laurent laughed and looked at the house, the blaze beginning, "and the gas helped too."  
James looked to Victoria, "If I can't stop this, I'll be back."  
"James, wait!" Victoria shouted.  
He knew from the moment he saw the place he couldn't stop it, but the Cullens didn't have to walk out empty handed.  
He brought things from every room, saving whatever was important to them and stashing it in the cottage house. The blaze was getting too strong and he went back out to Victoria.  
Victoria threw her arms around his neck and pressed herself close to him, "Don't even think about doing something so stupid again."  
"I helped them...to an extent. The place was going up too fast, but they won't be empty handed anymore" James said.  
"Why? They killed you" Victoria said, "and me too."  
"I know, but we didn't stay dead long did we?" he asked, chuckling, "If we'd been in the same position we would've done the same thing. That's all I think. It's...forgiving your enemies, but remembering their names."  
"What happened?" Edward asked, shocked.  
He saw the Cullen's enemies standing off to the side and he growled, "Carlisle!"  
TBC  
Chapter 8- Rivals  
Carlisle walked out of the trees, "What happened?"  
"I don't know" Edward said, "But I have a feeling they do.  
Edward gave James a look, "James? I thought..."  
Bella stepped beyond the trees and froze, James and Victoria were standing there and Victoria held Renesmee, bouncing Nessie on her hip.  
"Renesmee, come here sweetie" Bella said, leaning down.  
"No, I wanna stay with Victoria" Nessie said, showing Victoria what she wanted.  
Victoria turned to James, smiling, "She's gifted."  
James looked at the little girl in Victoria's arms, "Show me little one."  
Renesmee touched James's face and showed him what she thought of them, admaration shining through.  
He gently tapped Nessie's nose, "You're adorible."  
"Nessie, come here" Bella said, her voice shaky.  
"No" Nessie said, pouting.  
James wanted to laugh at Nessie's expression, but instead he turned to Victoria. Was this what having a family felt like?  
Victoria walked over to Bella and handed off Nessie, kissing Nessie's forehead softly.  
"Where's Esme?" Carlisle asked.  
Laurent looked down in shame, "I'm sorry Doctor Cullen. I..."  
Carlisle went white, if that was even possible with his pale skin, and raced into the cooling ruins of the house, digging franticly.  
Emmett and Jasper joined him in a heartbeat, "Where is she? I don't..." Jasper began.  
He turned to Laurent, "You killed her?"  
Laurent looked down in shame, "I'm sorry."  
"You killed her?!" Emmett growled, almost launching himself at Laurent.  
James looked over to him, "You what?!"  
Victoria put her hand on James's arm, "James, don't."  
James looked back to her, "No, I will. What if that had been you? I can't let him get away with this Vicki. We can't."  
Victoria looked away, "It would have too, if you hadn't stopped him in the clearing."  
James turned her face to his, kissing her tenderly, "I could never let anything happen to you. I promise."  
Carlisle looked broken, "Why? Laurent why?"  
Laurent saw the other Cullens, they were ranging from enraged to heartbroken, "I lost it. I'm sorry Carlisle, truly sorry."  
James went over to Carlisle, "I'm letting you decide this. Whatever it is you want to do now is up to you."  
"He's part of your coven" Carlisle said.  
"Yes, but he killed your mate. Do with him what you will" James said, walking over to Victoria and wrapping his arms around her waist, "I could never let anything happen to my Victoria."  
She leaned on his chest, looking over at the Cullens, "I agree. Your choice."  
Carlisle looked over to them, "Laurent knows what it's like to loose his mate. I'll let him go."  
"What? But Carlisle!" Emmett began.  
"No Emmett, it isn't our way. We don't kill" Carlisle said.  
"Nice, I would've liked that before" James said.  
"We'll go somewhere else. Start over" Carlisle said.  
"Where will we go Carlisle?" Rosalie asked.  
Laurent looked over to James and Victoria, "I know you didn't know of it, but I have an idea."  
The End and The Beginning  
(a prequil to the Wolverina stories)


	38. Spidey and Wolverina Team Up

**Spider-Man and Wolverina Team Up: Heating Up (by Rednikki and RealEternity)**

Plato  
"Only the dead have seen the end of war."  
Albert Einstein  
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and  
stones."  
Harlem  
23:06  
Peter stood over the city in his red and blue outfit, and waited for his pager to go off. Waited for the cops to rush to a crime. Waited for trouble. His pager beeped and sirens went off, and he knew that the night was kind to him. He swung towards the Main Street as a mysterious villain was battling Hulk. The Hulk was losing badly. Cops shot at both of them. The villain wasn't very muscular or strange. He wore purple shoes and gloves, a black spandex suit and a black balaclava, and over the suit was a brown long coat. He punched at Hulk like a bag of sand, only the bag was ripped. Hulk bled repeatedly as this villain battered him. Peter jumped towards them and threw a punch. The man went flying back into a metal bar. Hulk, dazed, ran blindly and tackled the villain into the ground. This mystery man was defeated. Peter turned towards some frightened cops working for SHIELD.  
"Um, who is this guy?" asked Peter, pondering.  
"Freefaller. He's trying to hit the big time. Desperate for fame, y'know? He's a cell-mutated guy who takes adrenaline fits during combat. He's dangerous, but not impossible to defeat. He's been arrested three times this week, and this is his third escape attempt. He always goes for the bigger heroes. More fame." explained Colonel Jim Clesk, one of SHIELD's commanders.  
"A wannabe?"  
"Na, a has-been. He used to be the hero called Streetsweeper. He had these boots that made him fly, and took adrenaline tabs before he got into action. He was heading towards Stamford to deal with Nitro and his gang. He took his tabs, but then he saw the New Warriors, so he walked away. Then the explosion happened. He was inches outside of it, but bits of the explosion caught up with him. His boots exploded and the chemicals of the explosion and their fuel mutated his DNA. That's why he has all these powers. He hates heroes because of what they caused, and wants fame because he lost it." Colonel Clesk said.  
Freefaller's face was shattered. His balaclava was ripped. Hulk changed back into Banner. He fell down onto his knees and raised his hand.  
"Hulk... Smash..." whispered Banner.  
Colonel Clesk walked towards Banner and told the guards to take him away. He then walked towards Freerunner.  
"What happened to you, man? Why become evil? Why hold a grudge?" asked Colonel Clesk.  
"I was so close to fame, and then those kids got involved, and caused the end of my superhero life. "Why not hold a grudge?" is the real question, Clesk."  
"You're sick. You're mentally disturbed. Just stop." Clesk said in a stern and concerned voice.  
"Heh." Freerunner laughed.  
Peter saw the two talking.  
"You two know eachother?" asked Peter.  
"We were friends." said Clesk.  
Peter walked away, and knew that Freerunner would escape again. He was worth an investigation.  
TBC  
Queens  
10:43

The abandoned office of Curt Connors was the one place where Peter could investigate Freerunner (a.k.a Streetsweeper). The computer and what he had found out would help him. He searched up Freerunner, but no results relevant to him came up. Then, he searched up Streetsweeper. The site "Shaun Hill Is Eating Little " came up, along with 10, 000 others. The initial letters spelt SHIELD. It was perfect. He knew the password for the site. Thanks to his membership with SHIELD, he could also enter the rest of the site and confidential files. Streetsweeper's profile was found.

Name: Leonard Kingsfield  
Alias (es): Streetsweeper, Freerunner  
Age: 31  
Citizenship: United States  
State (US): Texas  
Known abilities: Adrenaline surges (Accidentally Artificial)  
Convictions: Four (Updated)  
Convicted For: (1): Assault on Un-Registered Hero, (2): Assault on Un-Registered Hero, Evasion of Arrest, (3): Assault on Un-Registered Hero, Evasion of Arrest, (4): Assault on Un-Registered Hero, Evasion of Arrest  
Hair Colour: Black  
Skin Tone: Spanish-American (Espanic)  
Eye Colour: Green

Peter saw the pattern. He was attacking Un-Registered Heroes because they caused his mutation and stopped him from being famous. Now all he had to find out his how he was escaping the penitentiaries so frequently. His power of adrenaline surges during combat meant he must have somehow been able to fight or get annoyed. After some more research, Peter knew what was happening. Someone else was helping Freerunner escape. It made sense, as Freerunner was always at the same prison, so he must have had an ally that was somehow helping him every time. So, a few clicks later, and another profile came up: Teargas.

Name: Phil Ken  
Alias (es): Teargas  
Age: 29  
Citizenship: United States  
State (US): Cincinnati  
Known abilities: Manipulation and creation of gas capable of killing and hypnotising (Purposely Artificial)  
Convictions: One  
Convicted For: (1): Refusal to Register (eventually swapped registering for imprisonment)  
Hair Colour: Brown  
Skin Tone: White  
Eye Colour: Blue

Eventually, after reading reports on the two and their files, Peter found out that Teargas turned himself in because he didn't want to register and thought he'd be safe from Freerunner. Freerunner hated that sort of person (even though he also never registered because he thought he wasn't the problem) so when he went to prison he threatened Teargas to break him out every time and he would spare him. Teargas obeyed, and to do so, he used the food and drinks in the canteen to create formulas that would become power gases, as he was caught doing it once. The gases would activate Freerunner's adrenaline rushes. Also, Peter wondered why Teargas didn't just create a gas to kill Freerunner, but, then he knew why: Anything poisonous would upgrade Freerunner, due to the nuclear transformation. Peter now had the case sussed. He had to get to the prison soon, because this time, Freerunner's final plan was in action: the destruction of the prison, starting with Teargas. Why? For fame…

TBC  
Harlem  
11:01

Peter leapt at powerful speeds towards the prison. There was no trouble. He sneaked in through the back gates stealthily. His shadow disappeared as he entered a black space. There was a locked titanium door. It didn't hold. An explosion went off, launching it back at Peter. He got up to see a wolf-man defending himself against Freerunner. All of the guards were dead, and the prisoners shook their cells as the two fought. Teargas was dead.

"He-he-he! A registered villain, eh? That's weird! Too bad! All fleabags die of rabies!" shouted Freerunner, kicking the wolf-man to the ground.

"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAGGGH!" roared the wolf-man, ripping Freerunner's leg.

"Nnnng… Heh… So sore… Why do you fight me, Hell Hound? You're free!" roared Freerunner.

"You killed a cellmate--- Oof!" said Hell Hound, being kicked up the face by Freerunner.

"You killed a woman. There's a difference!" echoed Freerunner, getting frustrated.

"She was a super-villainess… She was going to kill hundreds… I was registered…" explained Hell Hound.

"To be honest, why do villains register? They don't need licenses for being bad! They should just be punished!" screamed Freerunner, punching Hell Hound.  
"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm here to stop you, so, yeah, um, mind turning round so I can---" Peter was interrupted by Freerunner, who tackled him.

"Registered and then betraying the Act? That's sicker than Nitro himself!" shouted Freerunner.

"Listen, buddy---" Peter's face was crushed with a raging punch.

Freerunner turned round as Hell Hound tore his face.

"Sh--- Argh! Son of a---" Peter kicked Freerunner from behind in his ankles.

Hell Hound kept ripping and kicking at Freerunner, and Freerunner finally fought back. He shoved at Hell Hound and bit his leg. Peter leapt at him and grabbed his neck. Then he slammed him into a cell. It's was Rabies's cell. Rabies unlocked his special cuffs with a dead guard's key and his skin turned dark grey again. His mouth and nose disappeared and his eyes turned back into red the alien-shaped eyes. The noise when he breathed came back. Like a bear growling. He leapt at Hell Hound. Then he threw a punch with his left hand, and another with his right.

"Heh… Now you really do have rabies!" said Freerunner, strangling Peter against Beetle's cell.

Beetle grabbed Peter's leg and crushed it.

"ARGH!" roared Peter in pain.  
"Ha! Revenge is---" Beetle's words were smashed by Freerunner who stabbed him with a cuff.

Eventually, all of the villains escaped due to Rabies's telekinesis. Some ran at Peter, some ran away. The ones that ran at Peter got attacked by Freerunner. Some died. Hell Hound smashed Rabies through a wall and ran away. Peter used all of his strength to tear a bar from the cell and obliterated it against Freerunner's head. Freerunner fell, and as he heard sirens, he ran away. Beetle grabbed Peter as he tried to catch him, letting Freerunner get away. Peter put his hand through the space where the bar was and snapped his leg. The SHIELD officers came. Clesk ran towards Peter.

"Jeez, Spidey, what happened here?" asked Clesk.

"It was… Freerunner… He's escaped, along with… The rest of them… Beetle's the only one that… Hasn't escaped… *cough*" explained Peter, gasping for air.

TBC  
'Woah, what happened here?' Wolverina wondered as she saw Spiderman laying on the ground with a SHEILD agent near him.  
"What happened?" she asked, jumping down.  
Spiderman looked at her, "Hey Nikki, long time no cough see."  
"Who beat you to a pulp?" she asked.  
"Hell Hound and..." Peter began.  
Nikki held up her hand, "I got it."  
"What are you gonna do?" Peter asked, standing weakly.  
"Kill 'em" she replied, walking off.  
"Ohno you aren't!" he said, webbing her and pulling her back.  
"What? SPIDEY!" she shouted, being dragged back to him, "What's your problem web-head?!"  
"Don't kill them. We're heroes, not hired killers" Peter said, walking away.  
"Oh great, this is your time to go fortune cookie? You just got yourself nearly killed!" she said, "And I can't be a friend and help you out of it?"  
"Then be a friend and help me take these guys down. But try not to kill them" Spidey said.  
Nikki grinned, "Now I'll agree. As long as I try not to."  
Peter groaned and Nikki's smile fell, "What's wrong?"  
"Between my head and my brain, I don't know what hurts worse right now" Peter said.  
Nikki offered him her arm and he took it, hobbling back to a SHIELD medivac with her.  
"Ya know, I have a feeling Logan may not be too happy about us spending so much time together" Peter said, grinning.  
"Oh please, he knows I love him, but a team up with you just might save my sanity from...well, everyone else" Nikki said.  
"Deadpool, you mean?" Spider man asked.  
Nikki grinned, "Exactly."  
TBC  
1 Hour Later...

Peter tapped on his arm. It was bruised to the core.

"Hey again, Pete." said Nikki, eating a burger.  
"Where'd ya get that?" asked Pete with his mask off, licking his lips.  
"The SHIELD Hall has a food-bar." said Nikki while chewing it.  
"My spider-sense is tingling for one!" said Peter, rubbing his hands together.  
"C'mon, I'll show ya where it is." said Nikki, throwing the wrapper in the bin.

Peter got up and walk with her to the food-bar.

"Listen, Nikki, just to be on the safe side, we are not anything else but crimefighting partners, 'kay?" asked Peter.  
"Yeah, um, sure Pete." said Nikki, turning round from him and smirking.  
"Nikki..."  
"Okay, okay. I know you and Logan are friends," said Nikki, "Oh, here's the bar. Um, can I have another bacon-cheese burger with chips this time and, what do you want?" asked Nikki.  
"Uh, just a, um, cheeseburger with extra onions." said Peter.  
"Yeah, and what he said. Oh, and two Cola's," said Nikki to the chef, "So, aren't you going to ask me how I'm doing with the mission?"

Peter collected the meals on a tray and walked over back to the seats.

"Yeah, so, how is the mission going?" asked Pete, picking up his burger.  
"Hell Hound's in Queens somewhere, hiding with a fellow villain or friend. I think it's a guy named Bovine." explaine Nikki, sipping her Cola.  
"Bovine?"  
"He wear's full leather and a mask with zippers for eye-holes." Nikki told Peter, reaching for the ketchup.

Peter also reached for it, and their hands were about to touch, until he dragged his hand away.

"Yeah, um, that's the problem with fast-food resteraunt's: They always forget the, um, ketchup..." Peter said nervously.  
"Um, yeah..." Nikki also said nervously.

They both got up, and looked away for a minute.

"Uh, random!" said Nikki, trying to make sense of the situation.  
"Yeah, very... C'mon, let's go." said Peter.

TBC  
Peter sat down, his gaze flickered over to Nikki.  
"What are you doing?" he asked.  
"You'd be surprised the stuff you find out when you get into SHEILD's database" Nikki said, grinning.  
"You hacked SHIELD? Oh man...you're gonna get us killed!" Peter said.  
"Oh relax, it's not like they'd know" she said.  
There was a knock at the door, making Peter jump, and he said softly, "I think they know."  
She shut the computer, tucking it under a pillow and lay back.  
"What are you doing?" he asked.  
"Sleeping, now go get the door" she said, and closed her eyes.  
"Spider Man? Did you make any progress?" an agent asked.  
"We're working on it. But we needed a short break-" Peter began.  
"Where's Wolverina?" the agent asked, and walked in.  
Peter turned and saw Nikki curled up in bed, under the blanket, seemingly fast asleep.  
"How long has she been asleep? We should be debreifing-" the agent began.  
"Not long. Let her sleep, she had a rough day" Peter said, and shooed him out. He turned to see her sitting up, her hair a bit messy, but other than that she looked as if she'd never been asleep.  
"Nice cover" she said, hopping out. She brushed her hair through with her fingers in front of the mirror before pulling up her mask, and hiding the laptop inside the pillowcase.  
"It's a SHIELD computer" Peter said.  
"Yeah, and we're coming back" Nikki said, walking out into the hall. The two walked in silence for a moment before Peter broke the tension, "About earlier, that was just weird. I mean you know I'm still getting over MJ, and you have Logan-"  
"Quiet" she said, and stopped.  
The lights flickered and went out, and Peter looked around, "What's going on?"  
"There's no life in these halls" she said, sniffing, "I smell blood."  
Peter felt fear creep up his spine as he turned and looked, nothing behind him. His spider sense was going mad.  
"Venom" she growled, her claws coming down.  
"Heya baby. Ssspidey, long time no sssee" Venom said, crawling across the wall.  
TBC  
"MAC'S BACK!" roared Venom, smiling with blood in this teeth.

Peter pushed Nikki from danger as Venom blasted a tentacle at her.

"Peter, look ou---," Nikki stared at Peter as a tentacle went through his arm, "Nooooooooooo!" roared Nikki, pointing her claws at him.  
"Ooooh, a feral one!" said Venom, copying her by using claws too.  
"N-nikki.... Don't----" Peter sat on the ground, bleeding to death.

Nikki tore Venom's face, but it grew back. Then, she threw a bin at him. It smashed. His face showed. Nikki took the chance and stabbed Gargan's face. One of her claws went through his neck, and so, he fell.

"Uhhh---" Gargan, now without Venom, bled.  
"Right, Gargan, why do all this?! Huh?! Peter might be dead!" roared Nikki, aiming her claw at him.  
"It's Bovine... He's my cousin, see? And I knew you were going to find him and take him cough in... I had to do something, so I had to kill you two to cough save him..." explained Gargan.  
"Is he staying with Hell Hound?" asked Nikki, calming down.  
"Hardly... Freerunner got to Hell Hound first... They think he's dead, but cough I dunno..." stated Gargan.  
"Would Bovine know?" asked Nikki.  
"coughIf he did, which he does, you wouldn't kill him?" asked Gargan.  
"Yeah, but why are you so concerned?" asked Nikki.  
"He saved my mother's life back ages ago... He don't deserve to---" Gargan bled out.

Nikki turned to Peter.

"Peter, we're going to question Bovine to see if he knows where Hell Hound is! I'm going to phone an ambulance!" raored Nikki, taking out a cell phone.

TBC  
Nikki growled as Pete was getting bandaged up, for the second time that day.  
"We need to get this Bovine b$%#d" Nikki snarled, pacing quickly.  
Peter looked at her, "Calm down."  
"I can't freakin calm down until this moron's throat is in my hands!" she snarled, whipping around to yell at him. She took and deep breath, closing her eyes, and opened them to him again, "Sorry. I want to kill this guy so bad-"  
"We're heroes. We try not to kill people" Peter said.  
"If my claws slip, it's not my problem" Nikki said in a tone of malice.  
"Nikki, god, don't you think I'll be expecting that now that you told me?" Pete asked, looking at her.  
"We've located Bovine" an agent said.  
"Finally, you people do something right around here" Nikki sighed, exasperated, and pulled up her mask, storming off.  
"Hey, wait up!" Peter shouted, running after her.  
She stormed down the halls, out to a helicopted pre-programmed with the coordinates.  
"Are you out of your mind?! We can't just go barging in there" Peter said.  
"Maybe you can't, but I can" Nikki said, taking the pilot's seat.  
Peter went into the co-pilot's seat, "Just listen for a second-"  
"Great, you're here, let's go" she said, grinning wickedly.  
The helicopter closed up and took off, and Peter groaned internally, "Great. You managed to get me to do something stupid I'll regret later. Just drop me off in a pit of spikes already."  
She put on autopilot, "Stupid? We're going to stop this guy and save innocent people and you think it's stupid?!"  
He glared at her, feeling his temper flare up to meet hers, "You're only p^$$#d off becaused Venom came along and proved he still had a thing for you, news flash, you already knew that! Or maybe you're just too good for everyone but Logan! Push your ego out of the way and see things the way they are, why don't you hothead?!"  
Her claws came down and her eyes narrowed, "Back off Parker. You don't want someone like me deciding you're going down."  
He backed off, realizing he must've hit a nerve. She growled and turned around sharply, kicking the side of the helicopter and making the door bulge out at an odd angle. She was shaking, growling, and trying to reign in her temper. To be honest, Peter had never been more scared in his life.  
The helicopter landed, and there were already men waiting, Bovine, Hell Hound and Freerunner among them. Nikki let out a feral roar and leapt out into what was sure to turn into a bloodbath.  
He heard metal on metal and shots being fired before his mind could fully register what had just happened. She could've, and probably would've, killed him. But she'd turned away and gone to kill other people.  
"Nikki!" he shouted, turning. He went down after her, "Wolverina!"  
She was killing everyone she set her sights on. Blood and carnage dripping off her claws, as she sliced through their guns. She'd already taken bullets, and she had clearly gone berserk.  
"Oh $#^%" Peter cussed, as she turned her eyes on the three remaining men. Bovine, Hell Hound, and Freerunner.  
TBC  
Bovine, who was clearly beaten, and Hell Hound, who also was, stared as Wolverina ran at them.

"These criminals are mine, Wolverina! Stand back! Ha Ha Ha Ha!" roared Freerunner, blasting a bullet at her.  
"Ya missed!" roared Wolverina, laughing.  
"All along, you thought they were in the wrong, didn't you? Well, shame on you! They will be executed right here and right now for their sins!" roared Freerunner, shooting Bovine in the leg.

Bovine, who was kneecapped and in pain, ripped away from his chains and attacked Freerunner. Nikki looked at Hell Hound.

"I'm bringing you in, Hell Hound!" shouted Wolverina.  
"Never!" roared Hell Hound, running away with chains on his wrists.  
"Get back!" yelled Peter, spinning a web at Hell Hound.

Hell Hound was caught, but as Bovine shot plasma at Freerunner, an explosion went off, and the ground beneath all of them crumbled slowly. It was Wolverine.

"Parkeeerrrrrrr!" roared Logan, smashing the building to pieces.  
"What the---" Peter was stabbed in the shoulder by Wolverine's claws.  
"You lying sonofabitch!" echoed Logan, digging his claws inwards.  
"James! Calm down!" shouted Wolverina, pushing him from Peter.  
"And you too, Nikki, you are a lyin' little---" Bovine grabbed Logan, blasting him through the chest.

Behind Bovine was a near dead

Freerunner.  
"What the hell--- just--- happened?!" asked Peter, on the floor with blood coming from his shoulder.  
"He thinks we're having an affair!" said Wolverina, shocked at what had just happened.

Logan got up. He brought out his claws and growled as he saw Peter. Bovine blasted him forwards.

"Hero scum! I'm free, you sons of---" Bovine was interrupted by Freerunner, who punched his hand through his stomach.  
"Holy god!" shouted Wolverina, pale.

Wolverina took out her claws and stabbed Freerunner in the neck. Bovine crawled towards a downed Logan and shot a blast of plasma at him. Logan's face melted and his metal skeleton showed. Peter sprayed webbing on his own injury and ran at Bovine, kicking him up the face. Bovine fell with blood flooding from him.

Logan got up and leapt at Peter. He missed and ripped Hell Hound from the webbing. Hell Hound got up and attacked Logan. As the four were occupied, Peter went dizzy. He sat down, and everything went silent. Blood dripped from him rapidly. Wolverina, holding Freerunner's dead body, stared at Peter. He took off his mask and lifted his hand. It fell.

"No! Peter! Noooooooo!" roared Wolverina, opening her mouth and gritting her teeth.

The blood came from the injury from Venom, but the Logan battle started it. Peter said one last thing.

"Tell MJ.... I'm sorry...."  
"Noooooo! No! No No No Noooooo!" roared Wolverina, crying and grabbing Peter's wrist.  
"Pete---" Logan was interrupted.  
"Just stop, James.... Stop...." said Wolverina.

Bovine stared at Peter's body, knowing what he had witnessed.

"PETER!" roared Wolverina, snikting out her claws.

TBC  
Nikki stared at Logan for a moment, anger, hurt and other emotions flitted across her face before she sighed with relief and threw her arms around him.  
"Don't ever scare me like that again" she said softly, holding onto his neck for dear life.  
He touched her back, "You didn't...did you?"  
"No" she said softly, "You know I can't live without you Logan."  
He held her face, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"  
"Shh, Peter was my friend. Nothing more. But...I have a feeling MJ's going to be more upset than anyone else" Nikki said.  
The two gazed back at Hell Hound and Bovine, who had been watching with wide eyes, and Nikki leapt at Bovine, catching him off guard and slicing open his throat. Logan threw Hell Hound to the ground and his claws went through Hell Hound's skull. Nikki watched Bovine die before looking back to Logan. He was looking away, guilt in his eyes.  
She pulled off her glove, reaching out and brushing her hand across the back of his face, "He was our friend."  
"I'm sorry" Logan said softly.  
"Don't apologize to me. You were jealous, I don't mind that. I'm glad you love me that much" she said softly, stroking his face. He brought his forehead to hers, closing his eyes. She kissed him gently, "It doesn't mean I'll ever stop loving you, either. You could be the most sadistic, sociopathic killer imaginable, and I would still love you like you were a hero. You'll always be my hero."  
He kissed her back passionately, and she leaned against his chest after a moment, tears in her eyes.  
"I killed our friend" Logan said softly, "You should hate me."  
"I don't. You didn't know. I don't blame you. I'm not dissapointed, I'm a little upset, but I'm just happy you're okay. I'm happy you're alive. I love you" she said, letting her tears stream down her face.  
"We should go tell MJ" Logan said softly.  
"Fine. But you might want to stay outside, and if she says anything, Pete may not have to worry about being away from her for too long" Nikki said. Logan noticed the change in her mood, and knew she was turning her pain into anger, channeling it out differently. She wasn't weak, she didn't need to cry on his shoulder, yet she did.  
"Let's go" he whispered, "I'll take care of you."  
She bit her lip to keep a sob inside, "I know. And I'll always love you."  
TBC  
Agent Paul Cinn heard the news. He was stunned.

"How'd he die?" asked Paul.  
"Wolverine, sir. He stabbed a wound caused by Venom. We're looking for him." said Agent Dean Jenkyns.  
"Parker was the reason I got into crimefighting. Kill Wolverine." said Paul.  
"Um, yessir."

Dean walked out of Paul's office. Paul called him back.

"Dean..."  
"Yessir?" asked Dean.  
"Is he really dead?"  
"Yessir."  
"Come back in here 'til I tell you about my idea. So, basically, we...---" Paul was interrupted.  
"Men, it's time to kill the Wolverine! Chop-chop!" yelled Commader Sauns.

Back at the crimescene, Wolverina grieved. It started to rain. Peter's dead body was washed, and Bovine and Freerunner's wounds also got washed away. The rain splashed. Logan sat, shocked. A crackle of thunder blew up. A news copter hovered overhead, and had been for ages.

"Ugh... *cough*" said Wolverina, nearly vomiting.  
"Please... Forgi---"

Wolverina looked at Logan.

"Right... So, I guess MJ should know first..." said Wolverina, walking away in the rain, carrying Peter's dead body.

In the darkness of night, lightning struck. Wolverina slept through it. But some people don't sleep. Logan stared through the window. She saw him and opened it.

"What is it, Logan?..." asked Wolverina.  
"Listen, Nikki... I thought you and Peter were... I never knew... When Sauns told me about you too... He must've been lying... 'Cause I believe you an' all, Nikki---" Logan was interrupted.  
"Sauns?" asked Nikki.  
"Yeah. He said you too were---" Logan was yet again interrupted.  
"Sauns hates you, James. He told you that 'caus he knew you'd killed Peter... Now he can kill you..." echoed Wolverina, crying.  
"What? Nikki, Sauns told me Peter tried to, y'know, to---" Logan was interrupted again.  
"To--- Wait, my god... That sonofabitch... Peter would never do--- They're gonna kill you!" said Wolverina, pointing at the choppers.

The helicopters released a man in a Spider-Man costume wearing a bulletproof armour on his chest and a white spider logo. It was Jenkyns. Dean.

"Freeze, Howlett, or die!" roared Jenkyns, taking out stingers.  
"Wait, agent, you don't understand! Sauns set James up! He made him think Peter was harassing me! I swear!" roared Wolverina, holding Logan's hand.  
"What?" asked Jenkyns.  
"He's using you to kill Logan!" said Wolverina.

Jenkyns saw the hundreds of troops behind him and went silent. He thought of Peter and how he influenced most of SHIELD agents.

"Sauns, you sonofa---" Jenkyns got shot repeatedly in the chest by laser guns.

The armour helped him, and he leapt into Wolverina's window, along with Logan. She got her costume and Logan guarded the door.

"Let's go get that motherfucker." said Jenkyns.

TBC  
Nikki tugged her mask over her face, going to Logan's side as they stayed down. The troops outside seemed confused, but it would be simple that none of them were going to last long.  
Sauns sat outside, with the laser gun, and shot the agents. They had no idea where the shots were coming from.  
Nikki climbed up the tree as stelthily as possible, swinging up and not disturbing the branch.  
"You thought of killing my husband" she snarled, "Now, it's your turn to die."  
He turned around, intent on shooting her, when she leapt at him, her claws out, and tackled him out of the tree. Her claws sliced through the laser gun and were an inch away from his throat when she heard the people dropping.  
"$%^%!" she gasped, "Logan, Dean, get the hell outta here!"  
Sauns had brought others.  
Dean went out in his bullet proof armor, watching the men all drop like flies, and knew how insane the world was going. Hadn't they been with him? Something else was going down, something big. Nikki sliced open Sauns's throat, leaping up, grabbing Logan's hand and pushing him and Dean back. The men walked out. Agents of HAMMER. Norman Osborn's guys.  
Then, Iron Patriot walked out. Nikki and Logan growled in unison.  
"What do you want Osborn?" she snarled, backing up.  
"Don't worry, this is simply returning a favor" Norman said.  
"A favor? From who?" Nikki asked, confused.  
"Logan's son" Norman said.  
Logan pushed Nikki back, "Keep Venom in line Osborn, or we'll be taking him out, understand?"  
Norman chuckled, it sounded cybertronic, "I'll try, but you know how Mac never listens. Don't you?"  
Logan snarled, "Stay out of this Osborn."  
"Right, right. Sorry" Norman said. The three continued glaring at him.  
"Well, I should be going. Oh, and a message; Consider us even."  
Norman went back to the helicopter with his HAMMER agents, and Logan growled, "Damn it!"  
"What?" Dean asked.  
"They know more than we think. Venom's not acting on his own. Norman's ringleading this" Nikki said.  
"So, this sounds simple" Dean said.  
"What?" Nikki asked.  
"We go take out Norman Osborn" Dean said, grinning wickedly.  
TBC  
Nikki stared back at Dean.

"We can't kill Norman Osborn! That's impossible! He has thousands and thousands of men and soldiers on his side!" stated Nikki, stunned by the comment.  
"We can, and we will. Venom's out for you, Logan. Your son, Daken or somethin', obviously wants revenge, and has spared you as a taunt. Venom's his weapon, as he's owrking for Osborn." Dean guessed, using his skills as an ex-detective.  
"Nikki, he's right. I don't want you killed. Osborn's the only one able to control Gargan, and my son, well... He despises me... I don't want to cost another life. Dean and I will kill Osborn and his men, and if it comes to it, I may have to kill Daken." explained Logan, turning away from Nikki.  
"But... How?" asked Nikki.

Dean lifted his index finger and said, "I know a guy. He can help."  
"Who?" asked Logan, squinting.  
"Jack." said Dean.  
"Jack?" asked Nikki.  
"Jack the Deadpool." said Dean.

Logan clenched his fist.

"No. Way."  
"He's the best of the best. The cream on the can. The beans on the toast. How the heck can you turn him down?!" asked Dean, shocked.  
"Let's just say a guy called Bong kinda crossed the line for me." explained Logan, smirking.

Dean ignored Logan and phoned Deadpool.

"Hello, Jack? It's Dean. Listen--- You said you were called Jack! Only your friends can call you th--- Alright, alright, so anyway, Wade, I need help. Ever heard of Norman Osborn? No, no, Norman Osborn. Yeah, the Green Goblin. Well, anyway, we need to kill him, and only you c--- A fee? How much? Um, that's kinda hard. Nikki's going out with Wolverine. What? Um, sure...," Dean turned to Nikki, "Wade wants to know if he can have your autograph."  
"Um, yeah, sure..." said Nikki.  
"She said yeah. Right, tomorrow then? Right, seeya Jack... Sorry, I mean--- No, no, I don't--- No, okay, Wade..." Dean hung up.

It was a deal.

TBC  
Deadpool banged open the door to the hotel the next morning around 4 AM, "I'M HERE!"  
Dean snored as he woke up suddenly, sprawled across the couch, and Logan growled from the bedroom.  
"What the hell Wade? What're you doing here now?" Logan asked.  
"I've come to help. Don't worry buddy boy, I won't be shooting you this time" he said, wrapping his arm around Logan's shoulders.  
"If you don't stop touching me-" Logan began.  
"Is Nikki in there? HELLOO! WAKEY WAKEY SUNSHINE!" Wade shouted, running in.  
There was a scream, Wade's, and he ran out, "Someone's not a morning person!"  
Nikki walked to the door, her eyes barely open, a robe wrapped around her, "It is not morning. It is 4 AM. Wade, we are going in at DAWN. That's two more hours. Now go to that chair, lay down, and GO TO SLEEP!"  
She stormed back into the room and Logan grinned after her.  
"She scares me" Wade said.  
Logan grinned, "That was incredibly sexy."  
Wade looked over to Dean, "There is something seriously wrong with him."  
Dean lay back on the couch, covering his face with a cushon, "Go to sleep Wade."

2 Hours Later-

Logan and Nikki were up and dressed, their stuff packed, and Dean awoke to the sound of Nikki's giggle. He looked over the back of the couch to see her sitting up on the counter, her lips locked with Logan's.  
"Oh god!" Dean gasped, falling off the couch.  
Nikki jumped, "Dean! What the hell?"  
"Hum 1924!" Wade shouted, "Oh, we're all awake. How about eggs?"  
Nikki rolled her eyes, "We already ate."  
"Ooh, well, I'm not surprised. Did you use each other as plates?" Wade asked.  
Nikki slapped him upside the head.  
"Okay, I know I'm not getting an answer now" he said.  
Dean sat there in shock for a moment, "This is the morning we're taking out Norman Osborn, and you're making jokes?"  
Nikki beamed, "Trust me Dean, there's nothing not to be happy about."  
Logan kissed her passionately, making Dean avert his eyes before he was mentally scarred, and Deadpool whistled, "Yeah! That's what I watch on TV at 4 AM!"  
They turned to look at him, and Dean looked at him in shock, "Did you just say what I think you said?"  
"What'd I say? Oh, did I just admit that I watched the Twilight deleted scenes at 4 AM? Silly me" he said.  
"He's lost his mind" Nikki whispered to Logan, who nodded.  
"Now, sexy lady and gents, LET'S GO TAKE OUT NORMAN OSBORN! Woot for all caps" Deadpool said, adding the last part on in bravado.  
Logan kissed Nikki passionately again, "If we die, it's his fault."  
"Always is" she said, watching Deadpool carry his guns out.  
TBC  
PART 1

CLICK!  
KA-KREEK!  
SNIKT!  
SNAKT!  
SHKLINK!

The guns were loaded. The claws were out. Dean attached his gun-wristbands and web-shooters. He put on his mask, and as Deadpool took a last sip of vodka, they got into his Mustang.

"Nice car, Wade." said Dean, feeling the hood.  
"Yeah, Taskmaster gave it to me for recovering a trace of Nik--- Um, for... Anyway, yeah, it's pretty cool..." said Wade, avoiding Nikki.

___________________  
Ten Minutes Later  
Osborn's Base

"---#Drivin' along in ma automobile, dun-dun-dunee-dundidde-dum, ma baby beside me at the whell, dun-dun-dunee-dundidde-dum, somethin' somethin' somethin' somethin', dun-din-da-dunbidde-dumbidee-dun, with no particular place to go#---" Wade sang along to his favourite song.

"Wade, shut the hell up! I'm reading National Geographic." said Dean.

"El Oh El man! NG?! You suck! Oh, I love this song! #Low low low low low low low low, apple bottom jeans, jeans, boots with the fur, with the fur, the whole club is lookin' atta her#---" Wade still interrupted Dean.

"God, Wade, you have no taste in mus---" As Nikki talked, the car flipped.

PART 2

It was silent for a few seconds.

"Ugh... Everyone okay?" asked Nikki.  
"That wasn't me! Although, I don't know how to drive, so, yeah... Ah, my head. Jeez! Awwww, and I was enjoying Flo-Rida and T-Pain rap to a very catchy song!" said Wade, patting his head.

Logan got out of the flipped car. It was Venom, Osborn, Daken and Bullseye.

"I'll take Venom; Deadpool, you take Bullseye; Nikki, you take Osborn; And Logan, you take Daken." said Dean, clicking his wrist-guns and aiming at Venom.

Osborn shot a rocket at them, knowing they would come. Deadpool leapt up, sacrificing himself into the rocket. He survived and as Bullseye ran at him, he stabbed him in the arm with his katana. Bullseye took it out and snapped it into two.

"Hey! That was $10, 000 of hard killing ya know! Not cool man. Not cool." said Wade, taking out his Doorknob.  
"Ha, that gun's freakin' 'Nam quality." said Bullseye, taking out an M4 Carbine.

Wade fired the tiny handgun. A ran of blue came out and zapped Bullseye's knee. Meanwhile, Osborn flew away as Nikki tried to hit him, and Daken stabbed Logan into a wall, also escaping. Dean had taken down Venom, and as Mac ran away, Deadpool shot him in the back of the head.

"Boom, HEADSHOT!" roared Wade, laughing.  
"Um, Wade, you just killed Gargan." said Dean, shocked.  
"El Oh El, man! EL-OH-EL! (Laugh, godammit!)" said Wade, poking Dean.  
Bullseye crawled towards the Mustang to get a bit of metal to throw.  
"Hey, buddy, NO-ONE touches the car!" said Wade, who then walked towards Bullseye.  
Wade picked up Bullseye and beat him with a bit of metal, even when he was knocked out.  
"Ha! Bullseye! Get it? No? Okay. Right, let's find Daken and Osborn, nursery pals!" said Wade, sitting on Bullseye.

TBC  
Logan sniffed, following the scent of the armor's fuel. Nikki growled, "I got 'em."  
The four headed off through the brush, staying low. Deadpool was going to make a snide comment, but decided against it since he could see how dangerous a turn things were taking. It was one of the many reasons he loved teaming up with Wolverina, because she never took things too seriously. But now, she was deathly serious. And to be honest, it scared the life out of him.  
They heard voices, and stopped.  
"That was rediculous! They wouldn't have caught us" Norman said.  
"You don't know them like I do. They would've sliced you open like a can of sardines and torn you apart" Daken said.  
Nikki waited, "Logan, Wade, take Daken, Dean and I have Osborn."  
The three men nodded, and Logan looked at her, "Be careful."  
"Only if you will" she said softly, and kissed him gently on the lips.  
Wade rolled his eyes.  
Nikki leapt, arcing through the air and landing on Norman's back, "Knock knock."  
Daken turned in time to be ambushed by Logan and Wade. Dean blasted, and Nikki slashed, and before long the two had the armor open. Nikki shoved Osborn on the ground, "You set this up. You set all of this up! You're the reason Peter Parker is dead. Do you know how his wife cried when we brought her his body? Do you know how you're going to die?"  
Norman looked at her, "I'm sure we can reach an agreement-"  
She snarled, putting her foot on his throat, "There is no agreement! Our friend is dead, you set up the b$%^d that nearly got a chance to kill my husband, and if you even think you're getting anywhere close to 'civil' with me, you're sorely mistaken."  
"Then do it. Prove you're so bad. Kill me" Norman said, coughing.  
"With pleasure" Nikki said, snidely, and sliced his head off his shoulders.  
Dean leapt back, "Nikki! Damn!"  
The fight instantly stopped.  
"What the hell did you do?!" Daken shouted, "I was going to do that!"  
"A little late on the draw, aren't you?" Nikki asked, a sadistic grin playing on her lips.  
"Baby, come on, it's over" Logan said, and pulled her aside.  
"What about him?" Nikki asked, looking to Daken.  
"What about me?" Daken asked.  
Wade locked adamantium handcuffs around his wrists, "You got the right to remain silent, see?"  
"Shut up Wade. We'll take him to the X-mansion, see if Emma can do anything" Logan said.  
"Wait a minute, what the hell?" Daken asked, "The mind witch isn't going into my head!"  
"Yeah, she is" Logan said, dragging him off.  
Later-  
Emma walked out of the room, Dean, Nikki and Logan were still there. Wade had since gone off and fallen asleep on a couch somewhere.  
"There's someone who might be of interest to you" Emma said, "Someone Daken was keeping hidden."  
"Who?" Dean asked.  
"Claudine Renko. Miss Sinister" Emma said.  
TBC

They got into the X-Plane.  
"Sacramento, here we come!" roared Deadpool.  
"Miss Sinister's here?" asked Logan.  
"Yep." said Nikki.  
Meanwhile, at the Mansion, Daken escaped.

TBC

Daken beat them to Sacremento, climbing up the six story appartment building. The second window on the fire escape, on the fourth floor, was Claudine's room.  
"Hey" he said, hopping down.  
"Hey, I was starting to get worried" she said, standing and going to him. He hugged her close, savoring her warmth, before letting go, "We have to go. They're going to find us."  
"Who?" Claudine asked.  
"My father, his woman, and some guy" Daken said.  
The two took off down the stairs together, running side by side.  
They heard the jet overhead and Daken cussed, going out the back door into an alley with her.  
"Come on" he said.  
"I can't" she said, "I...I can't do this."  
"Come on Claudine, I'll be here. I've got you" he reached out, taking her hand and pulling her down to the ground with him. They ducked down another alley, and Daken caught scents around them.  
"Damn it" he snarled.  
"They're here" she whispered, getting a sense of their minds.  
Logan, Nikki and Dean walked out. Daken pushed Claudine behind him, "Climb over the fence."  
"I wouldn't if I were you" Dean said, gesturing to the barbed wire at the top.  
"Look, I'll go back with you, just let her go" Daken said.  
"Daken" Claudine whispered, resting her hand on his back.  
"Why would you do that for her?" Dean asked.  
"Because. She needs to stay safe. Shaw has the Hellfire Club tracking her down. She can't stay safe with a target painted on her back like she would have if she came with you" Daken said.  
"Why do you care?" Logan asked.  
Claudine waited for the answer herself.  
"Because I..." he glanced around, and realized right about now the only thing he had to loose was her and his dignity, but he could part with the latter easily, "Because I love her."  
Logan's jaw dropped, Nikki smiled, and Dean looked confused.  
"I am...DEADPOOL!" Wade shouted, running out of the darkness.  
"Little late Wade" Dean said.  
"Aw man" Wade said, "So...we going home now? Because I've got a Golden Girls marathon to get to."  
"How about we make you two a deal?" Nikki asked, "You both can come back with us. We'll keep you both out of the line of fire with the Hellfire Club. And you just stay there, under the radar with us. Okay?"  
Claudine looked at Daken, "Might as well."  
He nodded, "But she stays with me."  
Nikki nodded, "That can be arranged."  
Daken wrapped his arm around Claudine, hugging her against his side. He didn't trust them, but about then, they had no other option.  
TBC  
Sinister, now the leader of the Hellfire Club, looked at his men.  
"WHERE IS MISS SINISTER?!"  
TBC  
Dean looked at the screen, "I don't get it."  
"The Hellfire Club got taken over by Sinister. But Sebastian Shaw still runs the coup d'etat" Nikki explained.  
"Why him? Why now? What do they have to do with anything?" Dean asked.  
"They anticipated the fall of Norman Osborn. Then, they put their plans into play. Shaw pulled out of the club because he knew Sinister would take over, and when Sinister took over, he expected to be able to get Daken and Claudine back into his plans. We're going to make sure none of that happens" Nikki said.  
"Okay then. That we can do" Dean said, and grinned.  
Claudine felt the rustling at the edge of her thoughts, and looked through the minds she could hear. Then, she heard it.  
Claudine...are you going to come home to your father?  
She leapt up, her book falling from her hands to thump on the floor, "S-Sinister?"  
But of course my dear girl. Are you coming home?  
She had flashbacks of her time there, in that place, and shook her head, her hair falling around her face, "No! I'm never going back!"  
You WILL. As long as I tell you, you shall do as I command.  
"No. I won't. I'm not you Sinister. I won't listen to you" she said.  
You will.  
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" she shouted, and sent him a psychic blast.  
In the Hellfire club, Sinister doubled over, clutching his suddenly aching skull, "Smart...girl."  
Claudine held her head, willing the mental blocks to stay up around her, to defend her thoughts from intruders like Sinister.  
"Claudine?" Daken asked, before going to her side, "What's wrong?"  
"Sinister wants me to join him" she said softly.  
"Are you?" he asked.  
"I don't know if I have a choice" she said, a whimper like sound coming from her. Daken had never truly seen it, but he was sure she was afraid.  
"You always have a choice" Nikki said, standing in the doorway.  
"What choice do we have? Shaw or Sinister?" Daken asked.  
"No. You don't have to go with them. You can stay here. You don't even have to do anything" she said, "Listen to me, I'm just giving you options. You can go out on your own if you like, but I'd suggest you wait until after we handle this, okay?"  
Claudine nodded, and Nikki heard the sounds off heavily booted footsteps.  
"Damn it" she said softly, standing.  
"What?" Claudine asked.  
"Probably Hellfire Club" Daken said, tugging her up with him, "Where should we-?"  
"Go to the War Room. Stay there. Dean and I got this" she said, and headed off. She leapt over the balcony and landed on her feet on the floor below. Dean walked out, "Nice."  
She grinned, "I try."  
"Surrender!" Shaw shouted. Sinister was beside him, the Hellfire guards in front of them.  
"Well, this should be fun" Nikki grinned, before going to test the guard's battle skills.  
TBC  
Nikki leapt into battle, instantly killing six soldiers as fast as possible. Logan grinned, following her into the fray. Dean was following the two of them, and Nikki smiled as she saw Shaw and Sinister at the very end of the yard.  
"Baby, mind if I take care of these two?" she asked Logan sweetly, her blood covered claws gleeming.  
He grinned, tugging her into a brief, passionate kiss, "Hurry back."  
She grinned and took off, blazing through hellfire guards, cutting them to shreds. Logan grinned as he watched her, hungrily watching her move.  
"What're you doing?" Dean asked, giving Logan an odd look.  
"Watching her fight" he said, and his claws went through someone without his eyes ever leaving his love.  
Dean rolled his eyes and finished incapasitating the others.  
Nikki grinned, leaping at Sinister, taking him out as quickly and as easily as possible. Shaw hit a tree, gaining strength, and hitting her back. He staggered suddenly, and Nikki glanced at him in wonder.  
The best way to take out a kenetic recharger, is with psychokenesis. Thank me later she heard Claudine's mental voice say.  
"Thanks" Nikki said out loud, letting it echo in her thoughts.  
Anytime Claudine thought.  
Nikki lunged, taking out a few more men. Logan took his eyes off her to finish off the fight.  
"Nice" Nikki said, looking over Logan.  
"Oh god, why are you two staring at each other like that?" Dean asked.  
Nikki grinned, "Because. He's lucky I happen to like blood and violence."  
"Oh ew.." Dean said.  
Nikki strode over, pushing Logan's mask back, and kissing him passionately. He tugged back her mask and kissed her back.  
Dean looked at them and around them, "You do know how creepy this is, right? Chucky? Tiffany? Should I go get Glen and Glenda?"  
Nikki's middle claw came down as she flipped him off.  
Dean's phone rang, and he turned away to answer it, "Hello?"  
"Spider man? We have a job for you" Nick Fury said.  
"No. I'm not Spider Man" Dean said.  
"You are now" Nick said, "Ready to start?"  
Nikki grinned, "Go get 'em kid."  
Dean grinned, "Ok Nick, go."  
The End.


	39. Time Warrior: Origins

**Time Warrior: Origins by Gorvar**

The city below was busy as always, the lights illuminating the night sky as the little figures below minded their own business.  
One of the rooftops one figure watched below, following the lead he picked up hours ago.  
Despite his recent shift to this way of life, the man who spied below seemed to know what he was doing.  
The teleporting did not cost any trouble where two months ago it left him drained after two jumps. His skill with the sword, which he received as well two months ago, laid in the hands of a professional. He could switch from normal sword-play to the eastern styles, he knew enough of the human body to take out, but not kill a full grown man.  
His costume and mask was something she made before….she found out.  
Technically it wasn't designed to move so well in combat, let alone withstand the teleporting. But it held together. His costume was grey, going slightly dark, as the mask covered all of his face save two white orbs which he used to see.

There! His target left the apartment, the chase could continue.  
Slowly the man slipped down, following the small figure amongst many other figures.  
A scream alerted him of a woman in distress. He hesitated. Should he go toward the scream and help the woman and risk losing the lead, or let the woman suffer in the hands of a maniac all the name of the cause?

He made his choice, and decided to do the good thing. He couldn't life with himself if he saw the newspaper the next morning detailing on a rape and murder.  
The man concentrated…and appeared behind a mob of men circling around a defenceless young woman, barely in her twenties.  
The men looked around, all seemed to share a green jacket or jeans, some even turning afraid at the sight of the teleporter.  
'It's the Time-warrior!' one shouted, pointing to the 'hero'. 'Get him!'  
Time-warrior grinned behind his mask. 'Take your time boys, don't want you lot to rush in without much thought.'

Personally this Time-warrior didn't like the name the papers gave him. He didn't have a time-motif going on in his costume. He could only slightly manipulate the time by slowing it down or accelerating it, that and the teleporting of course.  
The mob attacked him head on.  
'Your choice…' the masked vigilante said and drew his sword. In the shady lighting of the street lights one could see the sword he wielded.  
It was a broad sword with strange runes around it's edges. It looked properly western made, like in the dark ages, but still the gilt looked as if it had Asian, Japanese samurai design.

TW, for the papers abbreviated him so, fought his foes, taking them down one by one. He hit each of his targets, but always made sure he didn't kill them.  
He cut one in the leg, another in the arm, punching a other guy in the face, rendering him unconscious.  
It took under 3 minutes to take fifteen of them down. The masked vigilante put his sword away behind his back, making sure the lady was all right.  
'You ok miss?' Tw asked, the lady obviously in shock.  
He held out his hand. 'Come on, let's get you someplace safe.'  
The woman blinked at him, eyeing him suspiciously.  
'Hey, if I was worse them, why would I bother saving you?'  
He needed to work on his 'calming the victims down' talks, but it got the point across. For now. When the woman blinked, not only was she near a police station, but with fourteen of the gang members tied up behind her.  
The police officers ran toward her.  
'Are you all right miss?' one asked, taking her away from the crooks, who were now dragged off into custody. She nodded. 'It was him…' she said.  
'Who?' the officer asked, giving the woman a blanket to warm her up.  
'Time-Warrior'.

The last member woke up, noticing his pals were already off. He got up, rubbing his temple, and ran off. In the shadows Tw glared, following the member.  
He noticed these gang members had a lot in common with the target Tw lost mere moments ago.  
They all seemed to carry a green jacket or jeans, marking their membership to the organisation Tw spend days searching. They all seemed to concentrate their efforts on stealing pharmaceutical companies or doctors medicines instead of money. Except this group who just wanted to 'have a little fun.'

The crook entered a run down clinic, guarded by two large men. Of course with green jackets. Seemed his search would've led here after all, even if the masked vigilante choose not to help the woman. But the hero stayed away from those dark thoughts, he felt he did right, and it would feel more right when he took down this group that calls itself 'Hydra' once and for all.

'Now…' Time-warrior grinned again. 'For a dramatic intro..'  
He teleported himself to the top of the building, looking through the window as the henchman ran towards…a masked man?  
He wore a green hoodie with a mask and red bug like eyes. His costume on his chest showed serpents. Tw glanced deeper, seeing the medicines laying around, especially next to two canisters that had several quick burning products laying around as well.  
Bombs then, biological bombs.  
'All right…' Tw gathered his courage and teleported below. 'Hello everyone, sorry to barge in.'  
The Hydra members all swarmed towards him, guns and sticks drawn under one warcry 'HAIL HYDRA!'.  
The first melee guys were again easy to beat. It seemed in every fight some part of him took over, laying the smack down.  
He didn't even have to use his sword this time.  
The gun-men opened fire. Time to show off his new trick.  
Tw raised his hand as the bullets were mere inches away from him…..until they slowly 'rewinded' back to their guns, exploding them.  
Tw drew his sword, cutting the guns away.

When he turned around to face the masked man, he received a spray of gas. He coughed, falling to his knees.  
'So then Mister Time-Warrior…' the masked man grinned. 'How does it feel to have some anti-mutant gas in your veins?'  
Anti-mutant gas? Since when did someone invent anti mutant gas? How did losers like these able to invent said gas…unless somebody did it FOR them, and they worked FOR those who invented it. Guessing from what they stole, it was easy to make.  
The masked man kicked Tw down, aiming his gun at the masked vigilante.  
'Any final words, mutant?'  
He could see his life flash by him. His first kiss, him gaining his degree, first time he get close to a woman….in all of them she was there…Mary. Sweet sweet Mary.  
The woman of his life, her long brown hair flowing around in the wind, her fair smile warming his heart….  
Why did she suddenly shun him? Because he was different? Because he was a mutant and therefore a spawn from the devil?  
'I'm sorry George…' she said to him mere days ago. 'But I cannot share my life with a man who is not a child of god.'  
With that she blocked him out of her life and moved back in with the nuns at the orphanage.  
All those years together, all those moments, the friendship, the love, the firm time….all gone, in one day.  
Many times did George wish he idn't show her his powers….but he decided it would've happened sooner or later.  
Now he was alone.

His mind went back to the present, where the man was about to push the trigger.  
'Don't think about using your powers…it'll be more painful for you mutant.'  
George used his powers and found…no pain at all.  
He stopped time, getting back up. He grabbed his sword from the ground and let time recommence.  
The bullet hit the floor, the Hydra leader blinking. Tw slashed the gun away and sliced at the man's legs.  
He cried out in pain, clutching his leg. 'How did you survive, we tested this on mutants, YOUR SUPOSSED TO BE DEAD!'  
'Test again…' Tw replied and punched him KO.

Ten minutes later the police arrived, taking the Hydra agents in.  
George's mind reeled, if that man was right how come he didn't die?  
Perhaps….he wasn't a mutant after all?  
He began this crusade to proof Mary that mutants ARE good people, that they can do good deeds. Tw sat down, watching the police take the Hydra-gang away.

He teleported back to his apartment, taking his mask off as he went for his medical closet, letting the pain killers dissolve in a glass of water.  
'Hello Mister Gargan.' A voice spoke to him.  
Immediately George drew his sword, aiming it at the source of the voice…only to find a bald elderly man in a wheelchair.  
'Who are you 'Wheels' and how did you get in?'  
George felt bad for saying that, he wanted to apologise but…  
'It's quite all right George, I understand, it was indeed a stressful evening.'  
George blinked. 'Who are you?'

'My name is Charles Xavier, and I'm here to offer you a place among equals….'  
George drank the pain-killers, taking a minute to reply. 'If you mean a place for mutants…don't bother, I'm not one of em.'  
'I know.' Charles replied. 'But still, you did us a huge favour tonight.'  
'You mean..'  
'Yes, I'm a mutant, and I know you are not. but we could use people like you to make the world a better place.'  
'Why should I?' George asked. 'The only reason I did it was-'  
'To get Mary back, I know.' Charles interrupted. 'But deep down you just want to help people…make the world a better place, so no parent would leave their child behind at a orphanage.'  
George sighed. 'Mind-reader?'  
Charles nodded. 'but that is not the point…you are a good man Mister Gargan, and man who isn't afraid to stand up for mutant or human.'  
George thought. Mary would never talk, let alone see him ever again. His chances finding his parents were larger f he worked together with someone….and who knows, if George did help as a 'mutant' and it got out, she might talk to him again after all....  
'If you help me find my parents…' George said. 'I will do whatever you ask.'  
Charles smiled. 'Then it's agreed….and let me be the first welcome you to 'The X-men'.

The end.  
The air was thicker...more smog then back home.  
Buildings were a lot taller to, but George didn't mind at all.  
He was in New york, on his way to his father's PI bureau. George closed his jacket, the cold winds making him shiver.  
His hand went deep into one of his pouches, grabbing a piece of paper. 'This was the adress' he thought to himself.  
He opend the door, stepping inside the building.  
The Prof gave him the adress after a month of research. What George knew from Charles Xavier, and the investigations he did himself, his father's name was Mac Gargan, a New york Private Eye who in recent months accepted money from Jameson, the owner of a local paper called 'The Daily Bugle'.  
But also in those recent months, Mac vanished off the face of the planet.

Hence George was here, trying to find a lead to his father.  
Mac Gargan, private eye it says on the glass from the cowebs and the stack of letters on the ground, Mac hasn't been here for a while.  
George peers through the stained glass...seeing nothing.  
immidatly he goes to another of his pouches, grabbing a key of sorts.  
A gadget from Beast aka Hank Mccoy.  
It's a special key, designed to fit for every lock on the planet. George didn't know how it worked...but it worked so far.  
The door opend, George stepping in.

Clearly nobody has been here for a long time.  
George immidatly went through the mail pile. Most of them bills, a few from worried relatives....nothing usefull.  
He sighed, no new leads then. Back to square..  
George jumped away from the window as something large and green crashed in.  
Taking no chances he stopped time, taking his vest and trousers off, revealing George in his Time-Warrior costume, now with a belt with the letter 'X' branded on it.  
He slipped his mask on and drew his sword, letting time flow normally again.

The green thing turned out to be a man in a costume, it being in the form of a scorpion.  
'What, another one?!' The scorpion-man shouted, his tail going for Tw.  
Tw deflected the strike with his sword, punching the Scorpion in his face. 'Dude, i didn't do anything!'  
'You heroes are all alike!'

The two fought in the room, but Scorpion's acid blasts from his tail drove them both outside. Still in all that time, George couldn't figure out why the super-villian, for that was the only reasonible explination, attacked him.  
'The hell did you attack me for?!' George asked, kneeing Scorpion in the stomach.  
'You were in my office, that's why!' Scorpion replied.  
His office....could it be that....

Stupid, getting hit like that. Lesson number one in fights, never let your guard down.  
Tw got slammed against the wall, pedastrians running away. The Time-warrior got up, shaking his head.  
But allready his adversary leaped for him. Tw slowed time down, acting on his instincts.  
His office....could this man be Mac Gargan?

Just then Goerge saw a little girl was locked between the two of them. immdiatly he grabbed her, time slwoly catching up, as he threw her to the side, catching Scorpion's tackle.  
He couldn't breathe, the air squeezed out of his lungs by Scorpion's weight. Sight was going a little dark, not a good sign.  
'Your dead hero!' Scorpion shouted.  
Luckily the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds had a trick up his sleeve. Concentrating, George teleported himself above his green adversary, with a roundhouse kick slamming him against the wall.  
Scorpion's tail leaped to it's owner's defence, but so did Tw's sword.  
George blinked, it was the first time his sword moved on it's own. Or did his arm do it subconciously...?

Scorpion went for another tackle, but this time Tw was prepared. He ported again, this time a punch on Scoprion's back.  
.The hero did not let up, continuing the fight.  
Police sirens came closer as armed police-men aimed their guns on the two.  
'NYPD Freeze!' one of them shouted.'That means you Gargan!'  
Gargan....so Scoprion IS George's father.  
'You wont get me alive!' Scoprion, or Mac Gargan, shouted, unleashing his venom on a nearbye building.

As if it was coverd in gasoline, the building caught on fire...not jsut a building, but a school! Allready now Goerge could hear terrified screams.  
Scorpion made tracks. Seconds felt like hours, what choice should Goerge make?  
Follow or save the children?  
On insticnt George put his sword away, porting inside the school.  
One class, mostly 10 year old, were near their teacher, the fires allready having claimed the door.  
The smoke was getting worse, George could barely breath through his mask.  
'Groundfloor, going down!' Tw shouted, concentrating on himself and the group.

In a second the group was allready down below going towards the police.  
Tw took the teacher aside. 'How many more inside?' he asked her.  
She was in shock, figures...  
'Lady, how many!' Tw lost his cool.  
'Twe..twenty-four, on top.' she said. 'The other class...'  
Good, he could carry another twenty-four...hopefully.

Tw ported back up, the class and their teacher allready there on the rooftop.  
The teacher, an african american barely in her thirt-ies, stood in front of her class.  
'Relax folks.' Tw said. 'i'm taking you down below.'  
'No..stay away!' the woiman shouted.'I know how you mutants are.'  
Ah great.....  
'Lady, i'm not a mutant okay?' Tw sighed, raisng his hand to her and the class. 'Now hang on to your lunch.'  
The class dissapeared, appearing back down below...except the teacher.  
'My class, what have you done to my class?!'

She batterd on him, his weakend body collapsing. Seems his fight with Scoprion did take away a lot of energy.  
'Damnit' he thought, trying to get back up.  
'What have you done with my class?!' she cried out.  
He tried to talk to her, calm her down, but she wouldn't listen, to hysterical.  
'Sorry...' he mutterd, using his last ounces of strength to punch her down, porting her and him on ground level.

He fell down on his knees, a police officer taking the woman off him.  
Any moment George expected the cops to arrest him...but instead got a plastic bottle of water given to him.  
Lieutenant Mendoza, NYPD.'  
George looked up at the officer, seeing a graying man with a small moustache. His glasses, sunglasses to be precise, gave a bit of mystery to him.  
Tw nodded, drinking the bottle.  
'First time i see you here.' Mendoza continued. 'You heroes are popping up everywhere.'  
Tw shrugged, giving the bottle back. 'Thank you...'  
'You got those kids out.' Mendoza said, adjusting his sunglasses.'And you gave us a lead to whom this Scor-'  
'Mac Gargan.' Tw interupted. 'Discoverd his identity myself.'  
Mendoza blinked. 'Well...there goes two months of research...'  
'Two months?' George asked.  
Mendoza nodded. 'He showed up two months ago, dont know from where though.'  
The lieutenant grabbed a cigaret, lightning it. 'you smoke?'  
'No thanks i'm fine...' Tw got back up. 'Should be going.'  
Mendoza nodded. 'Take care kid.'  
With that Tw dissapeared.

Minutes later in Mac's office, Mendoza's cellphone sounded.  
'Mendoza.' he said.  
'Time-warrior.' the voice on the other end said. 'I got a lead to how Mac got his powers.'  
The old cop blinked. 'How the hell did you get this number?'  
'I got friends.' George replied. 'See that file on the closet left of you?'  
Mendoza glanced, picking up the file, opening it. 'It's all phone number bills....'  
'Check the last ones.'  
A small pause.  
'These are all one number...'  
'The Daily Bugle.'  
'Right...i'll talk to Jameson tommorow...' Mendoza thought. 'Why are you helping me?' he asked.  
'He might know where Mac is.'  
'Your not gonna kill him are ya?'  
'No.'  
'Right then...seems we're partners then.'  
'Sounds good to me, talk to you later.'

George hung the phone up, looking up at the tv-screen and newspapers.  
He saw a patron in Scoprion's heists. He was targeting high tech labs, expo's...gathering enough gear for a labretory.  
During his fight George saw the costume was not just a costume, it was like skin, his tail working to good to be something cybernetic.  
It was during this time he began fighting Spider-man, another connection to Jameson.  
Still, why steal all those high tech gear?  
George investigated more, making a dozen potential places to be hit.  
This one made the most chance...Stark Enterprises opening, with guest of Honour John, Jonah Jameson and Maria Smith, head of Stark enterprises in Europe along with her daughter Kimberley, who happens to be the smartest girl in Europe.  
Things will get hectic...but this time George will be prepared.

The end.


	40. XWarriors Fanfiction

**X-Warriors: Fanfiction by Rednikki and Gorvar**

Hey there all.  
Some of you might know the the x-warriors, othersprobebly not, so i'll give you a quick introduction.  
X-warriors is a team created by me, rednikki and and612.  
It is a x-men team but with super heroes in it aswell.  
Sicne the team appears a lot in our, and even in other fanfictions, meand rednikki deicded to give this team a shot as a seperate fanfiction and will be written by both of us, and And612 to if h wishes.  
We dont know if we do it chapter by chapter or Arc by Arc. we'll get back to you ^^

Reason team: This team was created to take on the disbanded X-men mantle. It is, as Tw calls it, the X-men team as it should've been, mutants and humans working together to preserve human and mutant kind.

When: Created shortly after messiah complex, most fought during the events, including Time-Warrior and Wolverina.

Team roster.

Time-Warrior/George Gargan: Team leader, super hero who can manipulate space and time with his sword. Also called the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds.

Wolverina/Nikki Howlett: Wolverine's wife, uses magic and deadly claws.

Hezipah: Space alien and memberof the X-men.

Deadpool/Wade wilson: Mercwith a mouth and comic relief of the group, is known to go insane and starts yoddeling scenes from the godfather.

Feral/Victor Creed: 'good'side of the former sabretooth, returned first as a memory created by Nikki's magic, but regained a form and turned good (due to Tw's influince) is the Team's best killer and tracker.

ice-man/Bobby Drake: one of the original X-men and one of the more powerfull members of the team.

Redeemer/Maria rexton: The dauhgter of one of Tw's bad guy lsit, choose to use her power to help people.

And612: Daredevil's clone, has all his powers and gifts, but has a diffrint costume and personailty.

Allies:

New Avengers: Luke Cage's secret Avenger group, Tw, Wolverina and And612 are also membersof this group.

Charles Xavier: provides advice and X-jets, sometimes gives misions.

X-men: Since it is a X-men team, the X-men are also allies of this group.  
From x-factor to force.

Magneto/Eric Lensherr: only George knows Eric gives information to the team from time to time, mostly about anti mutant groups.

enemies

Puryfers: enemies on there to kill list. Threat to the mutants on their group and the X-men, authorisation to kill.

Children of the Vault: Human beings as they should appear in hte enxt few millinia, almost all rounded up by a X-warriors mission.

and many more...

Hope you likethis preview, first chapter coming up tommorow.  
Arc will be called 'The Hunt.'  
Charles Xavier dreamt of a world where mutants and human lived together in harmony. To that purpose he made a team of mutants to safeguard mutant-human relations. After the events of House of M, in which only 198 mutants retained their powers where there once millions, relationships between mutants and humans were at a all time low. Shortly after the events of Messiah Complex and the disbanding of the X-men, Time Warrior, former X-men current Avenger, decided to create a new X-men team. Although not given permission by Cyclops, TW led his team on various missions to save mutant kind.

The Hunt…

My name is Time Warrior, the man who can be anywhere in less then 10 seconds. 3 weeks ago, we lost contact with some of our friends. Logan, James, Rahne, Laura…  
Nikki panicked, Logan never stayed away so long…same with Hezipah. These four were part of X-force during the crisis with the baby, that was the only link.

'You believe you found a trail?' a voice says behind me. I look back, a bald man walking towards me in neat clothes.  
'I think I did Charles.' I reply, pointing to the X on the map in front of me.  
'My wife analysed data from the past 3 weeks, all one way or a other led to this point…'  
'Colorado…'  
'Angel's place….' I reply, putting my arm down. ' I'm grabbing Nikki, Hez and Feral with me, see what i can find.'  
'What about the rest of your team George?' Charles asks.  
'Im keeping Maria and Bobby here, they're to busy training, Deadpool and And612 are 'cleaning house' in New york, besides, this team has to travel light, we lost to much time In those 3 weeks.'

We leave the danger room, going to the hanger.  
'Any other leads?' charles asks me.  
'Other then the people who are missing were all part of X-force…no, nothing.'  
Charles nods. He asked my help in this to, before my life as a super hero I worked as a detective; he knows I'm the best in tracking down people.  
The elevator goes down, slowly I see my three other team-mates appearing. Wolverina, Hezipah and Feral, all lined up and waiting. I put my mask over my head, strapping my sword tight behind my back.  
'The X-men are in San Francesco, if anything goes wrong…'  
I nod, I completely understand. No back up if anything goes wrong, no means of escape.  
'Good luck George.'  
'Hopefully we don't need it Charles.'

I walk past my team-mates, stepping inside the X-jet. We're all quiet, big difference if Wade was here. No wonder to, Nikki and Hez miss their men, it would stop anyone from making wise crack jokes, I have no idea what they are going through. Feral has a girlfriend and kids back home to, he is probably thinking about them to.  
I sit behind the controls, switching on the engines, less then 5 minutes later we are air born.

We arrive at Colorado shortly, the jet in hover mode.  
I look back at my team.  
'Angel's Aerie , last stop.'  
'You believe we can find a trail to James here George?' Hezipah asks me.  
'Best place to start looking Hez.' I reply.  
'Relax Hez, I can sniff that runt' smell in a second, we'll have em tracked in no time.' Feral grins. My eys go to Wolverina, who remains quiet.  
'You ok Nik?'  
She nods slowly. 'Lets just get down there Gorge…'

I port us down to the aerie, gasping like them at the sight, flames, fire, debris…cross signs.  
Feral growls. ' purifiers…'  
I nod, drawing my sword. We walk through the ruins of the mansion. Other then burned out paintings and statues, we found nothing, until…

'Wait…I got a scent…' Wolverina sniffs, going inside a building. We follow. It is…was a tennis field apertnly, the glass of the windows everywhere….Hezipah sniffs.  
'James was here to…' I look around, crouching near a piece of paper on the ground. Washington it says…  
Feral stands up. 'Company..'  
I grab my sword, slashing insticvly on my right. A purifier falls down.  
'Look alive people, it's super hero time!' I cry out, seeing my team is already in battle.  
'Yeah, now this is fun!' Feral chuckles, his claws already covered in blood.  
'Leave some for the rest of us Vic, we get payed per kill, not per hour.' I reply, rewinding bullets to my foes.  
'Demons and sympthathisers, lay down your wea-' their leader tried to say, but received a magic arrow in his head from Nikki, she is not in the mood for games. More of them keep pouring in, insane Christian zealots….now I know how Jerusalem felt during the crusades.  
'There are to many!' Hez tries to kill as many as she can. I nod, porting me and my team out of the room, into the jet.  
Just as isit behind the controls, the radar goes off.  
'incoming missile, incoming missile…'

TBC  
My name is Nikki Howlett, the world better knows me as Wolverina, and this may be one of the worst moments of my life. "Start the jet Gorge, I'll hold it back!" I shouted over to Time Warrior, casting my magic as a force fild around the jet. Gorge nodded, starting the jet. The beeping became more rapid, and for good measure I expanded the forcefield to keep the jet from being caught in the blast. Suddenly, I felt the explosion against the forcefield. The blast jarred the jet, shaking all of us. The jet sped off, with a Purifier helicopter close behind. "Warning, Warning" the radar beeped, more missles being fired. I threw up another forcefield, hoping this would last against the hail of missle fire and gun fire. "Gorge, try to teleport us" I shouted. He nodded, foucusing as I held the shield. "Gorge hurry!" I cried, feeling the heat burning my hands, blood straming from the wounds it had created while a metalic taste began to fill my mouth. Gorge teleported us, landing in Belgium, near his home.

I fell to my knees, Feral's hands on my shoulders, "Nikki, you alright? Nikki, c'mon answer me!" Feral said. I coughed, blood. Great. "Gimme..a minute" I gasped, struggling to breath. "What happened?" I heard Kim say. I closed my eyes, struggling to foucus my power to healing myself. "I don't know, this hasn't happened before" Hez said. "Nikki, Nikki can you hear me? Are you alright?" Kim asked. I nodded, trying to focus on my connection with Logan, I HAD to know he was alright, I just HAD to. 'Logan?' I thought, 'Logan hear me please!' 'I can hear you darlin, how'd you get your magic through the shield?' he thought to me. 'Logan, where are you?' I thought to him. 'The purifiers attacked us while we were unprepared, they took us captive. Don't follow us baby, please' he thought. 'No, I'm not leaving you' I thought. 'Darlin, please' he thought, I could hear the worry in his thoughts. 'Logan, I promise you, I'm going to get the team and we're coming after you' I thought, breaking it off before he could try to convince me otherwise. "I know where the team is" I gasped out, my wounds mostly healed in those few moments with Logan. "Where?" Gorge asked. "Colorado" I said. "Give me the coordinates" Gorge said. I relayed them to Gorge and we took off again, to go find the team, to go find Logan. I sighed, as much as I loved him, and he loved me, I knew I was gonna be in for it until we got home.  
TBC  
My name's Feral, the guy formerly known as sabretooth. Folks think im him, but im not. I aint a clone, or a twin brother, im him, but im not. Speak up if ya lose me. When George gargan was in a coma, Wolverina, runt's wife, used her magic powers to send her worst nightmare, Sabretooth, to wake George up. Still with me, good.  
Now, durin' the coma, I grew to much personailty wise, and so i shared George's body fer a while, untill Wolverina and doc strange gave me my own body.  
Allthough i look like Victor Creed, and in many ways AM him, my time with George brushed off on me...hence im on eof the angels now.

Thing is, i dont mind. Build up a life of my own. Pals with the runt, got girlfriend and kids, and im part of the X-warriors, George's team. Couple of days ago he asked me to help track down the runt, since that is what I , not me, the other I, did all the time.  
We had a lead enar Angel's aerie, only to be set up by the Puryfers, lucky for me, unlucky for them.  
Allthough we lsot the X-jet and msot of the house went up in flames...i had a lot of kills, that was a good day.  
Now we're back there, resuming our search. With me are George, the Time Warrior. A idiot at times, but knows how to lead. Wolverina, my mommy of sorts, she allways shivers when im around, cant blame her, had my way with her in a other time, again for me, that was a good time apaertnly.  
Hezipah, a hot space alien chick, the x-men dragged with them from their space adventurers, she and I dont talk much, but she reminds me of Pochahontas, only more bloodthirsty and furry.  
For back up we got George's wife with us to, part time member and according to her, the real leader of the group.  
Above us, Wade Wilson, Deadpool, is there with the back up crew. Now i aint wastin' time on there names, they aren't that speical.

Wolverina stops, sniffing. Insticivly i do to, smelling the runt's scent.  
'He's near...' she whispers. I nod to George, who gives the order to advance. Dunno how he convinced Xavier to lead this team, he brought his banter with him from his Avenger buddies, but he can manipulate space and time, got time fer it i guess.  
We move silintly, the Puryfers cant know we're here...yet.  
Guards, three of em, and im the lucky guy who can kill them, im feelin' like a boy in a candyshop. I take em down quick, no sound escapes their throats. I lick the blood of my hands, tastes sweet.  
'Eww...' Scarlet Enchatress looks with disgust at me.  
'S'wrong, Skrully dont like blood?' I grin.  
She glares, raising her hand.  
'Babe now, stealth...you can kick his !$*!$ back on the plane.' Tw jumps in, allways the leader.  
SE nods. ' This isn't over yet Creed.'  
'I see James!' Hezipah whispers liudly, pointing to a holding cell.  
Se grabs her comunication wrist.  
'Wade, i got one of them here. do your thing.'  
'Phasers at the ready captain.' Deadpool's voice says on the other end, much to Se's grinning. she and Deadpool are mades sort of, even makes Tw jealious.

The X-fet flies bye, shooting rockets, Se's minor modifications, causing much chaos. Warpath was the last X-force member we ahd to find.  
'You know the plan people, kill everything that isn't mutant...except me or Hez or my wife, then your fired.'  
Nobody laughs, bad timing. The slap following from Se made me chuckle.  
We take advantage of he Chaos, killing every dumb *$#%# getting in our way. Course our fighting style's are diffrint, it's all the same, kill or be killed.  
George starts banter again, followed by Scarlet and Nikki. Dont care about it though, just want to kill these punks. Hez goes off, freeing James. When the door opens, he blinks through his red eyes, then holds her in his arms, kissing her. almost makes me wanna puke. Theonly women who i saw kissing that didn't make me puke are ether dead or not here.  
'We got a job to do here, keep fighting!' i throw knives over at Warpath, who nods and fights alongside his mate. Nikki went off to the runt's cell, Tw to the clone, Deadpool and his team jump off a bit further, freeing the angel. Leaves me with the insane chick who can change into a wolf.  
I slash my way through, blood of all types hitting mytongue, it's sweet.  
I find her cell, rip it open. There she is, a small red head cared out of her wits, prayingto God.  
'God help me...' she murmurs.  
'God aint here, take a message frail.' i pick her up, running with her back to the rendez vous point. When i get there, the Jet allready landed, X-force and Warriors gettingup. But when i look back, a alrge mob of kamikazes and robots come at us, seemsthe fun aint over yet..

TBC  
I am Hezipbah, and currently I hope the X-Warriors have a backup plan. The mob of soldiers and robots charged at us, swinging hits and missing. Feral charged into the fight, an uncontrolible rage taking over him as he slaughtered everything in his path. Nikki raced in after him, not being careful at all with her powers and that was incredibly unlike her. The rest of us followed after, pushing our limits with the army. "There are too many of them!" James called out, catching my hand and pulling me back from the fight. "Fall back then, I'm finishing off these ^%&#$!" Feral shouted, leaping at the small mob converging on him. The others looked to each other, falling back and making a run for the jet. Logan touches Nikki's shoulder, breaking her from the rage that had taken over and she looked back to him, nodding. "Vic, get your $$ back over here we're eaving with or without you!" she called, running after Logan. Feral growled, panting and turned to leave after them. We hurred onto the jet, Gorge preparing us to go. "Nikki, little help here?" he asked. She nodded, blocking the gunfire and blasts from the jet, allowing takeoff.

I looked to James, "Are you hurt?" "I'm fine Hez, what about you?" he asks, his eyes softening. "Fine" I said, relieved to be out of this mess. The radar began beeping rapidly, warning incoming helicopters. Feral curses, loudly and starts for the front of the jet, "Don't we have any weapons in this heap?" Nikki chuckled darkly, her eyes changing color to a brilliant topaz as she focused her power. Several large blasts were heard behind us, followed by her soft laughter, "We won't be worried about them for a while." Deadpool looked scared, but who didn't when she did that? All eyes were on her, exept Gorge who seemed unsuprised. "Damn, woman" Feral said softly, shaking his head. "Am I the only one that was scared by that?" Deadpool asked, looking at her like a child would look at Freddy Kruger, or so I'm told. I looked around, staring at an object in the back of the jet, "What is that?" Feral cursed again, loudly again, and picked it up, chucking it through the side hatch. A small blast rattled the side of the jet, "Good eyes Hez" he said, smiling with his sharp canines. Nikki shivered, Logan rubbing her back soothingly. "Vic, it's not just her you scare now" Deadpool said, inching back in his seat. "Good to know Wade" Victor said, grinning again but leaning closer and practicly showing off his canines. His loud rumbling laughter probably made Deadpool wet himself, because with Wade's current expression even Nikki busted up laughing. "Where to next leader man?" Feral asked, slouching back in his seat more relaxedly. "Not sure yet, but can we handle getting back yet Victor?" Gorge asked, giving Feral the 'look'. "Sure sure" Victor sighed, looking out the window in boredom. Although, I think the only time he's bored is when he isn't fighting, killing, or doing something he wants to do. The radio beeped, Gorge picking up, "I was wondering when you'd call Professor."  
TBC  
Hey, im Deadpool, the merc with a mouth. I'm single, loveable and potty trained…ish. People also know me by the name Wade Wilson, and they mostly call me by that name when I annoy them a lot. Like now for instance.  
'Wade stop poking me!'  
That's my buddy Viccy, also known as feral, I like him. Left of me is my other good buddy Scarlet Enchantress. We're part of this cool group called the X-warriors. I know the name sucks, I think the writer was on booze or something…but anyways, we are like the Avengers and the X-men put in one group. Normally we're with more, but Time-Warrior, our grand and glorious leader and the guy who owes me 50 bucks….or was it the other way around…hm, details, so he told us the bad guys are making Sentinel factories and they're going operational tonight.  
And since like any man who likes to see stuff blow up, any other guy who says he doesn't isn't a real one and is probably a Skrull, shoot on sight, I decided to tag along.  
TW, Ice-man and And612 went with their team to a other factory while Wolverina, Hezipah, Maria and X-force went to a other.  
'We're almost here Waddy, you ready?' Se asks me.  
'Almost, I'm almost done with telling the readers what we are doing in my internal monologue.'  
I like her, she doesn't think im crazy…which is kind of sad since she's a alien. Why are all the hot aliens taken? Her, Hezipah, Deathbird….

The X-jet hovers over the factory. This is my time to shine!  
'Ok, stealth is our ally here, so don't-'  
'LEEERRROOOOOOY JENKINS!' I jump out of the jet, guns a blazing. I can hear Feral and Scarlet sighing before leaping after me. I hit the ground first, dozens of those baddies looking at me.  
I raise my gun at one of them. 'You feel lucky, well do ya…punk?' I love Clint east wood, he's like me, only he doesn't have a healing factor or cancer, or a cool costume.  
I shoot at the baddies, hitting a few with my uzi's. I like shooting people, since im a mercenary, which reminds me, why don't I ask money for this? I'm sure charly has enough.  
Feral leaps on one of them, tearing him the shreds while Scarlet hovers in, shooting her laser thingies and other thingies at bad guys  
Guns are empty, time for the good old katana! I draw my sword, slashing away.  
'This sword can cut steel, and can still cut a tomato!'  
.'Look Waddy, Explorer!' Scarlet shouts over, showing a bunch of shiny credit cards. Oooh, shiney.  
'Cant we wait with the looting after we killed all of the bastards?!' Feral shouts over, but im to busy looting myself, bullets and new suits don't come cheap ya know. Oh, Discovery! Everything good begins with Discovery, Discovery card, Discovery channel, Discovery into the female body..hmm…I should rent that movie again.

After we killed everyone, it was my moment to shine…again.  
I type away on that computer thingy, to shut off the production.  
'Um Wade, you sure you know what your doing?' Feral asks me.  
'Off course I do' I reply ' Let me introduce to you…Simba!'  
A Sentinel goes on-line, looking down on us.  
'WADE YOU IDIOT, you woke up a sentinel!'  
'Don't worry, I know robot, watch.' I whistle a nice tune.  
'Mutant found, commence elimination.'  
'no bad simba, no elimination!' I push in a button, giving it new orders.  
'New orders…' the sentinel says, then turns around, going for the factory tire.  
'Now I bid you adieu Simba, be like a true king like Mufasa!' I run away, my buddies following me. When we just get out, Simba self destructs blowing up the factory.  
'Yup yup yup….i love it when a plan comes together..'  
With that I bid you adieu, be sure to stay and watch Redeemer's next chapter, it's awesome, and oh ask her if she likes me!

TBC  
My name's Maria Rexton, people call me Redeemer. I'm the daughter of Mark Rexton, yes, the Mark Rexton of the infamous Wrecking Crew. I've done a lot of things you wouldn't call good, but ever since I've been on the side of the angels, things have changed. I've seen wars and I've seen losses, neither of which I'm too thrilled about. Deadpool happens to be the strangest person I've ever met, and I back that up with the sentinel he named Simba. "Wade Wilson you idiot!" I shouted, sighing. "Where are the other sentinels?" I asked. Nikki sniffed, looking itno the air, "I'd guess there." I looked up, cursing at the sight of the sentinels flying in the direction of the explosion I'd just seen. "When we get to Wilson I am going to strangle him" I growled, for some reason it sounded scarier when Nikki did it. "Well you really love him don't you?" Nikki said, heading off in the direction of the explosion. Hez and X-Force followed her, "I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH THAT MORON!" I shouted after them. "Whatever you say" Nikki called back. I stormed off after her, "You're in love, shouldn't you know what it's like?" "I do, and at first I didn't accept it either. Logan and I used to be the same way before I changed sides" she said, a small smile crossing her features. Logan leaned forward, kissing her gently. Yuck. "And now we're nothing like that" he finished for her. I could almost imagine it. Almost. Oh now I wanted to throw up. "Thank you, you've offically made me sick" I said, shaking my head to rid myself of those thoughts that could make me sick. Nikki chuckled, "You'll only know when you see him." The sentinels started firing and I gasped, not the other team! No not for Wade, defently not Wade. The others raced forward, taking out as many sentinels as possible.

"Wade reprogram one of these like before!" SE shouted over the blasts. "On it!" Wade said, holding onto a sentinal's leg. "WADE LET GO!" I shouted. He hit a button, and the sentinal stopped, turning and blowing up it's counterparts. I sighed and ran over, smacking him hard, "Dammit Wade you could've gotten yourself killed!" He winced, "Ow!" I have yet to figure out why I did what I did next, but I threw my arms around him in a tight hug, "Don't do that." Feral looked shocked, staring at us, "Well hell Wilson, you've finally got a gal." I stepped back, Wade looked confused, "What was that for?" I stammered, I didn't even know why I'd done it. "I don't know?" I said, it sounded like a question rather than a satement. Nikki smiled at Logan, leaning on his shoulder, "Told you." I coughed, startled, "What?" "You like me you like me" Wade sang, doing a happy dance. "Wade, I don't know" I said. "Oh yes you do, you like me! You really really like me!" he said, jumping and laughing. "Wade" I said, blushing unintentionally. Another blast hit the air, "Well, seems like Gorge's team is having fun" Nikki said, "Wanna join in, he might need Wade's button pushing skills." Logan chuckled, both of them getting a look from SE. "Ok-dokey busty! uh, I mean boss lady!" Wade said, then looking to me, "Uh, I didn't say that out loud." I gave him a look of confusion, oh yeah, I was going to be getting hell for this.  
TBC  
My name is Robert Drake, but you c an call me Bobby or Ice-man. I'm a omega level mutant and one of the first X-men. After the crisis with the baby (Messiah Complex) I wandered over the states, trying to find a purpose. Shortly I came across George with a request. He was going to form a new team of X-men together and he wanted me in. It wasn't a normal team of X-men though, but a team of super heroes and mutants together.  
With nothing to do I accepted, hence im now part of the X-warriors.  
I fought alongside Time-Warrior dozens of times, and even now when he is a team leader.  
'Bobby, tell those guys to chill!'  
He still banters.  
'Got it TW!'

I slide toward the guards, freezing them, they'll make it out alive.  
'Why do you always have to banter Tw, nobody will take you serious.' And612 jumps in, throwing his sticks at the reinforcements.  
'You just say that because you suck at it.'  
'I'm not lowering myself to that.'  
'Well you sort of doing it now though.'  
'I am not!'  
'Bobby tell him.'

I grin, I never expected being on this team would be so much fun. But when I hear giant footsteps coming I realise this isn't the danger room. This is reality, or a absurd version of it.  
[ Mutant detected] that horrible mechanic voice says, shattering the wall open.  
'Tw, they activated a sentinel!' And612 shouts over.  
Tw nods and ports, appearing on the Sentinels shoulder, thrusting his sword in it.  
'And612, keep him busy, Ice-man, come here, stay out of sight!' he shouts over.  
'How do I keep him busy,!' µand612 throws a stick at the Sentinel.  
'Tell him you're a mutant and do a silly dance.'  
'This isn't the bloody time for jokes Gargan!'

I slide next to George. ' You called?'  
Tw nods. ' Refrigerate that cheap transformers knock off's circuits!'  
I nod, using my powers to send a massive amount of coldness in the sentinel.  
A minute later it falls down, me sliding down with Tw.  
'You deserve a raise in pay for that one bobby.'  
'Do we get paid then?' I ask.  
'No, but you get more cookies out of this.'

And612 was typing away on the computer nearbye, shutting off the factory.  
'And done, this was the last factory and the other two are offline to.'  
Tw nods, smiling as the engines of a jet fly over.  
'We're going home dudes.' Tw said and ported all of us to the jet.  
Sometimes I ask myself, why did I join this team, why aren't I in San Franseco with the others.  
But when I look at the team Tw brought together, a unlikely team of heroes, I recall.  
This is how the x-men should be.

The end.  
My name is Victor Creed, aka Feral. I am a super hero, I save lives by taking them. Couple of weeks ago me and the team I'm on destroyed three Sentinel factories. We did a lot of damage, appeared on SHIELD's radar. George was able to solve it as usual, but I don't know how he can save the team out of this one.  
'Number 38.'  
'Bingo!'  
I hate bingo. George curses and rips the bingo card up. I hear him mumbling, cursing.  
He really hates bingo, cant blame him, I'm no big fan ether.  
Me, Kitten, the runt, frail, George and his wife decided to have a couple's night out.  
The women thought it would be a terrific idea to go to a bingo night….  
We've been sat here for 2 hours in a room filled with old people and young couples, everybody had a mountain prices except our table. We had 3 dumb prices, a razor, a pillow and a Spider-man video game for 3 year olds….

'Oh well, no matter.' Kimberley smiles ' there is always a next time.'  
'Me hopes there isn't…' George throws his paper away.  
'What did you say dear,'  
'N…nothing.' He smiles weakly, receiving a pat on his head. Hard to belive this guy leads us into battle every day, and yet he is terrified of his wife.  
'Isn't it a break yet..?' the runt asks, sighing. Seems his infinite amount of patience ran out to.  
'Aw come on Logan, enjoy the thrill of the game.' Nikki smiles to, what do dames see in this game anyway? Scraping numbers in the right line…  
He leans over to me when the women chat away.  
'Sneak out for a game of pool?'  
I grin and nod. Runt's got a plan. He leans over to George, who nods to.  
'Be right back in a minute kitten, have to go to the little boy's room.' I smile at her lovely face.  
'Sure, be back soon, next round is about to start.' It almost breaks my heart to lie to her…sorry Kitten, I love you to bits, but Bingo aint gonna keepin' me here.  
I go first, Logan and George following after, 3 minutes space between us.  
'Phew…' George pants. '' glad to be out of that deathtrap….'  
'Gotta agree with that one bub….' Logan says, going to the bar next door. We enter the bar, cheering very loud inside ourselves when there is a vacant pool table.  
'You two start ahead, I'll order some beers.' George says, going to the counter.  
'Ready to be beatin' Creed.' Logan grins, throwing the stick over to me.  
'Yer the one who's going to be beaten runt.' I grin, grabbing it.

Times like these make me wonder, why didn't I see this before? A simple game of pool between friends. People whom you can trust with yer life, people who sees you as a friend, not a beast on a leash.  
Magneto, Mystique, Sinister, Stryker….i was one of them once, a cold blooded killer. Now I'm a family man, got a wife, kids, part of a super hero team. For once…ithink im glad, but one things seems to be missing in this picture.  
'Watch where your going you idiot!'  
There it is.

'Watch where yer goin yerself bub.' Logan looks up to a guy twice his size. George tries to settle in between.  
'Come on Logan…no bar fights.'  
Logan glares, but backs down. The dumb biker trash sees this as a victory, begin to cal them chicken.  
'Haha, whats the matter chicken, cant fight back?'  
I raise my stick, then lower it on the guy's head. ' Neah, just bored!'  
Logan grins, leaping into action with his claws when they draw their guns and knives.  
'Here we go again…..' George sighs, drawing his sword from under his coat.  
This evening is great. Fighting some punks in a bar, able to go, sort of, full scale. Logan clawing his way through, not killin' folks offcourse, George to, rewning bullets so the guns explode in their faces, and offcourse me kicking &*!….yes, this is a good nigh-

'Victor Creed!'  
oh &*$%#.  
I turn around and behold my storming fury. Like all misfortunes, it comes in three. The other two being George and Logan's wife.  
We three look at each other, blinking, what are we goingto say, what are we goingto do?  
We gulp, knowing whatever we do, we follow the guy's code of honour.  
'He started it!' we point at each other.

The end.

Wade squirmed in front of the mirror while Nikki straightened his tie, "and why are you doing this again?" "Because Maria's my friend and if you do something stupid I'm going to kill you" Nikki said, tightening his tie to the point he couldn't breath. "Okay..I get it now thanks" Wade squeeked, giving a thumbs up. Nikki loosened the tie a bit, patting his jacket, "If you do ANYTHING to hurt her-" "You'll kill me, I get it" Wade said, "Sheesh, I get it already you women are like wolves. Travel in packs, pick on the helpless male animals of the forest." Nikki smacked him, "Maria will also kill me if I kill her date so shut up dumb$$ and deal with it. Now go wait for her downstairs like a good boy." Nikki kicked his bum out of the room and he stumbled down the stairs, waiting for Maria at the base of the stairs. "Oh wow" Wade said softly as Maria waked around the corner, a pale blue dress hilighting her form. The silky material clinging just a tad in all the right places. Wade's jaw dropped and he stared in wide-eyed wonder at the woman before him, "Wow. You look...wow." Maria blushed, looking down, "Thanks." Hez and Nikki stood at the top of the stairs, sighing, "Now get out of here you two crazy kids, you have no curfew tonight either." Wade gave them a look, taking Maria by the arm and leading her out into the cool night air.

The San Fransisco area was experiencing some nice weather, mainly low seventies which was nice considering what Wade was wearing to walk Maria through the city. "Where are we going?" Maria asked as he shut the car door, the convertible's vibrant color and sleek form bright against the evening sunset. "Only the best resturant in town beautiful" Wade said, glancing at his hand for guidance. Thank goodness the guys had scribbled down some key phrases for the night, thier different handwriting proving to be a code to decypher. "You look gorgonzola tonight" Wade said, wrapping his arm around her, "Oh wait, that sas 'gorgous'." He blushed bright red, "I, um, needed a little help." "Pull off" she said. He sighed dejectedly, pulling off the bridge onto a cliff spot that if he wasn't sure what was coming next, would've been more romantic than the resturant he'd thought of. "That was so sweet of you" Maria said softly. "Huh? I thought..weren't you?...What?" Wade stammered, blushing even brighter. "That was sweet, having them help you. I know the girls helped with the clothes because they helped me too and..Wade I just don't know how it's gonna work out between us and.." she began, turning away slightly, the sunset making her hair shine golden. He couldn't resist the urge of a romantic moment and leaned over, kissing her deeply. To his suprise, she didn't hit him. She kissed him back with the same passion and intensity he showed, almost pulling him over onto her lap. They broke apart and Wade dropped into the driver's seat, "Wow." "Yeah" Maria said, blushing furiously. "Well...we can see how this works out" he said. "Yeah, I'd like that" she said, her blush toning down as her hand slipped into his over the gear shift. Wade promised himself a night she wasn't going to forget, and already things were going better than he'd planned.

It got incredibly close to midnight when they pulled in at the mansion, they knew Nikki wouldn't be there, she'd just be waiting to get details from Hez, which seemed to be the only problem they had to avoid. But, knowing that Warpath was in town, that was changing. Wade hezitated outside Xaiver's, "So..." "Did you want to come with me?" Maria asked. He turned brght red, "Yes." She blushed a bit herself, "Then come on." He walked behind her, amazed this was even close to happening. She stopped outside her door, unlocking it and letting him follow her in. He stood in amazement at her when she turned around to him, just as much shyness twoard him as he was to her. "Lock the door" she said. He did and walked over to her, "You honestly mean-" She kissed him, her arms locking around his neck and his around her waist. "What're you waiting for? It's up to you now tiger" she said. Wade grinned, looked like all those comments wouldn't have been a cliche after all.

The End  
Name's Wade Wilson, but people call me Deadpool, the Merc with the mouth.  
As you all know from previous issue…I finally have a girlfriend and since it is a all ages forum I'm sorry to tell you, you missed the good part, but man, woaaaah, damn that was nice!  
Makes Punisher's Max comics look like church…or the bible…wait wasn't there also love making in it….hm…nevermind.  
Well since this new series is called 'Hostile take over' and not 'Breakfast at Deadpool's I'll let the story roll now…

I open my eyes and notice the sleeping form of maria laying next to me. I cannot help but grin as I stray over her dark skin, Damn I'm one lucky guy, y'know I think I might like this 'Gorvar' fellow, or 'Rednikki. Those two at least let me have a girlfriend whilst 'Feral' tries to kill me. I swear that woman will have her come up-ens one of these days, until then…

She inhales deeply when she wakes up, her lips smiling when she sees my masked face. What, you think I ever take off my mask? Never I tell you!  
'Morning tiger…' she purrs, her fingers going over my chest.  
'Bonjour mon petit Croissant.' Another pick up line from Feral, no, not her, the sabre tooth one.  
'Had fun?' she asks me, her fingers going to where my lips should be.  
'Yup, although I'm sad it only lasted a hour.' Always brag to women, I swear one more go would've killed me, my healing factor knows boundries ya know!.  
She grins, straddling me with her powerful and yet feisty legs.  
'Get ready for round two then…' she grins, kissing me. Yup, I heart Gorvar…

My name is George Gargan, They call my time-Warrior.  
'I did not authorise a a mission for your team Gargan!'  
That is Scot Summers, Cyclops, and a royal pain in the &*!.  
'Are we having this issue again Summers?' I ask with anger, I swear this thing is getting ridiculous.  
'Yes we do, your team of X-men has some members of mine, if something happens to them on your missions, my teams will suffer for it as well.'  
'You know I would give my life to save them Scott.'  
'I know you do, but you cannot protect them the entire time.'  
'These aren't rookies Summers, but Class A super heroes, they know what they are doing and wont get killed so fast, if you want me to notify you now when I take them on a mission, allright, I will, but remember, Bobby, Nikki, Logan, Hez and James are here because they want to be here.'

He is about to say something when the monitor switches on.  
'George, we got trouble.' Kimberley tells me using telepathy.  
I watch the monitor, growling at the sight.

'Attention brother's and sister's of the human race…'  
Graydon Creed.  
'I call out to you to witness the horrors of the mutant race and the mutant sympathisers.'  
The monitor shows images of Europe speficly Belgium.  
'Whilst we Americans try our hardest to eliminate the mutant threat, our brothers and sisters across the great ocean have fallen to their influence.  
The borders of Belgium are surrounded by Sentinels and Purifier troops. They toke over Belgium by force, but why…  
'Mutant summit..' Scott says.  
'What?'  
'There is a Mutant summit in Brussels, almost all of Europe's remaining mutants are there.'  
That explains it.  
'We were forced to take matters in our own hands and kill the mutants that corrupt our race, although we did not find them yet, we will persevere and we WILL keep fighting this holy crusade!'

I shut the mnitor off, grabbing my cell phone.  
'who are you calling?'  
'A friend.' I reply. 'Belgian Brain, this is George you….all right, good, keep them safe we'll take care of this.'  
I shut it off.  
'Well?'  
'Belgian's army was able to save the mutants in time, Belgian Brain is protecting them with Europe's Avengers, but we still need to take out Creed.'  
'X-force will be assembled in three hours.'  
'No.'I glare. ' the media has to see this, see that the X-men are still fighting the good fight, it's not just mutants Summers, this is Belgian civilians aswell. Nobody messes with Belgium as long I'm around.'  
'X-warriors assemble I guess?'  
I grin. ' Do I have your permission to ask Ice-man for help?'  
Scott nods. ' you can take my blackbird, gets you there faster.'  
'Do I hear it right, your warming up to my team?'  
'Don't get any ideas..'

My name is Kimberley Smith/Gargan, aka Scarlet Enchantress. I'm not a human, but a skrull, a species that tried to take over the Earth a few months ago. But thanks to my husband George and his super hero contacts, me and our children are allowed to stay.  
Cant say I'm a super hero, I'm more interested in inflicting pain to my foes then saving innocents. But I care about my husband, and hence I'm going with him. The ones in the Blackbird are Himself, me, Deadpool, Maria (who seems happy for a change and keeps looking at Wade) Feral, ice-man, Wolverina and Hezipah.  
Eight people, Eight super heroes. Four mutants and four heroes.  
'Allright people listen up.' George says in a stern voice.  
'Mission is simple, we fly towards Creed's place in Brussels, kill him and every other Purifier in the building and call it a day, any questions?'  
Deadpool raises his hand. ' Do we get paid for this?' Everybody groans.  
'For the last time Wilson, no!'  
'Screw this, next time I go back to my own series, at least there I get money….'  
'Any other questions?'  
Feral raises his hand. ' How dead do you want them to be?'  
'Camera's will be spotted on us, so make their death's not to gory, all right Victor?'  
Victor sighs, nodding.  
'Next time, promise.' George grins and sets in the last coordinates.  
'You allright George,' I notice the bags under his eyes, he hasn't slept tonight again, kept turning around, first I thought he had a nightmare.  
George smiles and nods.' I am babe…don't worry, we'll pick the kdis up from school after this.'  
Sometimes i'm impressed by him. For a human, he knows his priorities. Family first.  
The jet makes it's final approach, the hanger doors open.  
'Showtime Ladies and Gentlemen!'

The X-warriors leap in the building. Freezing, slashing, magic ing or shooting their way in.  
'Here's Wolverina!' Nikki cries out, casting her magic and claws at a purifier trooper.  
'Heeeere's Feral!' feral grinned, slashing his way through.  
Tw ports in, decapitating a other. ' heeeere's Time-warrior!'  
Deadpool jumps in, uzi'sblazing.  
'Heeeeeeeere's Jack!'  
'Aw Wilson, you screwed up our intro again!' George moans, deflecting bullets.  
'Damnit wilson, I practised that last night!' Feral growled, snapping one's neck.  
'Think Wade's line was funnier.' Redeemer grins, shooting her guns, back to back with Deadpool.  
'Favouritism much…?' Ice-man slides in, freezing his targets.  
'Hey, at least I made a clear reference to the Shinning And Weasel!'  
'Fine what…' Nikki sniffs. ' Gorge!'  
Tw turns around, nodding. ' I see him.'  
'X-men!' Graydon cries out, wearing battle armor.' Prepare to die!'  
'It's actually avengers dude…' Deadpool reloads.  
'X-warriors, lets kick some &*!!'

TBC  
The red-yellow armor of Iron man landed on the Belgian soil below him, SHIELD against run around gathering the Purifiers still alive.  
His armor registered many death's inflicted on them by the X-warriors.  
'Director..' a woman said, saluting to him, unlike the other agents she sported a bow and a diffrint uniform.  
[It's all right Goddess, not here] Tony smiled behind his mask. [What happened?]  
Scarlet Talon, or Karrie Gabriel, sighed 'A mess Tony, Gargan and his team were able to take out Creed and the strike force heading for the fleeing mutants. No mutants got killed though, but….' She stopped.  
[What Karrie?]  
'I'm afraid they suffered a casualty.'  
Iron man nodded and walked towards a hunched over time-warrior, tears streaming over his bloody face. Tony looked over George's shoulder, seeing the bodylaying in front of him. [ George…I'm so sorry…]

Three hours ago

Graydon Creed, the resurrected son of Sabretooth, aimed his large battle armor cannons at the x-warriors and his surviving Purifiers.  
'Feral, Wolverina, Deadpool, Martyr strike go, rest get behind me!' Tw ordered.  
'Right boss…ohh this is going to hurt…' Deadpool muttered.  
The three heroes with the healing factor leaped at Graydon, taking all the rounds in them. They could survive and fight, hence they toke the most punishment whilst fighting the leader of the Purifiers.  
The other X-warriors, Scarlet Enchantress and Redeemer, got behind time-warrior. He raised his hands, rewinding any bullets or lasers back to it's owner. The few purifiers left got killed instantly, their leader's bullets killing them in a hail of fire.

'You fools, you think you can stop God's plans?!'  
'God aint here boy…you should know, he let you die!' Feral grinned, slashing part of his former son's armor away.  
Now Graydon recognised his adversary. 'F…father?'  
'This reminds me of star wars, although I dunno who's Darth Vader…' Deadpool grabbed his katana's slashing away aswell.  
'I guess Graydon …'Wolverina thought out loud, casting her magic.  
'Why does every child of you Feral mutants try to kill you, I mean, Sabretooth and Graydon, Wolveirne and Daken, you and….sorry Nik, I don't read your fanfiction Very well.' Deadpool apologised.  
Tw ported above graydon, trying to stab the man inside the suit.  
'If Iron man were here he would be pissed at you Pal!' Tw cried out.  
'Get off me heathen! ' Creed growled.  
Se concentrated, unleashing barrages of mystical and optic attacks. 'I'm not getting through George!' she telepathically said to her husband.  
Redeemer reloaded her guns, throwing them in the air where they multiplied to a dozen, opening fire on Creed.  
'We're not even making a dent into it!' she pointed out at her team-mates.

'Back!' ice-man shouted, sliding back in the gaping hole in the wall.  
'where ya been icecicle?!' Feral growled, receiving a round in his stomach.  
'Told the guy's outside to chill.' He stopped where Tw landed on his back.  
Tw growled, getting back up. 'Damn him….cant make a dent…'  
'Any ideas Tw,' Bobby asked.  
Tw ponderd. ' II got a idea, freeze his thrusters here, then I port him outside, then you freeze his systems completely, thus he slams right into the ground.'  
'Sounds like a plan, lets do it!'

Tw nodded and concentrated.  
'Everybody got clear or else you get a free minus 200 degrees Celsius treatment!' Ice-man shouted, freezing Graydon's battle armor from behind. ' Thrusters frozen!'  
'Everybody back!' Tw cried, porting him and graydon into the sky.

The two fell at a large speed towards the surface.  
'Welcome to Time-Warrior airlines, thank you for visiting Belgium, we hope you had a good trip mother *!$!' Tw punched Creed in the face.  
'It does not matter…' Graydon grinned. ' My holy mechanic warriors will wipe out the mutants anyway!'  
George glared, contacting his wife.  
'Kim, status on the mutants?'  
'Ours or the Europian ones?' she asked.  
'The European ones.'  
'Hang on….they're scared George, they got sentinels incoming.'  
'Hang on we…' he stopped, seeing sentinels flying towards HIM.  
'Kim, take the team and save the mutants, I'm a bit busy here.'  
'Understood, be carefull babe.'  
'You to hun..' George severed the connection, grabbing his sword from his back.  
'Don't go anywhere now…' Tw grinned to Graydon, porting off to destroy the two sentinels coming at him. 'who ordered Robot kebab?!'

SE teleported the group to the boat where the mutants were.  
'Sentinels, at our 6!' Feral pointed.  
Se nodded, raising her arms, two of the 10 Sentinels exploding.  
'Showtime baby, let's go Bonny and Clyde on them….except the dying, that wasn't cool.' Deadpool grabbed his uzi's.  
'Got ya Wadey!' Maria grinned, opening fire with her guns.  
Feral growled, leaping up toi the nearest sentinel, tearing it to shreds, whilst ice-man mere froze them out of the sky.  
Se grinned when two more exploded by her doing. Her eyes turned from a grin to sign of surprise when one the Sentinels aimed it's last laser to Maria, who couldn't see it coming.  
'Maria watch out!' Kimberley shouted, tackling Maria away just in time.  
Kimberley looked up, the lasers being to close to do anything about it. 'I'm sorry George…' she whispered before everything went black.

'You just got served dude…' George grinned, sitting on Graydon's frozen and busted armor, the later being still alive.  
'We will get you for this Gargan, you and your mutants of the devil!'  
'Get in line, I got Mark Rexton, Old Frank and in cue first.'  
He tried to contact his wife, but she didn't respond. When the SHIELD ships flew in, one of them a arrows using Scarlet Talon who toke out any fleeing Purifiers, George got up and ported to his group.

He appeared behind his team, who stood around in a circle something.  
'Hey guys, why aren't you picking up the phone?' Tw asked, putting his sword away.'where's kim?'  
Maria, her eyes filled with tears looked at him with utter grief. ' George….i'm..'  
Tw stopped his witticism, pushing Feral aside. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the wounded body of his wife. A large gap in her stomach indicated she got hit there hard. Her scourched skin proving of it's heat, and her green skin and not hearing her breath telling him-  
'No, Kim, KIM!!!' he shouted, holding his wife in his arms. ' Kim wake up, Kim!'

Now….

His sensors indicated she passed away over a hour ago. SHIELD's tried to consul the X-warriors about the loss.  
[George…I'm so sorry…] Tony said.  
'It's my fault…' George whimpered, still holding his wife. 'It's all my fault….but she's going to be allright, she always going to be allright.'  
[George….]  
'No…'  
[George, she's dead…]  
'No she isn't, she's resting, yeh resting!' George said hysterically, straying her blackened hair.  
[George please…]  
'Don't you get it stark, she's resting, RESTING!'  
Tony glanced at Scarlet Talon, who nodded and ordered some men to pick the skrull super hero/villain up.  
George growled, drawing his sword. 'Get back, GET BACK!' they swarmed over him, taking away his word and his wife.  
'Kimberley!' he shouted, bursting into tears.

'What do you think your doing Stark?!' Feral grabbed Iron man, raising him a few inches away from the ground.  
[What is it you think I'm doing.] Tony replied frosty, releasing himself.  
The X-warriors looked on as the SHIELD ships toke away their leader and fallen team-mate. Even Deadpool was silent, holding a crying Maria.  
What would happen to them now?

The end.  
The X-Warriors that didn't live in the Howlett mansion lived at Xaiver's and Time Warrior had come to visit. He'd been miserable since he'd lost Kim, and the holiday was only bringing him down.  
"Gorge, you have to come here!" Maria said over the phone.  
"I'm on my way, what's up?" Gorge asked.  
"You have to come over here, soon, we have a suprise for you" Maria said.  
Gorge sighed and continued to the mansion.

The moment he entered the mansion he knew something was up. Everyone looked at him with sly grins as if he knew what they were in on, to which he only replied with a confused look. Maria caught his arm half way there and pulled him over to the Professor's office.  
"Okay, you are going to love me and hate me at the same time as of now, hate because I didn't tell you, and love because..well go in and find out" she said, pushing him to the door.  
He looked to her confusedly and she made a motion for him to go already. He opened the door and walked inside.  
"DADDY!" his kids shouted.  
Gorge teared up, "Robert? Marie? Anna?"  
They raced over to him, throwing themselves on him as he knelt down and hugged them, tears running down his cheeks.  
"We missed you Dad" Robert said.  
"When are we coming home?" Marie asked.  
"Soon, I missed you too. Daddy's getting his act back together and getting back to the way it was. You'll still have to have a babysitter when I'm out on missions, but I think I can call in a friend" Gorge said.  
"We really missed you dad" Marie said, hugging him tightly along with her brother and sister.  
"I missed you too Marie, I missed all of you" Gorge said.  
Redeemer stood in the doorway, blotting her tears with a kleenex Wade handed her and she sighed, "Happy thanksgiving fearless leader."  
"Happy Thanksgiving Maria" Gorge said, embracing the kids and turning to face her.

They say people should be thankful for the good AND bad things that happen to them. While Gorge lost his wife, he saw her face in his mind every time he shut his eyes. He had his family back all thanks to Maria falling for a guy she never thought she'd even like. Another thing happened that happy thanksgiving, while Gorge was reuinited with his family, a whole new idea came into focus.  
Maria was shocked, it couldn't be right, it absolutely COULDN'T be right.  
"Wade?" Maria asked, shock plain in her voice.  
"What's wrong?" he asked, instead of a joking reply a serious one.  
"It might be wrong but...I think I'm pregnant" she said, staring wide-eyed at her reflection in the mirror.  
~Fin and onto Gorvar~  
What happened previously: After a fatal mission to save the European mutants, Scarlet enchantress, Tw's wife, died. In the aftermath Tw quit the team, leaving the ownership to Wolverina. Shortly after Maria announced she was carrying Deadpool's baby and went on maternity leave.  
The team smaller then ever, is now being harassed by Scott Summers, but unknowingly George always had a plan B.

My name is Wolverine, and I'm the best at what I do, and what I do isn't very nice, and if Summers doesn't shut up soon I will give him a demonstration. Couple of months ago Kimberley Gargan, George's wife, died in a Purifier attack on Brussels.  
Having lost his wife, George went mental and left the team to my wife's care, after the funeral, nobody has seen him in months. Shortly after Wade knocked up a fellow team-member, causing her to go on maternity leave and Deadpool be a part time member.  
Hence Summers is having a field day in this.  
'The X-warriors barely exist anymore Nikki!'  
'*$#%# you Summers!'  
That's my girl.  
'Slim, back off, they proved their worth a hundred times over.'  
It's true, they saved X-force a couple of times and didn't tell about it's existence to the other X-men or Avengers.

'I know Logan, but we have to face the facts here, George is gone, Kimberley, god rest her soul, is dead and Maria is on maternity leave, you have a very small team now, especially since Bobby is back with us in San Franseco.'  
'If we disband the team Scott.' My wife interrupted. ' We lose every connection we have to our super hero allies and the people!'  
'How do you mean?'  
'Simple.' I replied, standing next to Nikki. 'This X-men team was made by Time-Warrior, the only super human we knew was willing to risk his reputation to save mutants. This team was made to replace the X-men whilst we were busy to get our heads back together, they kept the peace until we came back.'  
'And if we let that go now, we lose any credibility we have left in New York and the world.'  
Summers paused.  
'Good arguments, but you are still with to few.'  
I sniff something…three scents…two scents I didn't expect to be here.  
The first I recognised immediately, Daredevil, Matt Murdoch, Lawyer by day, Super hero by night. Since when did he get back in the states?  
Marc Spencer, Moon knight, the most loony super hero in the bunch, this guy is even wackier then Wilson…that says something.  
Third I asked to be here myself, Amir of Atlantis, she and I met when I hunted down Nitro. I owed her a favour she claimed.

'What are you three doing here?' Summers'glasses lid up.  
'Simple, George asked us to be here.' Murdoch replied.  
'Konshu said I must avenge the death of a fellow hero, and Konshu will be praised.' Moon knight replied.  
'I just came here because Logan told me to.'  
Amir….if I weren't married I would've gone for her.

My name is Nikki Howlett, also known as Wolverina. I lead this team now, and with these three in it, I think Scott has no choice but to keep this team together.  
'Seems George is acting from the shadows..' I grin, letting my hand slip of Logan's chest, going to the three.  
Daredevil I met before, same with Amir. But I never met him….Moon Knight. Logan told me he's insane, but so is deadpool.  
'Welcome to the X-warriors.' I smile, shaking everybody's hand.  
The alarm sounds, Sentinel attack to our decoy.  
'Time to prove your worth.'

TBC

Next issue: Feral fights a sentinel alone until his three new team members come to his aid. Don't miss it!  
Previously- Daredevil, Moon Knight and Amir joined the X-Warriors to keep the team alive. As the team came together at the Xaiver mansion, Sentinels attacked, giving the new members a chance to prove themselves...  
My name's Nikki Howlett, I'm Wolverina, I lead this team now. It's time for our new recruits to show us how good they are in a battle, this oughta be good. I figure the Atlantian chick won't last two weeks, she's too...girly. Her outfit, nails, everything practicly screams 'I went shopping before I got here'. When we got outside, Feral was tearing Sentinels apart, but one aimed for his back. Daredevil swing into action, getting him out of the way while Amir pulled out her guyns and shot at the one Feral'd been fighting and Moon Knight charged at the other. Maybe Atlantis was going to last more than a week.  
"Hey Double D, guess who?!" Wade shouted, swinging in.  
"Maria let you go?" I asked, slicking off a sentinel's foot.  
"Eh, she saw it on TV and I had to beg but, yeah in the end she did" Wade said. I've never seen him so happy before, it's...strange, but a nice change.  
I almost stopped when I saw who was trying to disable the lead sentinel, "DAKEN!"  
He looked up and dodged a blast, his claws cutting the final wire and knocking the massive robot to the ground.  
The other Sentinels dropped around us, the others looking in his direction.  
He walked twoard us, smiling, "So, how'd I do?"  
I had half a mind to ground him for almost getting himself killed, and I could tell Logan was about to, but I walked forward, pretending it hadn't happened, "Good job."  
"Thanks, so..would I be team material? I hear you're looking for new recruits" he said.  
Moon Knight looked over to Logan, "That's your son?"  
"Yeah" Logan said.  
"You must be so proud" Moon Knight said sarcasticly and Logan was close to hitting him.  
"Boys, don't provoke each other" Amir said. Now I wanted to slap her.  
"You're team material. Logan, what do you think?" I asked.  
Logan looked over, "If he doesn't get himself killed...I can't say no."  
Daken grinned, "Seriously?"  
"Welcome to the X-Warriors" I said. Gorge would probably want to kill me when he got back.  
Wade looked at Daken, "Does this mean I can stay home for 'Golden Girls' now?"  
I covered my face with my hands, what grown man admitted he liked 'Golden Girls'? "Yeah, sure" I said.  
Daken was looking at the ground, trying futily to not laugh.  
Amir was looking at him, studying him, I really wanted to slap her. It was almost like she was checking him out.  
Logan walked over to me and held me tightly, kissing me to take away tension, "You look like you're about to kill her."  
"If she doesn't stop looking at you and Daken like your both an Arby's dinner I will" I said.  
"Arby's? I'm thinkin' Arby's!" Wade shouted.  
It was hard to be angry around him.  
Amir looked confusedly between us, "What's an Arby's?"  
I almost started laughing, Moon Knight leaned over and answered her.  
Daken walked over, "I could hear you. She's not my type mom."  
"Ah, get outta here cassanova, you got a woman already" Logan said, gesturing for him to go inside.  
"Exactly, Alantis doesn't look anything like Claudine in a swimsuit" Daken said.  
I looked at them both, I REALLY never wanted to know that.  
Logan rolled his eyes and looked over to Amir, "I still think Nikki tops it."  
That's my man.  
"Okay, I think of her as a second mother. I really didn't want to know that" Daken said.  
I almost said something at that moment, but I kept the thoughts in. Although I was sure Emma was having a feild day in my head. Yeah, this team was about to get a whole lot stranger. We are so in over our heads.  
~Fin~  
(over to Gorv)

My name is Matt Murdoch, Lawyer by day, vigilante at night, they call me Daredevil.  
Several years ago, Captain America asked me to become a member of his New avengers, I politely said no, for I knew some of the new recruits, and knowing my personal problems, I didn't want them to get hurt by them.  
Now, several days ago George Gargan, Time-warrior, called in a old debt (rudely) and forced me to join his team he left.  
I never worked in a team before, I helped teams now and again, but never became part of one, until now.  
The X-warriors, Avengers and X-men slapped into one team.  
Alongside me there are three others recruits. Marc Spencer aka Moon knight, amir of Atlantis and Daken, Wolverine' son.  
'Any other Questions to the defendant Mister Murdoch?'  
I dozed off again, I shoke my head. 'No your Honour, prosecution rests.'  
This case was right in the back when I found the evidence. Yet, I don't feel happy. Another criminal behind bars, another case closed.  
Seems the case of this team still was open, and as long as it was, it would need me attention.

That evening I swung to the rendez-vous. When I arrived, Wolverina, Feral, Amir and Moon knight were there.  
'Toke you so long Murdoch?' Feral growled, sharpening his nails.  
'I had a case to wrap up, others DO have a personal life y'know.' I glared at Feral's direction.  
'Enough people, we got problems enough already.' Wolverina interrupted. '  
'What problem are we talking about?' Moon knight gazed at Nikki's direction.  
'Logan found out sinister is still alive.'  
'Sinister being alive….that's a first.' Feral grunted.  
'Who is this Sinister,' amir asked truthfully. Her smell was easy to trace, Atlanteans smell like Motor oil and fish smacked together, it almost made my eyes tear.  
I heard a feint noise behind us. Somebody walking…but then again, maybe not.  
'Sinister is a evil mutant that clones other mutants, we thought he died when Mystique killed him.' Nikki explained.  
'He has a nasty habit of dying and coming back, kinda like good ol' Charly Xavier before he started pushing up daisies again.' Feral grinned.  
This time I heard for certain.  
'We're not alone…' I said, drawing my sticks.  
Wolverina sniffed, so did Feral.  
'Marauders!' Nikki shouted, popping her claws.  
They came out of nowhere, my senses barely getting a reading of them, I threw a stick and hoped for the best. Thank god it hit the first one.  
Moon knight drew his staff, throwing his crescent throwing stars firstboefre getting in with Wolverina and Feral.  
'Konshu will cleanse you!'

Amir drew her daggers, leaping in with me.  
'Stay close human, you might survive!'  
Who does she think she is? But when I heard the bodies dropping around her I knew, she was a professional warrior, same calibre as the Hand ninja's.  
Somebody is loading a fire-arm, then ials it at me. I throw my other stick, the gun missing me by inches.  
'Damnit!' I hear the sharp shooter utter.  
'Scalphunter and Vertigo on the rooftop, Feral, Moon, after them!'  
I hear a jet hover above us, Moo knight's Mooncopter opening fire on the two sharp shooters. A tow ladder was dropped, used by Moon Knight and Feral as a means to get to the two mutants.  
'DD, help Amir!' Nikki shouted, busy with the Sabretooth clone. I heard Amir grunting, smelled her blood. I leapt in and hoped I wasn't to late…

TBC.  
(This was where it ended)


	41. Marvel Boy

Chapter 9

_Marc_

We re-assembled in London. Alessandra's father, Andreas, joined us. Cathrine's lover Dylan had been 'tagged' already. They put microchips, like in animals, in our kind. Lycans. The irony was enough to prove the great poets dead. The child Cathrine took care of had been tagged as well. Dylan feared Cathrine next, and she was afraid herself. He feared for his brother, and he was afraid for everything that could be brought by this.

We decided to go to Canada. To get out of London, and Europe, and go to a place where people were more accepting. Also, where there were thousands of miles of free land to hide in.

It felt like one of those nights when we left on Andreas's ship. We were taking it to the Atlantic coast, selling it, and making the rest of the journey however. Not a soul had been in the harbor, and Andreas had made sure we'd all took turns making throughout scans of the boat before we'd left. Not a soul had gotten on board aside from our coven.

Alessandra was looking out over the inky black sea, holding my hands on her stomach. She wasn't even showing yet, but our baby's presence was there.

"I'm scared" she whispered at last.

I kissed her head, "I know. So am I."

She turned to me, looking at me, her deep indigo eyes pleading, "If something should happen to me, protect our son."

"I will never let anything happen to you" I said, holding her face.

She stared directly into my eyes, "Promise me."

"I promise" I said, "And I promise, I will never let any harm come to you my love."

She put her head on my chest and I held her close. I looked out over the black sea and then to the navy colored sky, the tiny silver lights of stars so far away. I kissed her head and held her close, "We'll make it, I promise."

A cold breeze blew past the ship and she trembled in my arms, "I love you. More than anything in the world, do I love you."

I stroked her hair, "I love you too."

Canada

_Jakob_

The first of two things happened simultaneously. One, I had gotten a call from Brooke, saying her baby was in fact my daughter. Two, I had heard from my brother that they were on their way to Canada, to move here, to bunker down against insane werewolves. I just knew this was not going to be a good week.

Chase was fast asleep, his even breaths deep and calm. He wasn't even aware the phone rang twice. I wasn't in the room with him anymore. I was clad in my sleep pants, the ones Daniella got me, and sitting on the couch with my head in my hands.

"Daddy? Is there something wrong?" Daniella asked me. We'd picked her up earlier, and I was happy.

I looked over to her. She looked so little with her long raven hair all ruffled. She was wearing her smiley face pajamas, clutching her valentine's bear I'd bought for her last year.

"C'mere sweet pea" I said. She walked over and sat down and put her head on me. Her eyes were barely open when she said, "What's wrong?"

"Well, you're gonna have a little sister" I said to her, "She'll be here part of the time I guess."

"Okay. Anything else?" she asked, really looking like she would fall asleep.

I picked her up, "Well, the rest of my coven will be moving close."

"I get to see them?" she asked.

I kissed her head, "Yup."

She put her head on my shoulder while I carried her to her room and fell asleep. Her room was next to mine and Chase's. Her room was lavender, since she didn't really like pink, and full of plush toys. To be completely honest, she really couldn't stand plastic things.

I tucked her in under her comforter and blanket, stroking her hair back. She clutched that little bear like it was her lifeline to the world while she slept. I sat with her for a few minutes, wondering what went on in her head. Did she really see the world with such a positive outlook? Did she wear her heart on her sleeve? Was she taking after me and Chase? Did she wonder who her real parents were? I didn't even know who they were. She was our miracle baby, having been dropped off on our doorstep when she was two years old. She'd always been small, always been fragile. I leaned over and kissed her forehead before leaving the room. Chase and I had been on-and-off for the eight years we'd been together. I'd jumped between Brooke and Chase for the longest time, before I came back to him and saw our baby growing up, him still in love with me. I'd had to choose him, I loved him so much...

"Jake? Baby what's wrong?" he asked, shuffling over to me. He kissed my head, still half asleep.

"Come on babe, let's go back to bed. You need your rest" I said.

He held onto me, "m-k."

I walked with him back to bed and climbed in with him. He put his arms around me, "Love you."

"Love you too" I said to him. I knew no matter what was going to happen, that was true. Chase and I, we'd be together forever.

_Nikki_

I paced the floor at 4 AM. It couldn't be true. What Marc told me....my people couldn't do that, could they? Taking this war to the next level? I knew better than anyone, either side was capable. Like the stories of Lucian and Sonja, there was no way in hell the vampires wouldn't take over the wolves or the wolves wouldn't terriorize the vampires. I bit my lip and threw a heavy volume at the wall. I didn't belong to either world. But I knew, right now, that if I had to enslave both of my people, just like the stories said, then I would to stop this senseless fighting. I didn't want to do this, I didn't want to take _his_ place. But I would need to, to stop this.

"What happened darlin?" Logan asked, coming up behind me.

"Something that will make you leave me, I'm sure" I said.

"Tell me" he murmured, holding me tightly.

I freed myself from his arms and moved to pick up the book. I put it back down on the table, "I have to take his place."

"Who?" Logan asked.

I looked at him, "My people are warring Logan. It's time someone stopped this madness. Someone has to take control."

"Your uncle's king of the undead" he said.

"I know" I said, "Control over him too."

"Baby-" Logan began.

I held up my hand, "No. It's times like these when the entire world needs someone to rule it. I'll do it."

"Darlin, no-" he began again.

"I have to Logan. I'm going to take Romulus's place."


	42. Heavy Duty: An XMen Story

Heavy Duty: An X-Men Story **_by Heartburn_**

Chapter One:

May 24, 2017

It was a nice day at the Xavier Mansion. The little kids were running around the mansion, talking or just outside playing games. Charles Xavier was in his office, sitting by his desk as he looked out through his window. The sun was shinnying bright in the sky today.

"I hope the mission goes as good as this day is." Charles thought to himself as he kept staring out the window.

Soon enough the students outside could see the X-Jet coming back to the mansion. Charles could sense their thoughts and already knew they were coming.

"Better yet, I think I will ask them."

Charles slowly stood to his feet and walked towards the door. When he opened the door he heard the X-Jet land in the tennis court. Something was happening inside the jet as Charles began to run towards the doors.

"Excuse me Timmy." Charles says, slightly moving a little boy out of his way.

He quickly opened the door to see Cyclops and Beast holding Emma up. Her arms were hanging around Scott's and Hank's shoulders. Charles didn't need to ask the question once they passed him and quickly ran down the hallway. Timmy moved out of the way as the grown ups walked towards the lab. As the rest of the team came in, Timmy looked to see Kitty and Colossus enter through the door. Timmy quickly ran towards Kitty with his arms opened out.

"Mommy, what's wrong with Mrs. Summers?" Timmy asks confused.

Kitty looked down at Timmy, picking him up as he ran into her.

"Mrs. Summers is having her baby Timmy," Kitty answered, turning her head towards Colossus, "What should we do Pete?"

"I suggest we let the others worry about Emma," Pete answered, "Right now we should make sure the other little ones don't bother their business."

Kitty slowly lowered Timmy down to the ground as Pete bent down to his knees. He smiled once he got eye to eye with Timmy.

"Son, I need you to make sure the other kids don't bother the adults okay?"

"Okay daddy," Timmy said, "But remember you said you would play football with me later."

Pete laughed silently as he heard his son tell him that.

"Don't worry Timmy, I didn't forget."

From where Pete, Kitty and Timmy were they could hear Emma screaming her head off in the lab.

"I'm going to go check on Emma." Kitty said, walking away and heading into the lab.

As Kitty left Pete and Timmy, Nikki and Logan entered through the door to hear Emma screaming.

"Is she having the baby right now?" Nikki asked Pete with a worried face.

"Yeah she is," Pete answered as he turned around to see Nikki and Logan, "You better go help her out."

"Yeah, sure thing," Nikki said as she walked past everyone but paused to see Logan not walking with her, "You coming?"

Logan shook his head, "I'm not really good when it comes to babies but with Emma," Logan paused a bit, "It's too crazy."

Nikki walked back to Logan, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the lab.

"Come on, I'll be there to protect you."

"Yeah, now I feel real safe." Logan said, rolling his eyes sarcastically.

Nikki smiled a little as she pulled Logan into the lab. Pete shook his head as they were gone. He looked down at Timmy smiling.

"Remember what I told you little man," Pete said, walking towards the lab, "Make sure no one bugs the grown ups."

Timmy salutes his father with a smile on his face.

"Yes sir!" Timmy shouted as he ran towards his father.

As Pete enters the room he closes the door behind him, making sure none of the kids come into the room. Timmy stops by the door, keeping a close eye on everyone pausing, looking at the room.

"Keep walking, nothing to see here!" Timmy shouts, waving his arms into different directions.

Mean while Nikki and Kitty were holding both of Emma's hands as she was giving birth.

"Hang in there honey," Scott said, looking at her face, "It's almost over."

"If it doesn't come out soon I'm going to pull it out!" Emma shouts in pain.

Logan looks at Nikki, shaking his head. "And I thought I needed protecting."

"Wait, I see the head," Hank shouts as he pulls the baby, "One more push and…"

A huge scream could be heard through out the mansion. Everyone pauses what they were doing to see that it was completely silent for a few seconds. Timmy notices that no one was talking at all. He slowly tilts his head towards the door as all that could be heard was a baby crying in the lab.

To Be Continued

Chapter 2

"How is she Hank?" Scott asks, stepping into the lab.

"Their both fine, Emma is still asleep." Hank answers.

"What about the baby?"

"The baby is healthy Scott, nothing to worry about but one thing."

"What's wrong?" Scott asked, worried about the baby.

"You haven't named him," Hank answers, smiling as he begins to walk towards the door, "I'll give you two some time to think."

As Hank leaves the room, Emma slowly wakes up to see Scott by her bed side. Scott looks down to see her slowly waking up.

"Hey," Scott says, bending down towards the bed, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got wasted on a Friday night." Emma answers in a sleepy tone.

"We need to give our son a name."

"I know," Emma says as she looks over to where the baby is, "I was thinking of naming him Dean."

"I'm alright with that," Scott says as he looks over to where the baby is, "Dean Summers, I like that name."

A couple of minutes later Pete, Kitty and their son Timmy enter the room. Nikki and Logan were talking to Emma and Scott when they entered the room.

"We'll see you guys later." Nikki said, leaving the room with Logan behind her.

Kitty was carrying a fruit basket. She slowly placed it down on the counter as Pete shook Scott's hand.

"Congrats on your new son Scott." Pete says with a smirk.

"Thanks Peter," Scott says, "The only thing is that our son won't be a mutant like the rest of us."

"I know what you mean," Peter looks over to see Timmy standing next to the baby's crib, "Timmy didn't turn out to be a mutant and look at him."

"You've done a great job with him Pete."

"Thanks Scott, I'm sure you will do fine with your son."

"Yeah, Dean will grow up to be a fine man some day." Scott says, staring at the baby's crib.

Scott walked over to the crib. He looked down at Timmy who was still staring at the baby.

"Timmy I have to ask you to do something for me and Emma," Scott says, bending down on the other side of the crib, "I want you to take good care of Dean while me and your parents are on a mission okay?"

Timmy looked up to Scott shaking his head. "Yes sir."

"You're going to be like an older brother Timmy so you know it means you will have a big responsibility." Pete says from Emma's bed.

Timmy shakes his head again. "I won't let anything bad happened to Dean, I promise."

Pete walks over to Timmy, picking him up. He slowly places Timmy on his right shoulder.

"Come on Timmy, I think we're supposed to play football, remember?" Pete asks, walking out of the room with Timmy.

"Alright, football!" Timmy shouts from down the hallway.

Kitty giggles a bit as she walks over to Emma's bed.

"You know if you ever need someone to baby sit I'm here." Kitty says, hugging Emma softly.

"Who said you had a choice in the first place?" Emma asks sarcastically.

"Alright I'll see you guys later," Kitty says, walking towards the door, "I have to make sure that Timmy doesn't cream his father at football."

As Kitty leaves the room, Scott walks over to Emma and sits down in the chair next to her.

Some Where In The Mountains…

A group of soldiers march around a camp site. Rifles, grenades, knifes, almost every army weapon was strapped to each soldier. One soldier marches towards a tent where he hears some people talking inside. The soldier opens the tent to see two other soldiers and William Stryker.

"What is it?" Stryker asks the soldier coming into the tent.

"Sir, we have reports that one of the mutants has given birth. We don't know if it is a mutant or not." The soldier answers.

"Then I suggest we go find out ourselves." Stryker says, looking down at some maps of the Xavier Mansion area on a wooden box.

"What should we do if we encounter the child?"

Stryker looks up at the soldier, "If it's a human we will take the child and bring him to a good home. If it's a mutant we will make sure it dies with the rest of them."

"Yes sir." The soldier says turning around to exit the tent but Stryker grabs him by the arm with a robotic hand.

"By the way, never interrupt one of my meetings again." Stryker says, breaking his arm.

The soldier shouts in pain and falls to his knees. Stryker slowly stands up, looking down at the wounded soldier.

"We can't have a broken soldier now can we?" Stryker asks before he blasts the soldier into nothing, killing him.

Stryker turns around to face the other two soldiers in the tent.

"Next stop is the Xavier Mansion." Stryker says to them with a fearful stare.

Chapter 3

Days later after recovering Emma was back to being herself. Well almost herself. Scott wanted to make sure that she stayed at the mansion to look after the baby and the other students while the team was on the mission. So you could see Emma is kind of annoyed and is kind of bored out of her mind. While Emma was sitting in the living room, cradling little Dean in her arms the students were fooling around as always except for Timmy and Rick. They were just playing that card game war while watching TV at the same time.

"One, two, three!" Timmy and Rick shout at the same time.

Timmy placed a king of diamonds while Rick placed a ten of hearts. Timmy quickly took Rick's last card as he won the game.

"I win, finally." Timmy says with a smile.

"You cheated, I saw you pull that card out of the bottom of your deck!" Rick shouts.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Rick quickly tackles Timmy into the couch and before you know it they start to wrestle each other. Emma sighs staring at the two boys fight each other.

"Boys, stop fighting before you wake up Dean," Emma says as she looks towards the TV, "I'm also trying to watch the news."

Timmy pushes Rick off of him as he sits up and watches the news. Rick moves to the chair next to the couch and sits down as he too starts to watch the news. On the TV screen shows the X-Men battling it out with Sabertooth, Toad, Blob and their new member Quicksilver.

"I don't understand why that white haired loser joined those other idiots." Emma thinks to herself as she continues to cradle Dean.

Timmy watches Cyclops blast Toad into a building as Wolverine dives at Sabertooth, stabbing him in the chest with his claws. Quicksilver quickly runs towards Nikki but he gets pulled underground by Kitty. As Nikki follows the trail of Wolverine's and Sabertooth's fight the Blob comes crashing through the ground in front of her. He's about to body check her until Colossus comes charging towards him, punching Blob into the side of a taxi car.

"Alright, dad!" Timmy shouts in glory.

Emma grabs the remote and clicks the power button, turning the TV off.

"It's about time you boys go outside and play." Emma says, standing up and carrying little Dean towards the kitchen.

Timmy looks at Rick who looks bored.

"Want to play soccer?" Timmy asks Rick.

"I have nothing else to do."

Timmy and Rick quickly stand up, running towards the back of the mansion to grab a soccer ball. As they run pass the kitchen the doorbell rings.

"Who the bloody heck could that be," Emma asks herself as she places Dean in his crib which was next to the kitchen window, "Timmy I need you to watch Dean for a bit!"

Timmy shakes his head as he wants to go outside. "Fine!" He shouts back to Emma as he runs into the kitchen with Rick, holding a soccer ball.

"Hang on Dean, your mom will be back soon." Timmy says, looking down at Dean.

"Hey, I'll meet you outside." Rick says, taking the soccer ball and running towards the door. He opens it and runs outside, forgetting to close the door behind him.

Mean while Emma walks towards the door and opens it to see a woman standing at the entrance.

"Illyana Rasputin, is that you?" Emma asks.

"The one and only," Illyana answers, "I heard about the baby so I decided to come by."

"Well come on in and talk."

As Illyana stepped into the mansion she saw Timmy running towards Illyana with open arms.

"Aunt Illyana!" Timmy shouted, running into her and hugging her tightly.

TBC

Chapter 4

"It's good to see you again Timmy," Illyana says, bending down and hugging Timmy, "Where's your mom and dad?"

"Their both on a mission right now," Timmy answers, "Dad just owned the Blob!"

Illyana laughs a bit and she slowly stood up.

"That wouldn't be the first time he's done that."

"Timmy, could you go check on Dean for me like I asked?" Emma asked, glaring at him.

Timmy looked at Emma and nodded his head, slowly walking away from his aunt and back into the kitchen. He walked up to the crib, noticing Dean fast asleep.

Illyana enters the kitchen and looks at the baby from the corner of the counter.

"He looks so cute." Illyana says with a smile.

Emma enters behind Illyana and sits down at the counter.

"Yeah, he got his looks from his father," Emma says, staring back at Illyana, "So how did your trip to Egypt go?"

"It went fine actually. Moonstar meet a guy there and so their hitting it off."

Emma nods to everything that Illyana says even though she isn't really paying any attention at all.

"That's nice to hear," Emma says, feeling like something is wrong, "Could you hold on a second?"

Emma slowly stands up and walks towards the front door. She opens it to find no one outside but she could hear the kids playing at the back.

Mean while Illyana walked up behind Timmy as he continued to look down at Dean. She smiled and walked away, towards the fridge to grab a soda. Timmy turned around to see his Aunt getting a drink from the fridge. Everything seemed fine until he saw a red dot just suddenly appear on her back. Timmy was confused about the dot. He looked back through the window to see the kids still playing. Timmy looked back to Illyana as she turned around to look at Timmy. She noticed his confused look.

"What's wrong Timmy?" Illyana asks.

Timmy slowly points towards her chest. The red dot moved up her chest. Illyana looked down to see the red dot. Before she had anytime to react the glass behind Timmy shattered. The glass fell every where. Timmy quickly grabbed the blanket under Dean and covered him up. Timmy grabbed Dean and pulled him out of the glass covered crib. When Timmy turned around he saw Aunt Illyana Rasputin AKA Magik shot in the chest. Illyana slowly fell towards the ground as blood poured down her chest.

"Aunt Illyana!" Timmy shouted in fear as he ran towards her.

When Timmy bent down to her she was already dead. Timmy began to cry as her skin went pale real quick. He called out to Emma as he kept crying. Emma quickly heard Timmy.

"Timmy?" Emma asked herself confused as she was grabbed by the arm.

She quickly turns around to see Stryker in front of her.

"I was going to ring the door bell but you already had the door opened so I decided that I should just come in." Stryker says, throwing Emma across the living room.

Emma crashes into the couch behind her, destroying it. She slowly stands up and tries to use her telepathy on Stryker. Stryker focuses his power and back fires her telepathy, causing her to have a huge headache. Emma screams in pain as she falls to her knees. She holds her head in pain as Stryker walks up to her. Stryker places his index finger on an ear piece.

"Move in and take out any mutant in the area." Stryker says, giving out his order.

Suddenly soldiers dressed up as Purifiers ran into the backyard of the mansion, shooting and killing every mutant on site. Timmy could hear the gun fire and everyone screaming. He looked down at Dean who was beginning to cry. Timmy looked up and ran down the hallway, noticing Stryker and Emma in the destroyed living room. Stryker turns around to see Timmy carrying the baby.

"There's the little baby." Stryker says with a twisted smile as he slowly turns around.

"You know it's rude to not look at a woman when she is talking." Emma says, turning into her diamond form and punching Stryker out through the window and into a parked car.

Emma quickly ran towards Timmy, still in her diamond form. She bent down so she was eye to eye with Timmy. Emma looked at her baby who was covered in a blanket.

"Get Dean out of here, run as fast as you can and don't look back," Emma says, trying to be as calm as possible for Timmy to listen, "Now Timmy; GO!"

(the end)


	43. Venom And Beast: Fatal Wounds

**Venom And Beast: Fatal Wounds by Riverie123**

What happens when you team up a peace-loving-furry-X-Man and a blood-lusting-symbiotic-monster find out int his fan fic!

The Thunderbolts fought a shadowy creature which moved across the field of battle and had a very weak and low voice,it spoke the words,"Leave me alone,I am merely the Shadow.I protect this alley from all of the muggers,murderers,and other things that show up here,I have been to Hell and back,seen it all,whether it be the crash of the stock market,the end of World War two,or the begginning of the end of the world,I am too experienced for your kind.I only wish to save the innocent and protect those that deserve these rights",the shadowy creature said."That`s what they usually say",Norman Osborn said as Songbird punched him back,"In fact,that`s one of the most common ,how many times have we heard that one?"

"Thirty two times",Venom said in a voice that seemed anxious to fight.

"Thirty two times and this unregistered anti-hero wants to get out of jail free",Norman said,"Not when you tango with my team.""Tango?I do not wish to dance,I wish to continue my duties,now leave me!",the Shadow said angrily.

A tentacle shot from the flowing cape which seemed as if it were a black hole and into Norman`s face,knocking him back."That`s it",Norman said,flying toward Shadow on his threw Venom at Norman,but Venom chopped into the glider so he wouldn`t be cut in half by it."MY GLIDER!",Norman yelled as he flew to the ground.

"There`s the target!",a stong,proud voice rang,"X-Men,go!"

A team of Cyclops,the csource of the voice,Wolverine,Beast,Storm,Collossus,and Nightcrawler ran,flew,and glided out of a neabry subway watched in awe as they began to throw down Shadow easily."YOU GOT IN THE WAY!",Norman yelled,pushing down `s visor fell off and an optic blast hit flew into the air and began shooting at the fired back at Penance and both teams broke out into a fight.

"Your team has assaulted mine!You`ll pay for this!",Norman said,throwing a few pumpkin bombs at Wolverine who dodged and let them explode on a wekaened Radioactive Man."I don`t know too much about any assulterin` but I sure as Hell know what`s going to happen next"  
SNIKT!

Wolverine stuck his claws in a pumpkin bomb that Norman threw and it was sliced in half,then fell to the walked forward.

Beast was walking around in an annoyed gate."How tiring this spontanious fighting gets",he said, to himself,suddenly,he tripped and fell to the got up and saw Venom chomping on Shadow`s skull."Oh,you`re a hungry little creature,are you not? I think we should go into the city and fight some one who we`ll have a reaosn for fighting,don`t you?",Beast asked."I thirst for your blood",Venom exlcaimed."Of course you do,but you can have whoever`s blood that we find to fight",Beast said."And their intestines?",Venom asked."Why not?",Beats asked as they each walked down the street to find a real villain.

Beast patted Venom on the head,whom was walking on all fours."You are just like the puppy I never had!",Beast growled at him then tried to bite his looked forward and saw none other than Doctor Octavius,his metal claws made a clanking sound as he walked across the street with a box of jewels."Oh,goody,a real us have a jolly time knocking the lights out of him",Beast said and Venom was already running toward him.

MEANWHILE,WITH THE THUNDERBOLTS AND X-MEN

Green Goblin tackled WOlverine,but he shot out his claws and nearly killed had just narrowly gotten the claws form his fell back from a blast from Cyclops,but flew forward and punched him then blasted back.

Wolverine kicked Green Goblin and he fell back a bit,but ran forward and drop kicked was very hard to manage without his let out a roar and ran toward Green Goblin who threw a few more pumpkin bomb,Wolverine stopped and let the bombs explode in front of him,then continued into the cans with funny smells and cats` meows were all over.A vile smell of dead fish and rotten eggs filled his super-sensitive nostrils,he turned his head the other way and smelled only smoke......and a rich man`s cologne!It was smelling stronger by the second until...  
"OOFFF!"  
The Green Goblin`s mask was torn by the bombs he sent on accident and he had tricked Wolverine into following him into the had been elbowed in the gut and was holding his stomach on the ground."Ooooohhhoooohhhoooowwww",he smiled sinisterly,but Wolverine shot up and popped his claws into Norman`s took one look at his arm,then passed out.  
The Thunderbolts had already KOed the whole X-Men,with the exception of Nightcrawler and ran out fo the smoke to see the took one look at the fallen X-Men and the few defeated Thunderbolts,then shouted "WAIT!"

Everyone ignored him and he pointed out,"Wasn`t Beast and that black suited guy here a second ago?"

The Thunderbolts looked at eachother,they knew how dangerous Venom probably ate Beats and went on a ramapge!

"We need to find them!",Radioactive Man pointed out the obvious."I am not associating with these morons,Thunderbolts,return to the mountain immediately,we must find our lost teammate,it seems his tracker and all of that have been turned off",Norman X-Men cased after the Thunderbolts` jet for a while,but couldn`t keep up and they went thir seperate ways to look for their team mates.  
WHo`s braisn will Venom eat next?  
How many Thunderbolts does it take to screw in a light bulb?  
What if Stephen Colbert weren`t mentione din this fan fic?  
Find out in the next issue!  
Venom scratched against the admantium tentacles. Beast lurched forward,his claws glistened in the moonlight. The illuminated claws warned Doc Oct of the incoming Beast,he flicked Venom away and two tentacles shot for Beast while one held Venom down and the last held the box of valuables. Doc Oct threw Beast back and Venom struggled to break free of his captor.  
Venom never ran out of breath,he continued his attempt for freedom. "I willlllll eat your hheeeead!",Venom yelled,biting into one of the tentacles but hurting himself more than Doc Oct. Beast shook his head for a second,then lurched toward the octopus-like-doctor again with a burning determination to free his new friend in his eyes. Doc Oct swung his tentacle again,knocking Beast back and this time laughing at his attempt.  
"Give up",the psychotic scientist said.A ave of tentacles shot from Venom`s gut as Doc Oct gloated at Beast,throwing him around like a ragdoll.  
Beast`s anger increased,but it stopped and began to decrease at a speedy rate when he saw that Venom had consumed Doc Oct in spikes. Doc Oct jumped out of the spikes,his adamantium armshad covered him when the barrage of spikes engulfed both Venom and himself. He shot out a robotic arm that grabbed Venom once again. Beast saw his chance because Doc Oct was begginning to use all of his arms to bound and gag Venom. Beast swooped in,grabbed the box of wonderous luxuries and threw it back threw the window of the shop it came out of,then punched Doc Oct in the back,sending him to the ground. Doc Oct looked at Venom,then at Beast and sent out a robotic arm that sent them both back and climbed up various buildings to get away.

The X-Men were all suited up. Storm,Wolverine,Emma Frost,Gambit,Nightcrawler,and a few others were all ready to go. "X-Men",Scott Summers began,"We will soon dispatch our lost member . . . Beast"

"Yeah,yeah,I got it,Bub,you want me to jump out of the X-Jet because o` my healin` factor an` all so you guys don`t have ta waste any time landin`",Wolverine said. " Exactly",Scott said," But,don`t worry,we`ll land for the rest of the X-Men"  
"Jerk",Wolverine muttered under his breath. "What was that?",Cyclops asked. "Look,I ain`t your student or your worker,so I`ll come right out and say it . . . you`re a complete jerk", Wolverine said. Scott ignored Wolverine even though he had asked for an answer. "Let us go,X-Men ",he said.

As they piled into the X-Jet,Emma and Scott had a little chat about their relationship,then they both ran on board.

Wolverine did as he had been told and the next thing he knew, he was standing at on a two way street with a bar on the side. Meanwhile,Venom and Beast walked through the city. Nothing interesting. They passed by the bar and saw Logan drinking,and it seemed he`d never stop. Beast wlaked in with Venom standing outside,his tongue was flickering as he gaped at a picture of a woman on a sign above the bar. Beast rolled his eyes and motioned for Venom to come in. Venom walked in,his tongue still flickering.  
Wolverine bought another beer,suddenly his admantium claws shot out of his hand and into the drink,he quickly gulped it down,not even spilling a drop. "That`s a very nice trick you have there",Beast said. Wolverine turned around and saw him. "Hey,the X-Men have been lookin` for ya",he said,taking another beer. "They`re huntin` yer Spider Man impersonator there." He pointed to Venom. Venom`s yes narrowed and he roared at Wolverine,scaring the sober people in the bar outside.

Wolverine stood up. "Lookin` for a fight?",he asked. "No,he is just misguided",Beast said,motioning for Wolverine to sit down and for Venom to ignore him. Once Logan and Venom were forced to sit in the corner for five minutes by Beast,they had fully settled their differences.  
After a short chat,Wolverine had fully told him all about the X-Men`s frantic search. "I wonder how where the Thunderboltsssss are looking meeeeee",Venom said.

In the Thunderoblts` Mountain,the Green Goblin prepared to send his team into their jet,but a noise rang through the halls. An explosion. The Thunderbolts hurried to see it`s source. There,in the halls stood Iron Man. "A civilian has seen your team fighting the X-Men. If I see this again,Norman Osborn,I am afraid you`ll all be replaced ",Iron Man said," The X-Men are registered." Norman Osborn looked at him angrily. "The X-Men have taken one of our members! We can find Veno no where! His devices have all been turned off! We cannot so much as contact him! ",Norman yelled. Iron Man looked at him for a second. "You`ll have to find him. "As a Thunderbolt,he is your responsibility",Iron Man said. Norman was going to punch Stark,but Moonstone saw tis and began trying to calm him down. "Did you cause that explosion?",Norman asked,still angry. "Explosion?There was an exlosion? Oh,great",he said,"I`ll leave it to you."  
With that,Tony Stark AKA the Invincible Iron Man flew away. Radiactive Man was the first to stop looking up at Iron Man rocket through the air,Norman was mostly looking at him in anger rather than awe.

Radiactive Man rushed to the other end of the bulding to see Shadow,alive and well,happily wreaking havock in the hallways of the Thunderbolt`s not-so-happy-home.

TO BE CONTINUED  
As Beast and Wolverine talk for a few minutes,deciding whether they`d go to the X-Men with Venom or try to find the Thunderbolts,Venom`s tongue goes astray. It feels something and clamps down on it,then dragged it into his mouth. He . . or better yet THEY spit out a filthy,metallic item which was labled with BEER on the front. Venom wanted more of this intoxicating liquid. He began locating more of shining beverage.  
Beast moved his hand around a bit and felt Venom`s tongue,he fell to the ground and Wolverin popped his claws to slash whatever had touched Beast. Venom was pretty angry when he lost his tongue. WHen he would find a me powerul host,he`d replace it. Venom sulked outside. He saw two boys playing around in the middle of the streets,it was now day. Beast and Wolverine were looking for him. He let out a rar and ate them both then walked into Beast. "Hello",he said,"We`ve decided to bring you to the Thunderbolts." Venom grumbled soemthing.

Later,the team of three began making plans to find the Thunderbolts. "So us X-Men went about that far",Wolverine said,pointing to a place on a map,"We came somewhere about there and we stopped because the Thunderbolts got away."

"Very good,this will help us quite `s go",Beast said and they all huddled into a car that the three of them had purchased.

As they rode,they came upon the location. "We just have a few miles North",Beast said,looking on the map,"Until we meet the location where the X-Men lost the Thunderbolts." "Let`s get goin`!",Wolvie said,rushing back into the car with Beast and driving along. Venom ate Wolvie`s puppy on the way there,but Venom explained to Wolvie about what he did to his tongue and they continued.

Shadow bounced off of a wall when Penance threw him flew into Green Goblin who was flying towars him on a glider. He grabbed it and took over the Green Goblin`s body,making him a mindless slave. Shadow kicked Songbird into Radioactive Man and Green Goblin released Bullseye who began killing the soldiers that streamed into the room like the ruthless killer he is.

The three wake up after they had accidentall been driven off of a cliff. "It`s all `cause o` Venom`s bad drvin`",Wolvie blamed. "I`ll eat your headddddd",Venom said. "Now,let us not get irrational,let`s find something that can help us",Beast said. Lightning strikes Venom and he begins to scream in pain as the lightning had caused a fire all over his body. "Get it offfff....get it offfff........it burnssssss!",he hissed. "I`ll get it off",Wolverine said,sticking his claws into Venom`s back,"That was fer drinkin` my beer(at this point,he sticks his claws in a second time) that was fer eatin` poor Mista Puddles (He repeats this) and that was for bein` annoyin`."

Beast watches in awe as Thor`s body rolls odwn the hill. A group of frost giants march down. "Oh,no",Beast says,picking up Thor and calling for all of them to run. Once they get back,Venom had stopped his burning by himself. Thor is weak,he could hardly move,but when he awoke to see who saved him he knew he had to help. He stood up. After they told their story,he stood up,his hammer in his hand and color returned to his face which was partly covered in blonde hair. "By the bristle on Odin`s beard,I shall help you until the end,new friends!",he yelled,kind of surprised that the three of them saved him. There was a bang. The frost giants must have found them. Thor ran outside to see a group of three frost giants. "CHARGE!",he demanded and all of them ran out to fight the frost giants. A bolt of lightning hit one in the head and it punched Thor then stomped on Wolverine,who`s healing factor provided him with what he needed to survive.

Venom lifts their truck far over his head then throws it at one of the frost giant`s head. It combusts as it hits the frost giant`s head and nearly kills the giant. Thor smashed one giant`s head by leaping into the air and swinging his hammer into it as hard as possible.

The other two frost giants keep throwing Thor around while the rest of them has little effect on them. Venom bites into one`s foot and it kicks him back. Beast gets an idea. "Maybe if we all attack one place at the same time,the frost giants will be forced to use a bit more of their will power to get rid of us and Thor will be able to save himself!",Beast says. "Good idea",Wolverine says. "And I can eat their gutsssss when thissss issss all over withhhhhh",Venom says with a sinister smile.

The team decides to attak the hand. They all leap into the air as high as they can and Venom bites into it,Beast and Wolverine claw it and they all stay on as if they were hangers. The frost giant shook it`s hand and Thor rolled onto th ground nex to the other frost giant`s foot. The frost giant raised it`s foot and Wolverine leapt from the other frost giant`s foot,then stuck his claws into the frost giant`s foot. The frost giant felt great pain and kicked Wolvie off. He luckily landed on the soft,green grass.

Thor got up and the frost giant lifted him into the air. With all his might,he lifted his hammer and as the giant dropped him,he hit the ground and created a massive wave of lightning. Wolverine clinged onto the frost giant and it fell,the wave of lightning killed it. The other was so weak that a punch from Venom took it out.

Thor weakly lifted his head from the ground,hiding his bloody face from them with his hair which was turning bloody. "I know where you wish to go....g-go a few miles N-north",he said,then fainted. The team didn`t want to leve Thor,but they knew he`d be okay and they ran North.  
TO BE CONTINUED  
"So,Thor wanted us to go north?",Wolverine asked. "A few milesssss north",Venom said,jumping at the chance to correct Logan. "Venom is correct,he wanted us to go a few miles",Beast said,trying to butt in to the conversation. "Without a car?",Venom whined. "I`m here,keep that nut away from me,though",a beautiful voice came from behind a tree. "Nikki?",Wolverine asked. "Yeah",a woman said,stepping from behind the tree and running to Logan. "Do you always have to bring her,Logan,I mean you two are with eachother quite often do`nt you think you ca just take a-",Beats was stopped by Venom`s voice. "Wjo issss ssshe?",they asked. "I`m Nikki",she said,not putting out her hand,scared that Venom might bite it off.  
Logan put his hands around her waste then kissed her on the cheek,she turned from Venom and kissed him. "I`m glad to see you,I couldn`t stand being alone",she said.

"Thissss isss getting to musshhy",Venom exclaimed. "Now,Venom,settle down",Beats whispered,"You should get used to it-all they do is multiply then let their children be killed yb their enemies,but as long as they`re okay,everything`s fine with them."  
Logan had heard this,but didn`t mind it.  
"Why did he call herrrrrrr....",Venom said after a few minutes of walking,Wolverina and WOlveirne making out the whole time,making him very jealous. A leafy,green bush rustled a bit then stood still. Beast was the first to notice it and walked toward it. He saw a group of Hellfire members. He leapt at them and began slashing at them.

Wolverine and Wolverina were too busy with eachother for them to notice,but Venom did and crawled into the bush. He grabbed a Hellfire member that was going to tackle Beast. "WHta is this",he yelled,eating it`s head then throwing it at a pair of others who screamed "HE KILLED ROB,AGENT OF HELLFIRE!"

"Sir,you killed Rob!",Beats yelled at Venom. "I was hunnngry",Venom said,eating another. "Oh,well,I guess that`s okay",Beats said,kicking one back.

Another tackled Venom from behind and Venom took care of him in a flash. Beast was overwhelmed by them and so was Venom within a few minutes. The Hellfire Club knew that this was their perfect chance to destroy Wolverine:No WOlverin,ano X-Men,now he was just alone,but they were in for the shock of their life when they walked into that passed and Wolverina began slashing at the members. A tent was pitched a little ways off. Wolverine came out. "Honey,do you have yoour clothes back o-",he stops when he sees the Hellifre club. He begins slashing rapidly as Venom and Beast lay unconcious under their mercy. "Hurry!Kill them while we distract Wolverine and his girlfriend!",a member says before getting his head slashed off.

The Hellfire members hurried toward Beast and Venom,Wolverina and WOlverine dashed through the crowd,slashing at them from above then landing and each grabbing one.

"I knew you`d grab me firssssst,babe",Venom said,gaining conciousness and finding that WOlverina had saved him. She kicked him in the gut and walked away to the tent,the Hellfire Club was a long way off.

Wolverine is not alone,I repeat,Wolverine is not alone!  
Who is with him?  
Beast....some symbiote....his girlfriend...  
I`m sure we can take care of in everything you`ve got..follow them....until they stop....when they least suspect an attack...then strike  
Okey dokey.

After setting up all of their tents,the team begins to fall asleep. "Hello,Niki,dearrrr",Venom`s voice wakes up in a hurry. "LOGAN!",she calls. Logan wakes up sleeping next to Beast. "Whta in the-",he says,starting to growl then running past Venom`s empty tent and toward Wolverina and his. When he reached his he saw Venom being badly beaten by Wolverina. He picked up Venom and Beast rushed out of his tent to see what was going on.

Wolverine picked up the weak Venom and pressed his back against a tree trunk,he put his hand to his head,his fists were clinched.  
SNIKT!  
His adamantium claws shot through Venom`s head. Venom yelled in pain,the symbiote crawled away and Mac Gargan was killed. His body was preserved in leaves under the moonlight. The symbiote began to crawl towards Nikki`s foot,but Beats put a jar in the way and it crawled in.  
Wolverina and Logan waved goodybe,Wolverina was quite sad when Logan decided he didn`t want her meeting the Thunderbolts.  
Wolverine and Beast walked through the wilderness. Venom bounced along by hitting the sides of his jar to move. A tree branch crashed on them,they leapt out of the way to see a man cutting branches from a tree then jumping down and picking apples off of the branches. "HEY!WHAT`RE YOU DOIN` THAT FER?",Wolverine yelled angrily. "I`m sorry. I`ve been stuck in this forest for years. I`m trying to get my harvest of apples."  
"Wolverine,please settle down."Beast said,"What is your name,sir?"

" My name is Eddie Brock",the man said.  
HISSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!  
The jar began to rattle uncontrollably.  
Eddie Brock looked at it,in an instant he noticed what it was. He jumped back and began to run.

" IT`S THE SYMBIOTE! KEEP IT AWAY FROM ME!",he yelled. "NO,WAIT!",Beast yelled,running after Eddie. Wolverine smiled and popped his claws then ran after them both.

Venom`s jar rolled forward at a whopping speed of three miles per hour to catch them. The two heroes ran toward Eddie,they easily caught up to him. He jumped over a branch and the two heroes fell down a cliff. Eddie had tricked them. The branch was hanging from a tree where he slept so no one could hurt him.

He swung on a branch and onto the ground then continued to run. Beast and Wolverine used their claws to scratch the side of cliff until they reached the bottom.

Eddie looked down on them and laughed then began to walk away. Venom`s jar rolled down the hill that lead to the cliff. Eddie saw this and jumped out to get to a branch first,but his fingers slipped from sweat and fear and he fell down the cliff.

Venom rolled down the cliff and fell next to Eddie with a crunch and his jar was shattered.

Eddie broke up to see Beats looking over him. "He is okay,just a broken leg",Beast said,"If you try to stand,you will hurt yourself,"

"Ye-yeah-yes...",he said weakly. "I can`t mooooooveeeee . . . my jar is broooken!",Venom exclaimed. Brock looked at him and began to crawl away. "Oh,yes,I can ssssslither",Venom said,starting to slither toward Eddie.

Eddie stood up and tried to run. "AGGGGHH!",he yelled.

The next time he woke up,he looked like he used to when he was Venom.

"I-I thought you would kill me!",he said. "I have no hosssssstttt I need a hossssst even if that meanssss letting you live",Venom said inside his mind. "I dislike you,no,I detest you,no,I loathe you,wait,nope,I HATE you",Eddie said back,"But we both know I AM you."

"You are honesssstttt",Venom said,"Now let ussss return to our normal waysssssss . . . "

Veno woke up and Beast and Wolverine stood above him. "Great,he`s alive again",Wolverine said. "Don`t worry,Logan,WOlverina isn`t here",Beast said. "Fine,ext time he talks about her I`m going to kill `em",Wolverine said.

"I`d have much rather awoken to the beautiful Wolverinas voice rather than your inssssane blabbering....sigh",Venom said. Wolverine popped his claws. "Logan",Beast said. WOlverine grumbled something and walked away.

"She`ssss like an angelllll",Venom said,"I wisssssshh sssshe were here now so I could-"

"Yer pushin` yer luck,bub!",Wolverine yelled. "Sssssshutup you little pieccce of-",Venom began. "I SAID YER PUSHIN` IT,BUB!",Wolverine yelled at the top of his lungs.

Eventually,they came into a large city. "I think this is a nice place to stay for now",Beast suggested.

They all stayed in a few hotel rooms in the town. Venom was reading a magazine with tips on how to impress female versions of Wolverine when his wall caved in.

There was a crash in Beast`s room. Beast ran out and Venom did as well.

What Beast and Venom saw was shocking,two beasts were knocking around eachother. Both knew who the green one was,none other than the Hulk. Next to him was a red skinned Hulk. "Look itsss the Red Hulk",Venom taunted. "Great unsult",Beast sighed. Beast scratched at Hulk`s back. Hulk turned around and Venom bit him in the leg. He got angry and threw Venom at Red Hulk who just threw him back and knocked Hulk in the stomach. Venom bit Hulk again,but Beast punched Red Hulk. Hulk ran forwar dot catch Beast,but rammed into Red Hulk. He picked him up and threw him across the city. Poeple began to run and scream. Logan was still sleeping. He`s obviously a hard sleeper.

Red Hulk roared and sat on Hulk. Hulk whined and kicked like the little brother who couldn`t get a break. Venom kicked Red Hulk and Red Hulk felt almost nothing. Beast scratched him across his gut. "RROOOOAAAAARRR!!!!!",he yelled,throwing Beast into the hotel. Beast fell through fifteen floors before landing in Logan`s room and onto his bed,throwing him out of the window. Red Huk grabbed Wolverine and began beating Venom with his still sleeping body.

Venom growled in pain and grabbed Red Hulk`s arm then pushed him back. Hulk got up and ran towards them,he pounced on Red Hulk and began to bang his head with a metal pole.

Wolverine slept in the middle of the street while Beast and Venom continued fighting for their life. Red Hulk punched the weakening Hulk. Hulk spat blood at Red Hulk,then fell back a little and came forward with a massive punch that knocked out Red Hulk. Hulk picked him up and ran off. "Should we go after him?",Venoms asked. "I think we`d die fi we did that",Beast said,walking to Wolverine.

TO BE CONTINUED  
Wolverine opened one eye. "I think you`d die if you tried waking me up",he mumbled then rested again. Beast stared at him for a second. "Come,Venom,I think we should...uhh....go",he said,lookign at Wolverine`s claws which were shining in the moon light.

Venom and Beast walked for some time until they reached a fork in the road. "Thorrrr sssaid nothing about thissssssss",Venom hissed angrily. "Don`t worry,I`m sure we could figure out how to get past this obstacle somehow,my symbitoic friend."

The two continued looking around,wondering which way they should go,meanwhile,the X Men had tracked down the Thunderbolts.

Inside the Thunderbolts` Mountain,Shadow was still on a rampage. He had put out most of the lights and was moving around,knocking out Thunderbolts one by one. Radioactive Man and Songbird were already down.

"There`s only one light left! We need to get a few more, Bullseye,you help me get up",Norman said to the team. Bullseye wanted to fight. "I will chop you to peices",he said. "That`s very nice,now help me up"

Bullseye lifted Norman up,Norman pulled a conveniently placed light bulb out of his pocket. He began screwing it into the socket when Shadow shot out of the darkness and took down Bullseye. Shadow began piling the defeated Thunderbolts` into a pile then set them on fire. "BURN,BABY BURN!",a voice yelled form inside of the fire. Shadow looked around. Moonstone shrugged. Swordman scratched his head. Penance cut himself. "It feels GOOD",Penance said. Songbird and Swordman looked at Penance. He put the razor down and stared at the fire. The moment was still slightly awkward but the Thunderbolts were a bit shocked at what came out of the fire.

"IT`S DEADPOOL!",yelled a man in red pajamas that made him look like he had a black eye on each eye. He stabbed Shadow with his katana. Norman sighed. "Penance",he said,"Get over here and he-" Penance began cutting his arm with Swordsman`s sword. "Moonstone,get overe here and help me screw in this light bulb."

Swordman tried taking his sword back but Penance tugged a it. They played tug-o-war for a few seconds then began slapping eachother like sissies. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT",Deadpool yelled as he watched. Shadow was hiding in the darkness,waiting for things to be more serious. Penance bit Swordman. Swordman pulled his hand back. He ran away. Penance rolled his eyes and stabbed himself,then fell down,defeated. Deadpool walked away sulkily. "I wanna see anotha fight",he said. Suddenly,Shadow leapt out of the darkness and began shooting at him with pistols. Deadpool blocked the bullets with his katana almost perfectly,except one hit him in the leg. "Aghhh! You hit me in the leg! It hurts like! OWWWW YOU SHOT ME AGAIN!",he yelled,hopping on one foot and holding his foot with two hands.

The X Men were creeping around outside of the Thunderbolts` Mountain. "We got `em now",Scott said to Emma. He turned around and saw that Emma wasn`t there. "Emma?" he asked. Emma came out behind him. "I`m not a skrull",she said. "I know that,you`re too pretty with your green chin and all of the parrellel lines going down it." he said. Emma giggled a fake laug and they all continued.

Deadpool battled with Shadow even longer. Moonstone was annoyed at how long it was taking for Norman to finish putting in the lightbulb. "Are you dead up there" she asked. Norman`s head (in the Green Goblin mask) dropped to the floor. She screamed and fell back. "OH MY GOSH!",she yelled. Norman fell to the ground,laughing. She stood up angrily. "HAHAHAHA! YOU FELL FOR IT! TAHT WASN`T MY HEAD INSIDE THE MASK! THAT WAS THE LIGHT BULB!",he roared between laughter. She rolled her eyes and picked up the mask,then the broken pieces of the lightbulb fell out. "Crap",norman said as the last light went out.

"Do you ever think we should ask for directions?",Beast said.  
"Nope",Venom replied

TO BE CONTINUED  
"I think we should each go down one side,then one of us will find out which leads where,it`ll save us time",Beast said. Venom hissed and started down the path at the right. Beast nodded and started down the one at the left.  
The moonlight was still strong,the night was young,and Beast was ready for adventure. As the two heroes wandered down the pathes,Wolverine awoke. He walked through the city and then found the pathes. He looked to the left and to the right,he decided to go down the right.

Venom was getting hungry for flesh. He looked around and saw a squirrel.

Beast continued down the path until he heard a ruffling in the trees. He had come to a very small town which was very rural. He looked up and saw a sweaty Blade. "Hey,what are you doing up there,Blade?",he asked. Blade jumped out of the tree. "I heard that Dracula comes here to feed on Saturdays. I figured I should hide and wait for him to walk and I wanted to play spy." he said. "That`s nice. I guess I shall help you,I have nothing other than walking down this path until I find Thunderbolts` Mountain to do." Beast replied. Blade nodded and began walking into the town.

Wolverine walked through the path until he found Venom sitting near a campfire,licking his lips. He could see the bones of a squirrel lieing next to Venom. "Moron",he said. "Animal",Venom mumbled. SNIKT! "WHta was that,bub?" "You`re an animal",he said. "Thank you",Wolverine said,retracting his claws.

Beast heard another rustling in the bushes. "What was that?",he asked Blade. "Probably Dracula",he said,beating the bush with a baseball bat. "OW!",Ghost Rider said as he came out of the bush. "You`re hiding,too?",Blade asked. "Yep,I left my bike at he shop",Ghost Rider said. "Can`t you just conjure it here?",Beast asked. "You`re right!",he said,his bike appeared next to him."Hop on."

The three of them road for a while until ,at the very end of the town,Blade claimed he had seen Dracula. They each got off and out of the bushes came CHUCK NORRIS! Nope,I`m just joking,it was really Dracula. He jumped on Beast and tried sinking his teeth into his back,but Ghost Rider swatted him away. Blade kicked him and he grabbed onto Blade`s foot,then swung him around and hit Beast.

Venom and Wolverine sat around the campfire for a while. "Do you think we should be getting out of here?"

"Naah,bub",Wolverine replied.  
"Okay.."  
"Y`know,yer not as bad as a` thought",Wolverine said.  
"That`sssss what ssssshe sssssaid!",Venom joked.

Beast got up and punched Dracula,but Dracula dodged a punch from Ghost Rider which hit Blade. Dracula almost bit Beast but Blade elbowed him in the face.

Five minutes later,they were still fighting.  
Ghost Rider punched Dracula and he flew toward Blade,who caught him and tossed him to Beast. Beast shoved his face into the water and all three began hitting on him at once.

Dracula jumped up and hit them all back. He began running away then Rider got on his bike and Blade and Beast followed. They road until the sun began peeking into the horizon. Dracula screamed and disappeared in the air. Ghost Rider,Beast,and Blade were left speechless,then they road on until Blade announced he should go after Dracula. He did and Ghost Rider and Beats were left to ride until they reached the end of the path. Wolverine and Venom were walking there and Ghost Rider drove,grabbed them and they drove off toward the Thunderbolts` Mountain.  
TO BE CONTINUED  
"DON`T TOUCH ME!",Venom hissed.  
"Don`t touch me",Ghost Rider mocked.  
"YOU SSSICKO!",Venom roared.  
"You sicko",Wolverine mocked.  
Venom bit Ghost Rider`s hand.  
"Stoppit",he whined like a disgruntled child.  
"Ssssstoppit",Venom mocked with an evil grin. "If you too don`t stop this immediately,I`m turning this bike around",Beast said. "Genius,it ain`t possible for you to control it,I ain`t turnin` around,and I have a few souls that you two are gonna help me send to Hell",Ghost Rider said.  
"Before I commit the damning of souls,I`d like to know exactly who I`m going to commit this act on",Beast said. "The Thunderbolts. They`ve been getting out of hand as of late and we need to bring them down",Ghost Rider said. Venom bit his flaming skull and recoiled in pain. Ghost Rider chuckled.

When they finally reached the Thunderbolts` Mountain,panic was in the air. The X Men were in the Thunderbolts` Mountain,trying to find Beast and the Thunderbolts were fighting Shadow. No one could see,and they were fighting eachother because they didn`t know or care who thye had to fight.

Deadpool was yelling at Storm. "YOU SHOT ME IN THE LEG! DAMNIT,SHADOW! YOU SHOT ME!",he yelled at her. Wolverine dodged a kick from Venom. "Deadpool`s just as mad as Wolverina is when I forget to clean the dishes",he mumbled. Ghost Rider drove into the room,his skull immediately illuminting the room. He saw the Thunderbolts and drove toward them.

Swordsman stabbed Ghost Rider from behind,knocking him off his cycle. Norman kicked Ghost Rider into a wall while Moonstone began shooting at him. Ghost Rider got up and drove toward them.  
Iron Man scanned the area. He landed at the mountain after hearing about the ruccus. He saw everything that was going on. "STOP THIS",he bellowed. Everyone stopped immediately to look at who had entered. Iron Man had contacted a few heroes to help out. Norman played dead when he saw Iron Man and Ghost Rider rode toward him. "WHat businness do you have here?",he asked. "I am here to stop these problems."Iron Man said,"You may go now." "I am Ghost Rider,I don nt take commands",he replied. "I know that,but I have things under control",Iron Man said,"Let these villains have a chance to redeem themselves." Ghost Rider drvoe away,figuring it wasn`t worth it,although he knew his duty,he let it slide.

Venom and Beast stared at Iron Man. "You two",he said,"Have caused alot of trouble and dispute between these teams,but you have saved many people,as some people have reported to SHIELD"

Venom grinned. "I want you two to mend the bonds between these two teams and help us defeat this villain",Iron Man said,pointing out Shadow. Shadow knocked out Storm and Deadpool as he moved away from them. He grabbed Norman and began strangling him until he was knocked out. "Do not come any closer,or the Goblin dies",he said. The teams surrounded him,but didn`t get too close. Shadow smiled and backed into a wall which he and the Goblin walked through.

"WHat do we do now?",Iron Man asked. "I suggest we surprise Shadow and take the Green Goblin,then maybe we`ll be able to take down Shadow",Cyclops said. "I agree with the one eyed freak",Moonstone said.

They began organizing a perimeter around the room Shadow was holding Norman hostage.

TO BE CONTINUED  
(That was where it ended)


	44. Wolverine And Elinoria

**The Adventures Of Wolverine and Elinoria by Wolvielover120**

this fan fiction is set 10 years after present day the world has excepted mutants and they have learned to coexist with them therfore the x-men have been disbanded and gone their seperate ways. Wolverine bought a cabin in canada and has lived about as peacfully as teh canucklhead ever has. He is married to a mutant who was part of the x-men just before they disbanded. Her name is elinoria she has the ability to create darkness over small areas as well as induse a state of histaria to over 20 people at one time(she has even shown to be able induse it in as powerful telepaths as prof. x) She is of the mormon faith and has helped logan find God again (her faith also made it difficult for logan to woo her considering how little she was willing to do before marrige) They have a 3 year old son whos name is michal. things seem to be going well but that is about to change.

ok so here is chapter 1:  
Elinoria woke to the sound of birds chriping outside. One of the perks of living out in the middle of nowere in Canada (besides her husband being as close to happy as he got almost all the time) was the beutiful sounds you woke to every morning. Logan was not in the bed next to her. He never was when she woke. He got up at the the crack of dawn every day to go on his morning "run" as he called it (he usually brought home some lovely dinner which he called an "accident") Elinoria went to the kitchen and started some sausge. logan liked meat for breakfast lunch and dinner. but when she got to teh dining area to set down the food,there setting at her table was a man by the name of Victor. Victor Creed.  
"but but your dead! logan killed you! years ago!" whispered elinoria  
" yep thats what the runt thought and so did I for a while there. But after he left, after he was sure I was dead, out of nowere came the most beutiful woman i had ever seen. she had red hair and the best face I have ever seen on a chick. I thought hey at least I will die in good company hehe. But then she took my wrist and you would never gess what she did! She bit it and then the pain started. like nothing I had ever felt. It seemed to last for days. The worst pain in the world and I couldn't stop it! then I woke up and Ifelt stronger than ever like i could do anything!! But i felt somthing else also a nawing at my stomach shit i had not eaten for days but I didn't want food i wanted BLOOD!"  
"What? your saying you are a vampire? and this woman made you one?"  
"You betch a darlin!" cackeled sabertooth  
"hey elinoria! i brought home dinner!" yelled logan as he came in the door  
" Logan! its creed! he is in the house! and he says he is a vampire!"screeched elinoria  
"What? creed he is dead!"  
He walked into the kitchen  
"what the fuck!!! are you doing here? Your dead!"  
"I am not gonna explain it again so if you survive you can have your new lady fill you in but really i dont think your gonna make it that far!!"

"Now now victor we did not come here to fight we need thier help"elinoria had not noticed the womans figure in teh doorway till it spoke.  
"listen lady I dont know who you are were you came from how you got in my house or why your hangin' around with a low life like creed but unless I start getting awnsers pretty soon I am gonan get my first good fight in years!"  
"calm mr. Logan we just need your help with a little rescue mission. Mhy mate James got into some trouble with a band of vampires who call themselves the volturi. They are going to kill him if we dont get to him first and I hear you are an expert in this sort of thing so what do you say?"  
"I say you had better got a good reason for me to help you."  
"oh we do logan we do. If you dont help us then your little boy will be my lunch" grumbled creed  
"ok we'll help"  
"I new you would see things our way"  
"So what do you need us to do?" said elinoria speaking for the first time  
"We need you to break in to the Volturi's stronghold and rescue James. By the way they are in Italy"  
"Italy! c'mon lady!"  
"Don't worry they speak english" laughed Victoria  
"So you exspect us to break in to a vampire infested stronghold and get out this James charecter?" growled logan  
"Don't worry Victor will be along for the ride. As well as some old friends of yours: Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler his look will be more apeeling to the Volturi. Jean Gray aka Phoenix her infinite abilities would be useful an any mission and Remy LeBeau aka Gambit they will meet you in Italy. but you will have to get ther on your own. By the way the goverment is tracking all the former x-men and we don't want them to follow you to Italy so you will have to travel in secret" laughed Victoria  
" Why if not for my son I would try to kill you both right now!" growled logan  
"Honey settle down! We will help you " soothed elinoria  
" Then its settled we will leave you to your breakfast" snickered Victoria "oh and we will be taking michal with us"  
Then they were gone in a matter of seconds and sure enough so was Michal.  
"I worked with Quicksilver a few years back and ever he couldn't move that fast!" exclaimed logan.  
"well at least your breakfast is still hot?" said elinoria weakly knowing what her husband could do when he was angry  
"Forget it I am not hungry!"  
Just then he came up to her and kissed her fiercly on the lips.  
"I'm sorry I is just I am not ready to loose you! I..I..have lost to many. You are going to stay here I will go and rescue this James person"  
" I can take care of myself don't worry . It would kill me to be away from you that long anyway!" joked elinoria  
He kissed he again this time softer more passionatly. he drew her in close and breathed slowly.  
"I don't know how you talk me into this stuff" grumbled logan  
" Let's start packing. The sooner we get to Italy and get this over with the better!" said Elionoria more cheerful after a kiss.  
"So how are we going to get to Italy without the government finding out?" asked Elinoria. I was later that night and she and Logan were ready to start their trip.  
"I called an old friend of mine"  
"Oh great one of your old friends. Just tell me, how pretty is she?"  
"Wade? What do you mean? Oh I get it you think! Hah don't worry deadpool and I were never in a relationship!" laughed Logan  
"Deadpool ? Isn't he crazy? Didn't he drop a piano on you?"  
"Yea but it wasn't that big of a deal"  
"I wouldn't call someone who dropped a piano on me a "friend" "  
"Hey here he is right now!"  
"Can you smell him?"  
"Yep he will be in here in 5,4,3,2!"  
Just then a man in a red suit tumbled through the front door.  
"Jeez Logan! How do you get these babes you ugly hairball!"  
"Thanks a lot Wade" grumbled Logan  
"No problamo pal!"  
"By the way.." he said turning to elinoria. "Has anyone ever told you that you look like Betty Crocker?"  
"Umm… no?"  
"Ok Wade focus can you get us out of here in secret?"  
"So what did you do this time Logan? Piss off an old girlfriend?"  
"No Wade I just need to get out of here and I can't tell you why"  
"Come on you can trust me Logan! We are buddies we have always been there for each other ! Well except for the piano thing…."  
"Oh shut your face and tell me what you've got that can help us!"  
"ok ok testy today! There is an abandoned mine tunnel that go's from around here to the coast. It should do the trick"  
"Thanks Ryan and one more thing… stay away from pianos will ya?"  
"You bet!"

"Can we take a break?" asked elinoria out of breath.  
"Nope we are almost there. Just a couple more miles."  
"Jee and here I was thinking we had along way!"  
"Come on honey we need to get to the mine before night fall!"  
"I know I know but we have been walking ALL DAY! I am not in as good shape as I should be now that there are no world problems to take care of."  
Elinoria hated to argue especially in such beautiful setting as the lavish green of the Canadian mountains. But she was tiered and ready to fall down dead. Also Logan was not the best person to travel with if you couldn't keep up.  
"Look there is the entrance to the mine!"  
Logan was pointing to a tiny hole in the ground not much taller than him.  
"That? That if the entrance? Wow wade really is crazy!"  
"I am sure it is bigger inside."  
"If you say so"  
They walked to the entrance and Logan jumped first and then helped lower down elinoria. The cavern was huge inside despite impressing the entrance gave. The walls were jagged after years of being carved by pickaxes.  
"Wow. Creepy." Stated elinoria  
"Let's go."  
They took their first steps into the huge black chasm.  
"This seems more like a vampire hangout than anyplace in Italy!"  
"This is the former hideout of the Windigo" laughed Logan  
"That big sasquach type thing?  
"That's the one"  
"Me and old wade found it years ago. I had forgotten about it"  
"The old age is getting to you huh babe?"  
"Be quiet you little girl!"  
"That is now way to talk to your wife!"  
"shhh... Did you hear that?  
"Ha ha got yah!"  
"Stop it!"  
"Awe come on honey I was just yanking your chain!"  
"Well it wasn't funny!"  
"Oh lighten up"  
"YOU ARE TELLING ME TO LIGHTEN UP!?"  
"Shh."  
"Oh no how stupid do you think I am?"  
I am serious this time. I heard something"  
"What kind of thing?"  
"Somthin big coming this way."  
"Is it organic?"  
"No I don't know it doesn't smell familiar. Actually it doesn't have much of a sent. Like it is really far away but I can hear that it is close."  
"What could it be?"  
"I have only smelt one thing like it"  
"What?"  
"A sentinel."  
"But it couldn't be the government destroyed all the sentinels"  
"They never knew how many there were. They could have missed one"  
"Can we take on a sentinel?"  
"I don't know. The entire x-men team had trouble defeating five."  
"Then we had better hope it is in as bad shape as we are!"  
Just then they heard a rumble. Suddenly out can a huge robot as tall as the cavern sealing.  
"MUTANT MENECE MUST BE ELIMINATED" said the robot in a metallic voice.  
"Finally a good fight!" said Logan obviously happy with the challenge.  
"What can I do? My powers are useless against a non-organic foe!"  
"I have taught you plenty of martial arts. You can keep it distracted while I go for the head!  
Eilinoria was scared as she dodged blast after blast of deadly energy. She saw out of the corner of her eye a blast coming for her back but she didn't have time to doge it completely. It hit her in the side. The pain was like nothing she had ever felt. It exploded inside her causing her to scream which brought the incident to Logan's attention.  
"NO!"  
"Don't stop fighting! He will kill you if you do!"  
Just at that moment Logan got the top of the Sentinel and in one clean blow took its head off. The hulking body of the sentinel fell with an ear shattering crash with Logan atop its body. When he reached the ground he ran to her side.  
"Don't leave me!" he cried.  
"I am here Logan. You can't get rid of me that easy!" she tried to laugh but just coughed up blood. Then for the first time in her life she saw Logan cry.  
Then it went black.  
Elinoria woke with a headache to rival all headaches. Logan was sitting beside her while building a fire. He had a look on his face that Elinoria had never seen it looked like happiness.  
"What happened?"  
"You got hit by the sentinel's energy blast."  
"That should have killed me!"  
"It almost did. I had to give you a very rough blood transfusion. It saved your life but it didn't save you from the headache you must have."  
"You got that right! But my side hurts badly I don't even think I can walk."  
"You can't. I am goanna take you back to the cabin and go by myself."  
"NO! I know it is the best thing but I am too much like you to turn down a challenge."  
"But you are hurt!"  
"So? You are strong enough to get me there. Plus I wanna see these "royal vampires" as they are called"  
"Ok but if anything and I mean anything happens to you I am goanna kill you!"  
"Wouldn't that defeat the point?" laughed Elinoria  
"Yeah I guess it would." laughed Logan "Well we had better get moving if we don't want to keep Remy and Kurt and them waiting."  
"Ok so how are we goanna do this?" asked Elinoria.  
"I think a kiss might be a good way."  
He leaned in and gave her a kiss right on the lips.  
"Let's go'  
He picked her up and started running down the tunnel. Einoria couldn't tell how long they ran. She eventually fell asleep in his arms. When she woke he was still running.  
"How long have you been running?"  
"About 6 hours" he answered.  
"I have never seen you run this far!"  
"Well when you are pushed you can do amazing things but I know you must be hungry so lets stop and eat something."  
"Hah you are stopping for me the one you have been carrying for 6 hours!"  
"Hey not everyone has enhanced stamina and a healing factor you know."  
"Your right I hungry. What are we going to eat?"  
"I have some food in my backpack."  
"You have a backpack on to! You really are superman aren't you!  
"I don't know if I would go that far."  
"Well I love you."  
They emerged from the dark into the blinding light of mid-afternoon sun  
"That idiot Wade! This isn't the coast!"  
They were standing in the middle of more forest.  
"It's ok. At least we have more time..to be together?"  
"It isn't workong hoeny sorry."  
"I know I am just trying to make the best of it."  
"Well you sure a a better person than I am" laughed Logan  
"Well we had better get going"  
They started their trip through the forest while trying to find a place to spend the night. Finally they came across an abandoned cabin.  
"You know what I think I have been here before." Said Logan  
"When?" asked Elinoria half asleep.  
"In fact I think I lived here. A long time ago."  
"What?"  
'I lived here for a time with a woman named Silver Fox.'  
"Ohh great."  
"Don't worry my time with you has been twice as good. But it was one o the few times I was acually happy."  
"What happened?'  
'She was raped and left for dead by sabertooth..on my birthday."  
" Well that's ok your happy now right?"  
"Never been you know what yesterday was new years eve."  
"Yea it in all that happened yesterday we forgot our tradition. A kiss at the stroke of midnight." Sighed Elinoria.  
"We could always make up for it right now" Smiled Logan  
He roled over to face her.  
"How long has it been?"  
"I don't know' awnsered Elinoria  
"Well that is to long!"  
They stepped onto the fishing boat and Logan handed the dirty fisherman a wad of cash.  
"This in not enough!"  
"You'll get the rest when you get us to the island"  
"Whatever!"  
The ride was bumpy and Elinoria was starting to get sea sick.  
"Are we almost there?" asked Elinoria about to hurl.  
"Yep! In fact there is the island right there."  
Elinoria was not sure exactly were they were going but Logan said it was an old weapon x base. She didn't even want to ask were he had found this guy to get them there.  
They got of the boat and Logan threw the man a wad of money. The island was small just big enough to put a house on. But when they got there standing on top of a rock wee two of the frailest men Elinoria had ever seen.  
"Hello my friends.' Said one in a very thick accent.  
"Who are you?" asked Elinoria.  
"Ve are from Romania and we have a common enemy. The Volturi" he spat  
"How do you know about them?"  
"They are the fiends who dethroned us! Once we were the rulers of a great people the vampires! And now we are going to reclaim our place as the rulers of our people and you are going to help us."

"So what your saying is you expect us, living breathing humans to work with a pair of vampires and trust that you won't drink our blood when we sleep?" asked Logan suspisosly.  
"Thousands of years of being a vampire has given us plenty of time to practice self control."  
"Even so how can two mutants and two anciet vampires break into and over throw an entire vampire royal family and do it wothout being discovered?"  
"Who said anything about two vampires? We brought help."  
Suddenly about fifteen vamipres emerged from behind the two romanians. Elinoria was amazed she had never seen so many beutiful people all together.  
Eilinoria realized at that moment that this was serious that they were getting themselves into something big. The vampires came up one by one and introduced themselves. There was a tall on with a long ponytail who said his name was Garrett. There were three women who looked as if they were goddesses of some sort they said they were from the Amazon and their names were Kachiri, Senna, and Zafirina. There were six who said they were of the same coven. There were four women and two men. The women's names were Carmen, Irina, Kate, and Tanya. The two men's names were Eleazar and Laurent. Laurent said that he was once part of James and Victoria's coven and cared about them. All of the vampires from that coven claimed to only drink animal blood but Eilinoria was not sure about Laurent. There was another coven that was Irish. There was one man and two women. There were two other vampires a man and a woman but Eilinoria didn't catch their names because she noticed that Laurent had not taken his eyes of her since he had introduced himself. Logan had noticed also. After the vampires were done introducing themselves Logan took Eilinoria aside.  
"Did you see how that one Laurent was looking at you?"  
Of course Eilinoria had noticed but she did not want to jump to conclusions like she new Logan would.  
"I am sure you just imagined it! Don't worry."  
"Well I didn't like it!'  
"I am sure it will be fine."  
The Romanian vampire who had been talking before turned to Eilinoria and Logan and said  
"We no time for chit chat we have to get moving! We vampires can swim across the ocean but you can't so we will have Garrett carry you Mister Logan and you Miss Eilinoria will be carried by Laurent!" Loan flashed her look at this remark. She tried to send a comforting look back but she new she didn't do a very good job." Ah Eilinoria such a pretty name! A vampire name! Perhaps after spending some time with us you will want to join us in our eternal splendor!" Laughed the Romanian who had said his name was Stefan.  
"Well don't count on it! I am not goanna have my wife turned into some sort of blood sucking freak like you!" Barked a very angry Logan  
'Logan calm down." Said Eilinoria soothingly.  
"Your right but if one of them lays a hand on you I will personally tear them all to shreds!"  
"All right but I am not worried" she said to him as she started to clime onto Laurent's back to gat ready to swim but even as she said it she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach telling her to get out of there. To start running and to not look back......  
Elinoria had to admit that riding on the back of a vampire while swimming through the ocean was one of the most exhilarating things she had ever felt. The vampires almost glided over the water at a UN imaginable speed! All though Elinoria was enjoying the ride she could tell Logan was not. She wasn't sure if it was his worry over her being carried by Laurent or the fact that he a grown man didn't like to be carried by a fellow man. Whatever it was Logan scowled the whole way.  
"Is this really necessary?" He yelled over the roar of the ocean. So it was being carried by a man that was bothering him or maybe it was both…  
"Yes do you want to get across the ocean or not?"  
"Well yeah but this?'  
"Come on Logan it is not that bad!"  
"Yes it is!"  
There conversation was interrupted by a loud crash.  
"Trouble!" Shouted Garrett.  
"Aught! Curse those volturi!" Shouted Stephan "They must have caught wind of our plans!"  
"But Stephan! We told no one outside of the people here!" Shouted Vladimir the other Romanian. This means we have a traitor in our mist!"  
"But who?" Shouted one Of the Amazonian women.  
Suddenly Elinoria felt Laurent drop from below her she just got a glimpse of him swimming off before she hit the water. She sunk for a few moments before she was lifted up by a strong pair of arms. When she looked up she expected to see Logan but instead she saw the face of Garrett the vampire.  
"There you are my lady!" Said Garrett as he swam of to join the battle that had started between the vampires on their side and six vampires she didn't recognize. She was no stranger to violence. She was after all a super hero but this fight was beyond anything she had ever seen. Logan would be jumping for joy beside her if they weren't in the water. He rushed off to join the fight. But Elinoria held back she did not know why but she just couldn't bring herself to hurt these beautiful things... The vampires and Logan fought fiercely and finally drove off the others but Elinoria knew this would not be the last time they saw Laurent or the other vampires.  
"I knew there was something wrong with that Laurent chatterer!" Shouted Logan.  
"Yes we were wrong to trust him he has done this sort of thing before…" Said Stephan with regret racking his voice.  
"But they will be back and we will be ready so swim on!"

When they reached land the night was black as pitch. They emerged from the water in a spot where Elinoria couldn't even distinguish the beach from the water.  
"Were we?" asked Elinoria.  
"Some where on the coast of France. Agghh! We completely missed our mark! Growled Stephan.  
'We could always get back in the water." Offered Garrett.  
"No we will travel across land now. It is best for there are many sharks in the waters off the coast of Italy." Said Vladimir.  
"Well first Elinoria needs to get some rest!" Said Garrett of all people.  
"Hey listen mister I can take care of my own wife!" Growled Logan  
'Hey hey just trying to be nice!" Said Garrett the embarrassment obvious in his voice.  
"Are you two quite finished?" Asked Zapherinia "Because what ever our next move is we need to hurry and do it before the sun comes up!"  
"Oh will you turn to dust of something?" Asked Elinoria.  
"Ah no. Oh wait you haven't seen us in the sunlight have you?" Laughed Garrett.  
"No it has been foggy the entire trip remember?!" Said Elinoria slightly embarrassed  
"Well we sparkle." Said Zapherinia  
"You sparkle? Like really sparkle?" Asked Elinoria  
"Yep!" Said Garrett  
THREE HOURS LATER  
They could see the glimmering light of a town in the distance. Elinoria was glad she was ready to pass out. Even though she had not been running no matter how hard she tried she could not get sleep to offer her its sweet release.  
"Logan you and Elinoria should go to that town and try to find an inn" Said Garrett.  
"Yes and the rest of us will find some were else to sleep." Said Vladimir  
"That's fine with me!" Exclaimed Elinoria  
"All right fine with me too." Said Logan  
They only inn in town was a run down little shack of a place.  
"On second thought lets go find the vampires." Said Elinoria

Elinoria loved the atmosphere in Voterra. The busy streets, brightly colored stands, and the friendly people made it hard to believe a group of blood thirsty vampires lived there.  
"Are you sure this if the right place?" Asked Elinoria in disbelief  
"This is what the blood sucker said." Replied Logan the disgust evident in his voice.  
"Well then lets find Kurt and Remy." Sighed Elinoria not looking forward to leaving the cute little market.

Suddenly they we engulfed in smoke and they smelled the distinct smell of brimstone.  
"Nightcrwaler!" yelled Elinoria in delight.  
"Hello my old friend" said Kurt facing Logan" And you Elinoria you have not changed a bit! the years have been good to you!"  
"Thanks Kurt!" replied Elinoria "But where is Remy?"  
"I have not seen him. Perhaps he is late."  
"Maybe Victoria didn't give him the message"  
But even as Elinoria said it she saw a white man sanding in front of an Italian woman and whispering in her ear.  
"Hey Remy how is Anna lately? Yelled Logan  
The girl seemed to get the gist of what Logan said because she pushed him away and slapped him in the same motion.  
"Hey Logan why you always have to ruin Gambits fun?" Said Gambit in his thick Cajun accent "It's good to see you old pal! As well as your beautiful wife!"  
"Ok what ever we need to get going." Said Logan in his usual no nonsense way.  
"Ok ok honey I for one am not looking forward to seeing those vampires again!"  
"Well I am ready to get it over with!" Yelled Logan.  
Elinoria didn't know what to think. Logan always looked forward to a good fight! But Elinoria new deep down that this fight was different for him it was different for her too. Because they both knew they may not come back from this one.

THREE HOURS LATER.  
They were standing above a small grate in a dark alley. All the vampires were there including Victoria and Creed who just conveniently showed up.  
"This is it? This is the entrance to the great Vampire fortress?" Asked Elinoria  
"Do not let the appearance deceive you. This grate holds one of the greatest evils known to man!" Said Vladimir the vengeance obvious in his voice.  
"Here is the plan" said Victoria taking over the conversation." You Logan and Elinoria as well as Nightcrawler will go down first. You will tell the scum our demands and that if they comply we will let them live if they refuse we will rush in and take them out and if they do we will anyway." Said Victoria with an evil grin on her Beautiful face.

The hall was surprisingly normal it looked like an office.  
"Ok aren't vampires supposed to like have like creepy halls and gargoyles and torches and things like that?"  
"Aren't vampires supposed to turn to dust in the day time?" Said Logan sarcastically.  
"Oh shut you face!"  
"Eh you two quit it will yah? Gambit is getting angry!"  
Just then they walked in what looked like a waiting area with a woman sitting at the desk in the front t.  
"My I help you?" She asked  
"We need to see the Volturi now." Said Logan  
"Well you're in luck they just finished ...eating."  
This woman was obviously not a vampire.  
They walked in the direction that the woman pointed them. The room they entered was much more vampire like and sitting in the center were the oldest looking vampires she had ever seen. One walked up to them and bowed  
"Ah hello! I am Aro." Said the vampire.  
"We are here about James." Said Logan.  
"Oh yes and just in time to we were going to execute him later to day actually I assume you want to watch?"  
"No we want to have him set free and we have the gun s to back it up! Outside there are 20 vampires waiting to burst in here and tear you apart at my command." Logan was masking his fear well but Elinoria could just barley sense it on the very edge of his deep voice.  
"I am afraid we can't do that. We will let you go if of coarse you let me get a little reading of you."  
"Whatever!"  
"Aro walked toward Logan and reached out to touch his hand.  
"My my what an interesting mind you have! Full of heartbreak and sadness but here is courage and honor and very much a love for a certain young woman"  
Logan sniffed away.  
"Your turn dearest. Oh I do like to read mutant's minds! You like your husband have an interesting mind! But oh here is a surprise! Elinoria pulled her hand away before he could finish.  
"Your time is up blood sucker.  
Suddenly the 20 vampires jumped through the door.  
"My guns are bigger." Said Logan. The joy of getting ready to fight shown on his face  
Each of the vampires got in ready stance teach bared and Victoria let out a huge growl that ripped through the air like a firer $#.  
"Bring out the guard." Said Aro not showing and sort of fear.  
The vampires they had met in the ocean plus about 10 as well as Laurent emerged from behind another door.  
'This is going to be fight to remember."  
Victoria was first to move. She made a huge leap for Aro only to be stopped but a small female vampire. They were locked in vicious combat. The others followed suit jumping for one of the volturi only to be stopped. Elinoria was last to join the fight but when she did she did so whole heartedly. She had never tried her power on vampires before. She climbed on top of one of the large chairs and started to use her power. All over vampires started falling to the ground  
"That's my Elinoria!" Yelled Logan.  
But then the same Vampire who stopped Victoria jumped upon and grabbed Elinoria brought her to the ground and started to try and rip her apart. In an instant Logan was at her side thronging the vampire Elinoria knew it was to late. Suddenly Garrett came up and said  
"I can fix it."  
Then the pain started.  
The pain seemed to last for days. A pain like nothing Elinoria had ever felt. It covered her whole body and it was all she could do to keep awake through it all. Then suddenly the pain lessened and she started to regain vision. She could see Logan's face over hers.  
"What did you do to her?" He growled facing Garrett now.  
"I I was just trying to help! I saved her life and you know it!"  
"You turned her into a blood sucker like you!"  
"She would have died!"  
"Logan I am ok. In fact I am more that ok I am great!" Said Elinoria. But she was surprised at the new hint of feralness in her voice.  
"Are you sure you are ok?"  
"Yes. Did we win?"  
"Yes not a single casualty on our part."  
"Were Victoria?"  
"I am here. Welcome to the better life of vampirism"  
"Have you been to see James yet?"  
"No. We were about to go."  
"I want to come."  
"Are you sure? You still seem pretty weak." Said Logan  
"I am sure I have come all this way and I want to be rewarded for it."  
They walked down the stone corridor. There were cells on either side of the wall. They stopped by the only occupied one. Inside there was a man with his arms chained to the wall with his head hanging to touch his chest.  
"Oh James! What have they done to you?!"  
"Victoria? Is it you?"  
"It's me baby!"  
"How can you be here? I am on execution to day."  
"Not anymore."  
Victoria broke his bonds and he fell into her arms.  
"I love you." Whispered James  
"I love you to."

1 HOUR LATER  
"I can never thank you two enough. You saved my life and you Elinoria sacrificed your own to save mine. For that I can never repay you but you are welcome to join our little coven." James said  
"I would appreciate that very much."  
"We are going to feed you are welcome to join us." Offered Victoria.  
"I will catch up."  
"I can't believe all that has happened in this short a time." Said Elinoria turning to Logan  
" I know but I am glad it did. We are closer than ever before."  
"Then you can still love me? Like this?"  
"Now and forever."  
With that she kissed him with a passion not matched in all the world.

The End

Elinoria was on her first hunt and she could feel the electricity running through her. She had been surviving on blood bags she had stolen from the local blood banks for a few months now but she decided that it was time for her to experience the real deal. Logan had agreed to come with her to hold her back in case she got out of control.  
She was hunting a woman who she had watched kill her baby the night before. Elinoria wasn't sure she could do it at first but the gnawing in her stomach told her otherwise. The woman's sent was thick with the sent of lilac and blue bells.

"Can you smell her sent?" asked Elinoria turning to Logan  
"Yep only faintly though."

They were crouched outside the diner the woman worked in. She stepped out the backdoor and Elinoria pounced. The woman didn't even have time to scream. Elinoria bent over her as she finished her meal. Once she was done she discarded of the lifeless body.  
"That was good." Elinoria sighed.  
"I am glad to see your eyes back to that beautiful crimson I think I prefer it to the brown your eyes used to be this new color suits you."  
"Thanks. You really know how to make a girl feel good you know that?"  
"You deserve it."  
"I think we should get back Vicky will be worried."  
"Funny how a month ago she kidnapped our little boy and now we are calling her by a nickname.'  
"Yeah funny. But I really think of her as a friend now and little Kurt is plenty happy living with her."  
"Well it's a good think you don't have to sleep cause had a bad day today."  
Elinoria laughed." Let's go then."

Cabin Fever

Elinoria and Victoria sat on the leather couch enjoying one of Elinoria's favorite movies Rebecca. The guys we in the other room watching the football game.  
"This is so peaceful! This is how thing should be from now on!" Said Elinoria her eyes dumping tears by the bucket load as the movie ended.  
"It's funny because I have never met another vampire who can actually cry. But your right things are pretty good now."  
"Really? Other vampires don't cry?"  
"Yep you're the only one I have ever seen."  
"Weird! I wonder why."  
"It may have something to do with your power. Because you rob others of their feelings yours are more acute."  
"Interesting theory."  
RAWWWRGRRRAGGG! They were both up a split second after the growl. It was coming from the next room.  
"There is no way that the Utes are better that Michigan!" Yelled Logan  
"They are the better team and you know it!" replied James  
"This year maybe but you know very well that Michigan has a better track record over all!"  
"You're insane!"  
James had hit a raw nerve and Elinoria new it.  
"Did you just call me crazy?" Whispered Logan  
James realized what he had done a second too late Logan let out a growl and jumped for James but Victoria intercepted his attack. She slashed his stomach badly while doing it.  
"Oh no you didn't you witch!" shouted Elinoria She jumped for Victoria and they fell to the ground and rolled around kicking scratching pulling hair but neither could do much damage to the other. Logan and James were much the same. Although Logan was human his healing factor allowed him to hold his own with James and even though his claws hadn't popped yet Elinoria could tell that they would soon  
Victoria was causing Elinoria to call on fighting skills she hadn't used since her days as an X-man.

TBC!!!  
The fighting continued for at least another three hours Elinoria was getting tiered of it but no one did that to the man she loved. Victoria had stepped over the line. The stream of insults and profanities coming from Elinoria's mouth was scaring her more than it was Victoria. Logan and James were very much the same but there fight was even more violent.

Garrett was tiered of wandering and needed a place to stay. He could smell a coven not far off and decided to wander in that direction and see it the vampires were friendly enough to let him stay with them for a while. He ran in the direction of the sent and was surprised at what he saw a huge white house in the middle of a clearing with the un-mistakable sound of a fight. He should have turned around right then and there but something compelled him to get a closer look. When he looked in the window he couldn't believe what he saw Elinoria the girl he had learned to like so well and her husband the very irritable Logan in mortal combat with the vampire couple Victoria and James.

Elinoria took a quick pause in her fighting to look up and in the window she saw her good friend Garrett standing in the window with a look of horror on his face.

Garrett ran into the house full of rage and shock.  
"What on earth do you think you all are doing?!?" Yelled Garrett  
The fighting stopped immediately.  
"I could hear you from a mile away! Do you want to alert the humans to the existence of vampires?"  
"We were uh well you see……." Stumbled James  
"He called me crazy AND he said that Utah is better than Michigan!" Said Logan his many wound getting a chance to heal.  
"Are you kidding me? We all know that BYU is the best!" said Garrett in shock  
"Oh come on!" said Victoria and Elinoria at the same time. They then started laughing hysterically  
"That was probably the stupidest fight in the history of fights!" said Elinoria  
"Yeah I am really sorry!" Said Victoria  
"Yep sorry buddy." Said James turning to Logan  
"Humph." Was Logan's only response  
"Now come on how about a hunt. I am starved!" Said Elinoria  
"You're welcome to join us Garrett." Said Victoria

And now everything is back to normal! Or as normal as it gets around there……………….  
I t had been two weeks since the football incident and the men were still wrapped around Elinoria and Vicky's fingers  
"Maybe we should get them into fights more often huh?" Victoria asked Elie.  
She laughed "yah they would give us anything if we went in there and asked them!"  
Victoria took a deep breath through her nose."  
"Do you smell that?"  
'What is it?"  
"I think it is a vampire!"  
"Do we know it?"  
"No."  
"Is it friendly?"  
"Too far to tell."  
"Should we go after it and find out?"  
"Sure but lets not tell the guys ok? The might freak out and not let us go."

THIRTY MIN. LATER

Elie and Vicky ran through the thick green foliage at an alarming speed. Going on a mission like this reminded Elinoria of her days with the x-men and she relished the thought of being useful again. Ever since Italy she hadn't known to do with all the time she had on her hands. The guys watched football all day and barley paid attention to her anymore. She only got enjoyment from hunting and being with Victoria. She loved Victoria. She was one of the few people she had ever met who really understood her. One of the reasons she had been so attracted to Logan was that she had always been afraid to let loose and have fun but when she was with him it came naturally. She thought that was because he was very much like her but know she new it was because he understood and loved who she was.  
'You know I have been thinking what if we can't face this vampire of vampires alone? How will they find us? And what would we do?" asked Elinoria now not so sure about this now  
"We will be fine! Don't worry. I have done this before you know."  
"Yeah I know but I feel different about this one somehow like we might not come back."

TBC!  
They reached the clearing a few minutes before sun set. There in the center of the field sat a small camp. The bloodcurdling screams of the campers sliced to air like a knife.  
"Do you think they know they are hunting in our territory?" asked Victoria  
"I would think so I mean you could smell them why couldn't they smell you?"  
"I don't know. Wanna go down and say hello?" asked Victoria a smile dancing on her lips.  
"Why not?"

They raced down the hill and came up behind the vampires. There were two of them a male and a female the male was small and lean he had average features and seem to be a very normal vampire. The woman however was almost seven feet and had bright red hair to rival Victoria's fiery locks. She was muscle up and down her body and her face was like and angels. Although she looked strong she had a very nice figure.  
"Uh-oh! She could be a problem…"whispered Elie to Victoria.  
"C'mon we can take her!"  
The vampires had finally finished their meal and had noticed Elie and Vicky.  
"Do you know you are hunting on our land?!?" said Elinoria trying to sound strong.  
"You can not tell us were to hunt!" exclaimed the male his strong personality making up for his small size.  
"Now John! Really they are just making sure we know were we are! And no we did not know we are sorry to have intruded but we hadn't eaten in weeks."  
"It is all right. You can come and stay in our home for awhile to give you a chance to get rested up." Said Elinoria.  
"Thank you. I am Nikki and my friend here is John he has some temper problems sorry if he offended you."  
"That's fine I am Elinoria and this is Victoria. We call her Vicky." Said Elinoria for some reason she really liked Nikki but she had a very bad feeling about her friend he seemed to eager to get to the house as they sped off.  
They got back to the house in half an hour.  
"Wow this is really nice!" said Nikki in shock  
"This is nothing you should see the Cullen house!" said Victoria.  
"Those vampires that only drink animal blood?" asked John in discust.  
"Yes that would be them. Do you not care for their food choices?" asked Victoria a hint of sarcasam on the adge of her voice.  
"Acually I admire that they have enough strenth to resist drinking human blood." said Nikki  
"What?!? How can you say that? They are vampires they are supposed to drink human blood! They are......... unatural!" said a very aggrivated John.  
Just then Logan sauntered over to the door in nothing but his underwear.  
"Logan! put some clothes on!" exclaimed Elinoria  
"What for?" you all have seen me in boxers!"  
"Yes DEAR but our gests would rather not!" said Elinoria. If vampires could blush she would be right now  
" oh. sorry..." said Logan also turnign red in the face.  
"Now won't you come in?" asked Victoria trying to sound welcoming  
They walked into the house and there sitting on the couch was James also only in his boxers.  
" James!" now it was Victoria's turn to rant.  
"Hey babe!" he said jumping up quickly  
"You walk upstairs and get some cloths on right now." said Victoria her voice getting very quiet.  
"Ok hun I'm going" said James putting his hands up in defence.  
Logan and James both ran upstairs.  
"Well now that that's over would you like to have a tour?

And it begins!

TBC  
Elinoria sat in the window seat and watched the Canadian Autumn take over the landscape. She sighed as a golden maple leaf fell to the ground outside the window. It had been a week since Nikki and John had arrived and two days since they had invited them to stay permanently. Elinoria laughed as she thought of the sight of Nikki picking up both her and Vicky and jumping up and down. John wasn't so open with his feelings. He simply shook Logan and James's hand."Elie!" Elinoria didn't know where Nikki got that nickname but she wasn't giving it up. Elinoria had never had a nickname before and she wasn't sure she liked it. She walked in the direction of the happy voices of Nikki and Victoria. They were sitting at the dinning room table giggling. "Hey!" shouted Nikki"Hi" Just then James walked in." James! Have you seen Logan?""What? Oh yeah he left this morning to go get something' said it was a surprise.""Oh……….well when he comes back will you tell me?""Sure!""He won't have to do that" came Logan's voice from the doorway."Logan! Where have been?""Like James said I was picking up a surprise!""Where is it?""Outside come take a look!" They walked out the front door and sitting out on the grass was a sleek back jet."Oh! It's the X-jet! Said Elinoria "Yep! Scott called me up this morning and asked me if I wanted it! Let's go inside.""Ok!" He opened the hatch and held her hand as they walked up the very familiar steps. She remembered everything. The six passenger seats and cargo area. But she remembered the pilot's area the best. Logan was teaching her to fly the jet when the X-men were disbanded. She couldn't fight back the tears as she grabbed Logan in a huge embrace."Hey Logan your missing the game!" said James"Shut your trap James!" Whispered Victoria as she hit him over the head."Oww! Ok gosh!""I also brought your costume back!" said Logan as soon as she let him breath"Really?!?" He brought the outfit out of the drawer next to him. She touched the cool fabric and marveled at how bright the gold and purples were."Go get your costume and put it on!" Elinoria said excitedly John sat and watched her celebrate with her runt of a husband over a stupid plane"I'll get you!"TBC!!!!!!  
We sat atop a grungy apartment building looking down on the Tokyo night life. I hadn't eaten in weeks and was starving. I could barely restrain myself. With Logan. The many scents swirled into one intoxicating sent forcing me to stop breathing. Suddenly one scent stood out among the rest. It was thick and creamy like chocolate with just a hint of honeysuckle. I couldn't restrain myself any longer; I started to jump off the roof but was stopped by Logan's arms tightly around me.  
"C'mon Honey. Relax. I need you hungry later 'sides you don't want to kill that person any more than you want to kill me."  
"Who says I don't want to kill you!" I growled. I would hate myself for saying that later.  
"Now come on you and me both know that ain't true."  
I relaxed in his arms. "What on earth would I do without you?"  
"You'd be an unstoppable killing machine that terrorized thousands of people." Said Logan  
"You really know how to make a girl feel good you know that?" I said as I sat back.  
"We need to get to the spot before midnight. Lets get moving." Said Logan back to business.  
I sighed and put Logan on my back.  
"Let's go" and with that I jumped to the next roof top.  
We traveled like this for fifteen minutes until finally we reached a high rise condo building. We landed on a balcony looking into one of the condos. Inside where two men; a Japanese man dressed in a three piece suit and a white man dressed in all black with a skull mask on his face.  
"Who is that?" asked Logan  
"I don't know." I replied  
POW! A bullet whizzed past my right ear directly into Logan's forehead.  
"NO!"  
Logan fell to the ground. I turned and looked towards the shooter. I could see his grin through that disgusting mask. I pounced.

Logan.

I was in Tokyo with Elinoria. We were on top of a building. She caught a scent and tried to catch it but I stopped her cause se was here to get one person and one person only. She tried to get all mushy but I put a stop to it and told her to get going. We got there and the men where in there. One shot me and I blacked out. The last thing I saw was Einoir a jumping at that guy.

(that's where this ended)


	45. BONUS! Little Known Facts About Rina

Wolverina is a hero herself but she still reads comic books.  
Sal never lived in the original La Push, he just moved into Quiliute life.  
Wolverina's full name is Jade Nicole Cullen-Howlett, she changed her maden name to be the same as her stepsiblings.  
Estella is over 5,000 years old and she still looks to be 17.  
Sal is not only Quiliute but also Blackfoot.  
Nikki (Wolverina) and Wolverine got married on Valentine's day.  
Danny, Nikki's lttle brother, has 2 superpowers, he can speak to the dead and he is a technopath, someone who can control technology with they're mind.  
Koda is Nikki's verson of Jubilee, only younger.  
Wolverina met Daken on a raid with the Maruders when she'd gone by 'Slasher', they'd ended up defeting several heroes including Rictor of X-Factor before they went their seprate ways.  
Wolverina is an amazing singer, she's been in several garage bands.  
The first song Nikki sang upon her arrival to the X-mansoin was Hoobastank's 'The Reason' because Wolverine was her reason to change who she was.  
Nikki has told Logan on several occasions 'she'd rather die than live without him'.  
When Wolverine saved Nikki's life, her heart beat became totaly in-sync with his thus starting to establish the soul-to-soul connection they share.  
Wolverina isn't a morning person, she relies on Logan to wake her up because she doen't listen to anyone else.

Wolverina is a wiccan.  
Both of Wolverina's birth parents were heroes before.  
Wolverina is a crossbreed, which means she has more than 2 paranormal bloodlines, her bloodlines are mutant, vampire, lycan, and magical.  
Wolverina is also a lupine just like Wolverine.  
Wolverina's stepbrother, Edward, is the latest possessor of the phoenix force

Wolverina was supposed to take the throne as queen of the vampires but instead of becoming queen, Nikki choose to be a fighter in her uncles imperal army.


	46. Kai's Team Up

December 23, 2008, 4:29 PM, Marshall Space Flight Center

Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad. Prospero ano y felicidad!

It was the last day before Holiday vacation and Marshall s employees were enjoying the end of their office party. Genna from Station Systems was singing the familiar bilingual carol and accompanying herself on the guitar as everyone clapped along, except for Joel, who was pigging out on gourmet popcorn.

From the bottom, of my he-art! The song finished, and applause broke out. Francine stepped in to announce the last remaining event, the Cubicle Gift Swap .

Everybody got your boxes? Affirmative sounds came from the crowd. She herself was holding a relatively small box with silver wrapping paper that she had gotten from Teresa.

Okay, good! Let s all open them at once. On three, because we hardly ever count up around here

One two three! The sounds of tearing paper filled the room as everyone dug into the gifts they had received from each other.

The Clone Wars animated series on DVD? Teresa gasped.

A replica Star Trek communicator? You shouldn t have! Francine exclaimed.

You re the best! Tension between Trekkers and Star Wars fans is really much rarer than the media makes it out to be.

Taking their gifts, they began to walk towards the door.

So, they say Griffin s submitted his resignation. His term s up in January, isn t it? Teresa asked, pulling on her coat. I mean, that whole thing* was embarrassing, but everybody ended up okay. We did pretty darn well if I do say so myself.

*Into the Cosmos #17-22- Kai

That s what all they ve all done when a new president takes office, Tessa. It s just a formality. I m sure Obama will let him stay on.

Hey, Tessa, you ve got another phone call!

She tensed up, remembering the call about Fossett.**

Is it from Nevada again? She asked, hurrying to take the phone.

** ItC #14- Kai.

Nah, Canada. The other worker responded, leaving. He was eager to begin his vacation.

Canada?

Hey, when you re done, let me use the phone! I ve got to call my grandparents in the Philippines. Francine called after her.

Hello? Teresa von Braun speaking. Who is this?

Nikki. Nikki Howlett. I don t know if we ve met, but my husband said you used to go to Xavier s

The name sounds familiar of course, I remember seeing it in the papers- she s the one Wolverine married! Don t they have kids or something like that?

Yes, that s right; I did know Logan back in the day.

But what could she possibly want with me?

Logan and I are going to a holiday party in your area tomorrow night. We needed somewhere for our kids to stay for a few hours and he remembered seeing your face on TV a few months back

Uh how many kids?

Five. Lana, Vincent, Gabrielle, Shawn and Tayla.

Five kids? She must be superhuman.

There is no way on Earth that I am going to be able to babysit five mutant kids on Christmas Eve. I just can t What am I, Scrooge?

Tis the season and I m going to do the right thing, even if it gives me a few gray hairs.

Are they behaved?

Oh, yes. They re very well behaved.

With Logan as their dad, they probably are. Eat your veggies or the claws come out! And it s going to be nighttime, and they ll have been traveling, so they ll probably all be really tired.

Sure, I can do it. My apartment s at She started rattling off her address and then signed off.

December 24, 2008, 8:40

PM

It hadn t been as hard as Teresa had feared. Shawn and Tayla, the real babies, were already asleep in the bedroom and Gabrielle was starting to yawn as she lay on the floor, drawing scribbles. Lana and Vincent were playing Sorry! at the table in the kitchenette. The radio was on and softly playing seasonal tunes in the background.

At home, there s lot of snow. Does it ever snow here? Gabrielle asked, sleepily.

Not a lot. North Alabama s pretty warm. Never more than four inches since I moved here. Teresa said, focusing on her reading.

11! I get to swap places! Vincent declared.

Lana rolled her eyes, coming to notice the calendar hanging on the wall beside the table.

What s A8 +40 ? She asked, noticing that Teresa had scribbled that designation over today on the calendar.

Today s the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission. Teresa said, looking up from the old National Geographic she was rereading.

Apollo 8? Was that the one they made the old movie about with Tom Hanks in it? Vincent asked.

Uh, no, that s Apollo 13. Teresa laughed. And it s not an old movie- it only came out in 1995. Looks like I have to go into teacher mode here.

Apollo 8 was the first time people traveled beyond the Earth s orbit. They didn t land on the moon- that happened on a later mission- but they did become the first people to see the far side. Far side, not dark side. It s not always dark there, only sometimes.

So they were away from home on Christmas Eve? Must have been rough. Lana said.

How did Santa bring them their presents? Gabrielle asked, lifting her head.

Well, the commander did say at one point Houston, please be informed that there is a Santa Claus. , so I think that was taken care of. Teresa laughed. You know that picture of the Earth rising over the lunar horizon, the famous one? Not the one with Africa in it, the other one? Well, they took that picture on Apollo 8, exactly 40 years ago today.

Yeah, I think I ve seen that

Teresa dashed over to her desk and wiggled her computer mouse to make the SETIhome screen-saver go away. A short search later, she had the famous photograph up.

This one. She said, as the kids came over to look. I think there s an animated comic about it the mission on the main NASA site, too, if you d like to see that.

Sure thing!

It was 1968, and the clock was ticking on President Kennedy s challenge to land on the moon by decade s end. The narration began.

How did the people feel as they followed the mission on TV? Pretty much everything else about 1968 stunk, according what my parents told me. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot earlier that year and the war was still going on in Vietnam.

They must have felt so glad to be watching something so positive on the news for once. To see the Earthrise image, a world with no borders, all alone in space, it must have given them hope. Hope that we could all unite instead of fighting.

Anders snapped the iconic Earthrise image, which gave humankind a new perspective on their home planet. And, the crew took turns reading from the Book of Genesis

They must have been all together around the TV screen, kids and adults sort of like we are, right now!

Before closing with a holiday wish. The animation switched to a recording of the voice of astronaut Frank Borman: And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth!

Something about the way Borman had said those last few words, the emotion conveyed in this message from a man looking back at humanity s only home from two hundred, forty thousand miles away made Teresa shiver.

God bless all of us, he said. All of us. Not just one country or one race. Everyone. Men, women, black, white, mutants- all of us on this good Earth.

This latest notion may have other consequences. Formed as it was in the minds of heroic voyagers who were also men, it may remake our image of mankind. No longer that preposterous figure at the center, no longer that degraded and degrading victim off at the margins of reality and blind with blood, man may at last become himself.

To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold

-- brothers who know now they are truly brothers. - Archiebald MacLeish, December 24, 1968 


	47. Spidey pt2

Peter Parker and Wolverina team up to fight against evil. Killed in battle, Peter is buried and dug up weeks later by an unknown agency. Resurrected somehow, he remembers nothing about his villains, past, or how he died.

I woke up early this morning. I feel dead. Like something's missing. There's a scar on my chest and arm. I'm confused, cold, dizzy. The name Nikki keeps rushing through my head. Must be an ex or something. I'm in a white bed in a white room with a note on the wall. Before I read it, I look out the window, seeing the sights of New York. I pour Tropicana and pick up the note as it falls from the cellotape onto the floor.

"Meet me at the Pier. My friends and I have answers for you.", it read.

My head pumps. A migrane, but one that tingles. I open a box. There's a black suit with a white spider-like pattern on it. The mask has massive white holes too. It looks... familar. I put it on, expecting something, anything, to happen. It's unbelievable. A surge. I clench my fist. A spurt of grey webbing blasts from my wrist. Visions come back to me. A black monster. Venom.

Later, The Pier

The sky blackened as I walked towards a group of costumed men.

"Peter. How nice of you to attend this meeting. Cold today, isn't it?" said the man in a green mask and a purple hat.

I know who he is. He's Spider-Man. He's my sworn enemy. He killed my Aunt and he... Killed me... I'm not Peter. He knows that. He's psyching me up for the big feast. For when he eats my with his minions. But I won't stand for that. I'm Venom. I am the ultimate being.

"I'm not Peter. I'm Venom. Peter died in the fire. Gwen killed him, remember?"

"W-what? Quiet, you cretin! I have waited long and hard for this!" said "Spider-Man".

"You glide about the city, saving the "innocent", fighting villains like Mysterio and Lizard, but I am your biggest enemy, Spider-Man! You cannot eat me like you do to the rest of them! I will absorb you, just like Eddie and Gargan!" said I.

"Obviously, the wounds have affected you mentally. No matter. It makes your punishment all the easier. Chameleon, Rhino, Attack!" roared Spider-Man.

"Chameleon", a.k.a Hawkeye, charged. Why were he and Iron Man dressed like lunatics? Maybe to confuse me. I'm starving. I have to eat. I chump down on Hawkeye. I try to rip that weird mask he's wearing off. It's impossible. Obviously, it's a great mask that Hawkeye created to look like one of Spider-man's enemies. As for Iron Man, his armour is gray-er than usual. The horn's new too. His nickname, the Rhino, suits it.

"Oh my--- You've went... Mad... The tables t---" said Spider-Man, interrupted by the gore before him.

"See, Spider-Man, I win, as planned from the beginning!"

"I'm the Green Goblin and you're Spider-Man, you maniac!" said Spider-Man (the Goblin).

He's easy eating. Too easy. I won. After all these years, I won. Because, with great power, comes great hunger. I'm Venom, and finally, after all this time, I won.

Fin 


	48. Bonus: Dark Poetry

By Simon Armitage (it's from the book of matches so it's meant to be read in the time for one match to burn out and it doesn't have a title)

I've made out a will; I'm leaving myself  
to the National Health. I'm sure they can use  
the jellies and tubes and syrups and glues,  
the web of nerves and veins, the loaf of brains,  
and assortment of fillings and stitches and wounds,  
blood - a gallon exactly of bilberry soup -  
the chassis or cage or cathedral of bone;  
but not the heart, they can leave that alone.

They can have the lot, the whole stock:  
the loops and coils and sprockets and springs and rods,  
the twines and cords and strands,  
the face, the case, the cogs and the hands,

but not the pendulum, the ticker;  
leave that where it stops or hangs.

Another one you might like if you liked those two is called Havisham by Carol Ann Duffy again. It's about Miss Havisham from Great Expectations and is from her point of view.

Beloved sweetheart $##. Not a day since then  
I haven't wished him dead. Prayed for it  
so hard I've dark green pebbles for eyes,  
ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with.

Spinster. I stink and remember. Whole days  
in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall; the dress  
yellowing, trembling if I open the wardrobe;  
the slewed mirror, full-length, her, myself, who did this

to me? Puce cursesthat are sounds not words.  
Some nights better, the lost body over me,  
my fluent tongue in its mouth in its ear  
then down till I suddenly bite awake. Love's

hate behind a white veil; a red balloon bursting  
in my face. Bang. I stabbed at a wedding-cake.  
Give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon.  
Don't think it's only the heart that b-b-b-breaks.

Education for Leisure by Carol Ann Duffy (the new British Poet Laureate (the first female and the first lesbian and maybe the first scot but that last one I doubt)). It was taken off the syllabus for promoting children to be killers somehow.

Today I am going to kill something. Anything.  
I have had enough of being ignored and today  
I am going to play God. It is an ordinary day,  
a sort of grey with boredom stirring in the streets.

I squash a fly against the window with my thumb.  
We did that at school. Shakespeare. It was in  
another language and now the fly is ina nother language.  
I breathe out talent on the glass to write my name.

I am a genius. I could be anything at all, with half  
the chance. But today I am going to change the world.  
Something's world. The cat avoids me. The cat  
knows I am a genius, and has hidden itself.

I pour the goldfish down the bog. I pull the chain.  
I see that it is good. The budgie is panicking.  
Once a fortnight, I walk the two miles into town  
for signing on. They don't appreciate my autograph.

There is nothing left to kill. I dial the radio  
and tell the man he's talking to a superstar.  
He cuts me off. I get our bread-knife and go out.  
The pavements glitter suddenly. I touch your arm.


End file.
